The original Predator movie back in 1987 sparked a huge cult following and a subsequent movie and various crossovers with Aliens. Acclaimed producer Robert Rodriguez is set to rekindle that flame on the big-screen with a stand-alone movie, Predators, with Chillingo and Angry Mob Games stepping up for the mandatory small-screen game tie-in.

Like Guerilla Bob (Angry Mob’s last project), Predators is a dual-stick shooter, though distinguishing itself with a unique focus on melee combat to satiate that staple Predator action. Where would Predator be without the wicked arsenal that we all know and love? Angry Mob Games has taken heed and supplemented the melee combat with his many useful longer-range attacks (such as the Plasma Cannon and Disc Weapon) and sensory abilities too.

These all come together in arena-like combat scenarios– 24 of them to be exact– where you are tasked with dispatching the supple human prey wandering into your predatory habitat. To begin with, your Predator has only the use of his claws, which are single target shredding machines, and only a single combo. The first few levels operate as an introduction sequence to familiarise yourself with the 6 melee combos at your disposal. Subsequent levels gradually unlock weapons and abilities that are all required to continue.

The Predator’s arsenal provides both the objectives and context for the game’s missions. Some missions require you to use your cloaking device to eliminate enemies undetected; others require you to use your thermal detection to take out sniping enemies. Others again require you to perform particular melee kills, or collect trophy scalps with the trophy kill combo after netting your prey. No matter the task at hand, the Predator swiss-army-knife has a tool to tackle it head-on and with deadly force; and it’s great to see an effort has been made to make each weapon and ability useful.

Eventually, you are introduced to the overall targets of your bloody alien party; 8 warriors from Earth deemed worthy of being honorable Predator prey. These act as boss levels, which are unfortunately a low point in the game’s missions– requiring you to monotonously kill a large number of cannon fodder humans to flush them out– and then killing them when they do. Each of these targets has a unique ability to make your job all the more difficult. In subsequent levels they reappear as standard enemies, the end result being that the final levels are replete with enemies sporting machine guns, samurai swords and sniper rifles are all trying to take you down first, adding considerably to the difficulty.

The on-screen controls are adequate to the task, with the dual-stick mechanics functioning as well as we’ve seen so far. Weapons are switched with on-screen buttons, and your limited energy bar (responsible for powering most of your weapons and armor abilities) is represented in the top left corner. Melee combat is where the controls really stand out however, with an A and B button activating a number of different combos and attacks. Pressing B while running for example, will cause your Predator to leap attack; a subsequent B will cause him to Impale your enemy, and another 3 A attacks will initiate the Trophy kill to brutally sever their head. It may sound difficult on paper, but combos and attacks are fluid and easily executed and look absolutely gut-wrenching– pun intended!

On the flipside, the levels themselves in Predators attract our largest criticism. The jungle level at first appears lush and detailed, and though not overly large, suffices for the cloak and dagger gameplay required of the Predator. It is still a glorified square arena however, with clearly delineated boundaries containing what is essentially an open area somewhat reminescent of Minigore. And as in that game, the level does not change at all mission-to-mission. It’s a real shame that one of the strengths of Guerilla Bob– its varied level design– couldn’t be employed by the developers here as well.

The only other issue we had is that the game does suffer from a few minor bugs and graphical glitches that may hamper the occasional combo attack. Predators is also a little light on content, offering only a single difficulty level able to be played through in a couple of hours. Fortunately, the last level to be unlocked also doubles as an endless Survival Mode, in what will undoubtedly be the bread and butter for competitive types.

Throughout the levels, the more difficult kills are awarded with a greater honor bonus, a points system used to upgrade your unlocked weapons. In its current implementation though, honor points seem a little superfluous as we earned far more points than we could spend on a simple run through, and never had to work towards our upgrades. In any case, Chillingo’s Crystal platform is used to record these scores online and to provide a set of achievements for completionists to tackle.

Predators is a faithful rendition of the source material, checking off all the gory boxes to satisfy even the headiest of cult followers. More importantly however, Predators successfully combines fun melee combat, light stealth gameplay and missions acutely based on the Predator arsenal to offer a different and engaging Predator gameplay experience on the iOS device. We only hope that future DLC can introduce more interesting level designs and additional missions to flesh out the existing content.

App Store Link: Predators, $2.99 (Universal App for iPhone & iPad).

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In each room there are weapon power ups such as shotguns, flame throwers, rocket launchers, and lazers. There are also lots of cash prizes to collect for you to spend if you can survive ‘The Danger Room’.

The Danger Room is a top down shooter from Debug Design. You play via two on screen joysticks to enable you to move and shoot in all directions. The initial build has 9 levels which can be fought through sequentially or be chosen via the level select screen.

The game does feel like the companies first game but there is some hints of greatness here. The game has some similarities to Smash TV as you run around the room frantically shooting the enemies which change depending on the room. The levels look pretty good but the main sprites are slightly one sided in that they are directly from above and it would nice to see their legs move or something to help bring it off the screen.

