David Haye's Knockout was recently released, and promptly made it's way to the top of the App charts, gaining the #1 spots in these categories: Sports Game, Arcade Game, Games Chart, whilst claiming second place in the App Chart. It also comes from the Grubby Hands, the studio behind the charming Boy Loves Girl.
Surely this must mean this is a good game then, right? Well, armed with a review code, I decided to find out for myself.
On first glance, David Haye's Knockout is reminiscent of Punch Out, a Boxing series that I'm sure many of you are familiar with. The game sees players boxing it out as World Heavyweight champion, David "The Hayemaker" Haye. As Haye, you'll be pitted against three opponents which increase in difficulty as they go on. The first opponent, D. Boy, served as the more simpler of the three, and worked perfectly as an easy introduction into the games mechanics. However, he's swiftly followed by Big Bro and Little Bro, which is where the challenge kicks in.
The boxing is created by hitting the boxing gloves on the screen. Players can choose from different types of low and high blows, and can then build up combos to get a higher score, thus earning them the Hayemaker status. Swiping the screen will make Haye dodge and squat to the left or right to avoid any nasty blows from his competitors. Thankfully the boxing is fun, albeit rather brief. One issue I did have though is that, unlike other boxing titles, there is no count when an opponent has been knocked down. Instead, the opponent will just get back up or stay down on the floor. I know it's a little point to dwell upon, but I quite like the "counting to ten" part when you've floored an opponent...it makes things a little more tense, and ultimately, victorious, if they do not rise again.
As I just mentioned, the games duration is, for the most part, rather short. Only offering three opponents to fight against means that soon enough you can call yourself a champion. However, there is a bit of re-playability, thankfully. Trophies can be unlocked from completing objectives, such as achieving a particular combo. Also, achievements via the Game Center means that even if all three opponents have been defeated, players can go back and try to unlock the whole set. As well as this, scores are recorded via the Game Center, so that friends can see how well you are doing at the game. Many of us like our in-game achievements...it gives us something else to aim for once the main game has been completed, so this is great news!
As for the games graphics, unfortunately this is where the game is let down quite a bit. The graphics are incredibly simplistic, whilst the colours seem a little too bright and garish.
Overall, David Haye's Knockout is a fun little game, which should have been a lot longer. The graphics could have been improved upon somewhat. Gameplay is limited to only three opponents, which players will slug it out against again and again in order to unlock trophies and achievements. Whilst the trophies and achievements keep the challenge fresh, there is no denying that fighting these opponents over and over does get a little dull. However, all in all, it's a fun little game, nowhere near as charming as Boy Loves Girl, but it's definitely a good effort. If you're looking for a fun but brief boxing title for your iPhones, then this one is worth a look at.
Boy meets girl, but boy cannot get girl easily. Instead he has to traverse through a series of obstacles to win her affections. Sound familiar? It should do. The whole "boy meets girl" storyline has featured many times before, whether it be in films, books or, in this case, games. However, it's nice to see a predictable premise have a bit of a change applied to it. A rather bizarre one in this case.
Presenting "Boy Loves Girl", an iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad title where you get to play as a lovestruck boy who is trying to catch up with the object of his affections-the girl. Working as an infinite running game, Boy Loves Girl on first glance isn't that much different to the hoards of other infinite running games available on the App Store (such as Jetpack Joyride, which is an excellent game). However, what it lacks in uniqueness in the platform it chooses to be, it definitely makes up for it in other areas.
The game tackles the tried and tested formula of infinite runners by adding in a unique, colourful and somewhat bizarre style. In this instance, the boy is not just trying to run through an infinite scrolling level, avoiding clouds and other obstacles, he has to do all of this whilst pulling along the moon tied to a piece of string (for what reason, I don't know). Oh, and the moon cannot hit any of said obstacles either. That's where the trickiness comes in.
Controlling the moon involves simply swiping it up and down. Occasionally the swiping isn't as accurate as it should be, which harbours some frustration, especially when it results in you losing the level. Other than this though, the controls are pretty straightforward and work, for the most part, how you would expect them to-efficiently. Other than making the moon avoid obstacles, it can also catch "smiles", but other than that, it's down to making sure the moon doesn't hit something during your journey.
Boy Loves Girl contains a charming premise, one which on first glance may sound a little too mushy for some. At the beginning of each group of levels, the object of your affection will exclaim that she wants a special item before you're able to meet her. The level then begins, with the aim to not only get yourself and the moon safely to her in one piece, but have her desired gift ready to present to her. However, she's not an easy catch. Collect her gift and she'll rush off again after proclaiming that she needs yet another gift. Like Zelda is to Link, this girl is playing it hard to get!
Each level contains objectives which you will aim to meet. These can be related to the clouds or catching smiles, and the fulfilling these objectives counts towards giving you a better star rating at the end of the level. A nice touch is that each cloud generates a different activity. For example, tap a storm cloud three times and it'll burst. As I already mentioned, your aiming to get all three stars at the end of the level. If you manage to achieve this, a bonus section will be activated, where the boy gets to try out the "she loves me, she loves me not" flower petal picking game, where you have the chance to win a heart.
Aesthetically, the game is a bright, colourful and cute looking affair, and simplicity, for the most part, wins here. It's a crisp, eye-catching style which works. The only criticism is that at times the visuals look a little too simplistic, and I think adding some facial features to the boy would have helped a lot too, but then perhaps I'm nit-picking.
As for the audio, the sound effects are fine, but it would have been nice to have some actual music included whilst you are running through each level. This just makes the background sound effects sound more prominent, and it just feels a little lacking without one. However, you can listen to iTunes whilst you play, so if you wish to generate your own soundtrack, then it works brilliantly.
Overall, Boy Loves Girl is a harmless, enjoyable running romp. Whilst it may not be unique (but then infinite running games are always going to be a hard one to crack in terms of uniqueness), it packs plenty of charm. It's a shame that there is no soundtrack, and that at times the swiping can be a little temperamental, as this would have been an even better game. However, criticisms aside, this is enjoyable enough, and the bizarre moon-steering premise won me over.
Boy Loves Girl is available from the App Store, but a Lite version has now been made available. This Lite version includes the first 13 levels of the game, endless mode challenges, and bonus levels.
