If you’re an iPhone owner, you’re used to graphics looking clean and polished. Eye candy is old hat to you. However, with the rise of the iTunes App Store, the OS is open to developers lacking, shall we say, UI design prowess. If you’ve found yourself wincing at many an app you’ve downloaded, wince no longer. Say hello to Circuit Strike.One by Chillingo and developer H.grenade. Though not brand new to the App Store, CS.One is quite an installment of visual extravaganza.
Gameplay is carried out within a virtual computer network. You pilot a tiny fighter ship aiming to blast the living daylights out of the system administrator’s defensive minions. Data Cores on each level must destroyed to progress through the game. This is accomplished by taking out the Shield Generators while dodging attacks by Turrets, semi-intelligent Tracers, and AI Fighters. Once defeated, you can collect an enemy’s Ghost Data (little green crystal-like objects left behind). The more Ghost Data you gather, the more your Bullet Time is increased. Bullet Time is a sort of power-up which enables travelling through enemies and objects. As the last Shield Generator on a level is demolished, the Self Destruct Sequence begins. The Data Core must be defeated before the counter reaches zero or the game will end.
At the end of July H.grenade incorporated an additional control mechanism into Circuit Strike.One version 2.0 — Dual Sticks control. Here the gamer places one thumb on the left pad to control inertia-movement, and one thumb on the right pad to direct weapons fire. The result is a natural control experience that still commands a level of skill to master. And if you’re looking for a true mastery challenge, the previous two control schemes are still available.
Circuit Strike.One is endowed with phenomenally rendered graphics that come off more as a light-show than a computer network environment. As you overcome enemy ships, you’ll be delighted as the atmosphere explodes with colorful hues. Additionally, the game’s thumping soundtrack tags along in a reactive manner. If you prefer your own music selection, Chillingo and H.grenade have incorporated the now-expected iPhone OS 3.0 library access to CS.One. They have also built an in-game email system to contact friends without exiting. This is in addition to the online leader boards which are accessible through H.grenade.
Perhaps you’ve come across Circuit Strike.One in the App Store and figured it as another space shooter bringing nothing new to the touch screen. In the contrary, its recent update to version 2.0 makes CS.One one of the most satisfying 2.5D shooter titles we’ve come in contact with — especially at its $0.99 price tag (as of this writing). Plus, Chilling has just released a Lite version [Lite]. Take a look at the embedded video and images and see why we deem Circuit Strike.One a 5-Dimple Hero.
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