Another good point is the fact that the levels change and on each the enemies get harder and harder (we kept dying on ‘The Island’) but there are not enough levels in this initial build and ith only 9 levels you will probably complete it in a few days. However the developers have said that future updates will include addition levels, weapons and a high score table which is a must as this would definitely increase the longevity of the game.

The sounds are actually quite funny and include a deep booming robot host, standard weapon sounds and various groans and death sounds. There is no music to any of the levels which may improve the frantic nature.

On the whole, its worth 59p /$0.99 as you will get a few days of retro frantic fun and if the developer does do the updates then it could be a lot better. The controls can be a little unresponsive at times and when your character disappears under your thumbs its a pain but its a fun little jaunt

Out this Friday so keep em peeled – we hope you have an interview with the company soon.

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Taito impressed the hell out of us with its iPhone revamp of the original shmup in Space Invaders Infinity Gene, which also just made it onto our top ten list of 2009’s iPhone games.

To celebrate the New Year, Taito has just dropped us a line to announce that a major 2.0 update has gone live for Space Invaders Infinity Gene that, amongst other things, delivers OpenFeint connectivity to the awesome shmup.

This will bring global leaderboards to the three main categories (High Score, Number of Chains, Number of Nagoya Attacks) and separate rankings for the standard game and music stages. There are now also 50 achievements – five of which are secret – while high scores and unlocked awards can be uploaded to Facebook and Twitter in-app.

The Infinity Gene 2.0 update also delivers ten new stages which are unlocked as the Evolution Gauge is filled, and six of these new levels will feature alternate versions of the boss battles.

The superb music stages (one of the game’s best features) have also been expanded and improved. The alternate bosses from the new levels will appear (under certain conditions), song and title information is displayed at the beginning of the stage, and players can rate the music stages on a five star scale and can even share music stage recommendations via Facebook and Twitter.

This is the second title Taito has given OpenFeint support to, and is a great improvement on an already excellent game in Space Invaders Infinity Gene. Hit the App Store button below to go get it.

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It’s not called Inkvaders for no reason. The graphics boast a beautifully voguish paper cut-out aesthetic – not unlike South Park, but probably more akin to Paddington Bear. The deliberately stiff, stop-frame-style animation supports this comparison perfectly, and it’s hard not to raise a smile at the unique and endearing artwork.

Even the transition between levels upholds this distinctive look, as the screens are ‘peeled’ away, like a sheet of paper from a notepad, while the character is placed on top of the background by the animator’s finger in a way that would make Terry Gilliam hyperventilate.

The gameplay pits you – as a space marine-type hero – against the Martians, in what’s essentially an off-the-shelf 2D side-scrolling shooter. A selection of weapons are at your disposal, with cash and ammo provided by crates dotted around the background that are opened with a tap of the finger. Your limited ammo means you’ll need to switch between weapons as you run, which is also easily managed with a quick touch of the weapon’s icon.

This all comes together to make the controls very simple, requiring, for the most part, just the ‘left’ and ‘right’ buttons and a ‘fire’ button. Taking out the Martians is a simple matter of facing in their general direction and mashing the trigger, with some spectacular comic gore splashing about the place as their over-sized brains break free of vein-covered skulls.

The steady action-packed pace is made even more chaotic during brief bonus power-ups, when you’re instructed to “Rush!” – piling headlong into a throng of approaching Martians while your firepower is temporarily increased to kill with a single shot. The moon runs red with Martian blood as you dive boots first into the swarm for a hilarious few moments of xenomorphic massacre.

The weapons quickly become the best kinds mass destruction, with machine guns, bazookas and lasers cutting your alien enemies in twain, making this very much one for fans of games by The Behemoth, or viewers of Adult Swim’s bizarre cartoons.

Rather than jumping, your heroic astronaut has a jet pack, which allows him to hover for as long as his limited fuel lasts. This adds a very interesting dynamic to the gameplay, giving you the opportunity to take to the thin atmosphere and avoid the invaders for a very short moment. It also means you can collect up asteroids and comets, which are traded for guns, ammo and health at the next vending machine.

Topping off the game’s outstanding presentation is the option to create your own playlist from your iPhone’s library. Selections can be made at any time through the pause menu, and although it’s a small matter, it’s an important one that put a cherry on top of the already impressive icing.

So Inkvaders is ultimately a very simple run ‘n’ gun platformer, imbued with enough style and ease of accessibility to ensure it rises high above the many other games in its niche genre. This looks to be pretty much a final version, and there’s definitely nothing on the surface of Inkvaders that need fixing or even tweaking, so expect a red hot arcade blaster to be orbiting your fingers very shortly.

Looks:         Looks Fantastic and the style brings a smile to your face
Sound:        Great collection of retro space sfx and action packed music
Gameplay: Simple and easy to pick up but difficult to master, a perfect balance
Overall:      Solid, well thought out game that will have to going back for more

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