|
| uploaded by on 18.10.09 @ 17:34
|
 If you own any copyrights to this file and wish it to be removed, click here
September 6, 2008 – Even before going into the merits of Billy
Frontier, it’s safe to say the iPhone needs more games like it. A
tongue-in-cheek space Western with alien outlaws occupying saloons and
stampedes of genetically enhanced kangaroo-cows? More, please. And
really, any game that references the climatic gunfight that ends “The
Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” has already established credit with me. In
fact, Billy Frontier has so much good will going for it that it’s a
shame the gameplay itself cannot entirely get its spurs on.
Billy Frontier has stepped into a dangerous corner of the galaxy.
The law hasn’t quite reached this alien world, so it’s up to Billy to
put on his tin star and drive the bad guys out of town. There are eight
events Billy must complete to save the day — although technically,
there are really just three events and the game doubles up on them with
different backdrops. Billy must show off in two shooting galleries,
push through two alien-infested shootouts, survive two stampedes, and
be the last one standing in a pair of quick draw contests. Each set of
three takes place in either the town or a nearby swamp.
Before jumping into the Wildest West, check out the shooting
galleries. These playful events are low stress. Aliens, dynamite,
bottles, cows, and other targets are shot into the air. Tap on them as
they arc across the screen to win money. I recommend these stages first
because they are far more accurate shooting events than the shootouts
in town and the swamp, ala Lethal Enforcers.
In the shootouts, you have an on-screen target cursor, but you don’t
tap it shoot at the aliens popping out behind crates and hay bales.
Instead, you have to fudge around with it, tapping around your targets
to nudge the cursor over the alien and hope a straight shot finds its
mark. In addition to blasting aliens, you must also shoot open crates
to reveal extra ammo, health, and money. Once revealed, you must shoot
the object to claim it. Since aiming feels like such a crapshoot, you
waste bullet after bullet just trying to pick up more ammo. It’s
actually quite frustrating, especially because the concept and
presentation are so strong.
The stampede mission is a bit better. A herd of kanga-cows purse you
down a course. The camera is positioned in front of you with Billy
running toward the screen, kind of like Crash Bandicoot. You tilt your
iPhone left and right to steer Billy down the path, tapping the screen
to jump over logs, rocks, and fences. There are lines of coins to pick
up and hot peppers on the trail act as speed boosts. The control here
is more accurate than the shootouts, leaving you only yourself to blame
when Billy is trampled under sixteen hooves.
The quick draw contests are matching minigames. As Billy saunters up
to a circle of enemies, you tap symbol “buttons” on the sides of the
screen to match displayed sequences. If you complete a required number
of sequences before the aliens draw, you outgun them and live to see
another day. Fail, and you are gunned down. The camera work here is
very clever, mirroring that gunfight I mentioned earlier. Even two of
the aliens are fashioned like Eli Wallach and Lee van Cleef, the two
actors that shared the Civil War cemetery gunfight with Clint Eastwood
at the end of “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”
Billy Frontier features strong graphics, with entertaining alien
designs and backdrops straight out of classic Westerns. The music is
also very good, with fun takes on the twangy music that usually
accompanies cattle rustling and high noon shootouts in the movies.
Download
Most recent uploads:
|
If you own any copyrights to this file and wish it to be removed,