Rhythm Control 2 [Daikon Media] - $0.99

Tap-Based Music Games for the iOS have not, unlike many other genres, been done to death. So whenever another title hit’s the scene, fans of the genre usually jump on it like addicts, and once they get a real feel for the game, playing, and replaying, learning each song by heart and the game’s patterns becomes an obsession. There’s basically only a handful of music games that are on, and will always be on, my devices; Cytus, Tone Sphere, Groove Coaster, Pulse: Volume One, Miku Flick, JukeBeat and Rhythm Control, all of which provide a vast array of musical genres, varied gameplay mechanics, insane replay value and, of course, a crazy challenge with some very difficult tracks to try and master. Rhythm Control, however, me with being a kandy kid and DJ (as much as I hate to admit it now) back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the music, of course, hit a nerve with me. So when Daikon Media released Rhythm Control 2 earlier in the week, I had to jump all over it. 

Like the original Rhythm Control, RC2 contains 13 tracks along with a hidden track, each with 3 difficulty settings. Unfortunately, RC2 does not contain the same type of GameCenter support as the original did. With the original RC, each of the tracks had their own leaderboard, which added a ton to the already high replay value. With RC2, there are 3 boards; Total Score, Player Level and Total Course Score. As this might come as a disappointment to some, that’s really the only bad thing I can say about Rhythm Control 2. Everything else is top notch, and the improvements Daikon Media has given RC2 definitely stand out, letting gamers approach RC2 differently than the original. 

There are multiple options for RC2, including changing the shape of the objects that you’ll tap in-game, the speed of the timing circles, the background and whether or not you want your device to vibrate. The speed of the timing circles is the biggest thing here, especially once you get up to the higher difficulties. It really helps to speed this up once you’re dealing with multiple quick taps, as it can get kind of hard to distinguish how many times you’re supposed to hit an object in quick succession. 

As you might have guessed, with there being a Player Level leaderboard on GameCenter, Rhythm Control 2 utilizes a level system that increases based on experience that you’ll earn after playing through each song. This all depends on whether or not you complete the song, if it’s your first time playing through the song, if you get a new high-score or not, and your ranking. You’ll also receive points if you fail the song, but only a meager 10. Every time you level up, you’ll have access to another song. 

 Rhythm Control 2 also has a shop where you can purchase more level packs. Right now, there are 2 extra packs, both priced at $1.99, and both containing 3 extra songs and one course. Courses have you play 3 songs one after the other, streamed together for the highest score, and if you’ve got the time to actually sit and play for about 10 minutes, this mode is great, especially if you’re interested in chasing scores on the GC board. 

With Rhythm Control 2 priced at $0.99 for launch, and being Universal, it’s a must own for fans of music-based tapping games. The difficulty can get pretty intense, but if you’re willing to sink some time into the game, it has the potential to quickly become a favorite. The high difficulty also ensures loads of replay value while trying to perfect each of the 14 tracks. Daikon Media clearly has the music genre nailed, and if RC 2 is anything like the original, you can expect to see some more tracks added in the near future. 

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Omni Systems Beautiful Real-Time Strategy Title, Eufloria HD, Gets A Universal Update, And An iPhone/iPod Only Build!

Omni Systems Limited first iOS title, a port of the 2009 PC title, Eufloria, is a perfect match for the iDevice's touch screen. Unfortunately, the game was only available for the iPad. That is, until today. Omni Systems second update for Eufloria is a big one. Not only did the HD version go Universal, but for the lower end iPod and iPhone devices, an iPhone build was also released. 

There were also quite a few tweaks and improvements including iCloud support Retina Display for the new iPad and more, check it out;

>Universal Build: iPhone 4+ supported

>Game session in progress saved (it nearly killed us, but we did it!)

>iPad Retina support

>iCloud support

>View Achievements option added

>Significant speed improvements

>iPad 1 stability improved (we still recommend rebooting your iPad if you have issues)

>Super seedlings not used for planting or terraforming if regular seeds available

>Hint system improved

>Game Center Groups supported: Achievements shared between Universal and iPhone only apps

>Tree planting, terraforming and other asteroid visual improvements

>L8 and L12 difficulty reduced, other minor level tweaks

>Tree, flower and laser pod attributes updated when terraformed

>Relaxed mode difficulty reduced

>Added skip icon for end of level messages

>Statistic tracking improved - addresses rare Achievement issues

>Fixed rare overlapping tree count on asteroid panel

>Fixed rare tree cap issue

>Fixed rare level won/lost detection bugs

>Rewritten and improved level scripts

>Improved in-game text display handling

>Many other fixes and optimisations

For those of you who haven't been able to play, or just haven't bought it yet, Eufloria is a fantastic Real-Time Strategy title with beautiful graphics, a deep Story Mode with 25 levels and two difficulty settings; Relaxed and Challenging, along with 8 Skirmish Arenas, and an incredibly awesome & challenging Dark Mater Mode. There's also GameCenter integration with 20 achievements. 

Eufloria's control system is a perfect fit for the touch screen, has a fantastic ambient soundtrack, which you can check out below, and loads of replay value. It's easily one of my top 3 favorite RTS titles available in the AppStore, and now, everyone with an iPod Touch or iPhone can experience this mind-blowing game!

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Rayark's Live Concert For The iOS Music Game; Cytus!!!

Rayark, developers of the amazing tap-rhythm music title Cytus, has just had the very first live concert dedicated to an iOS title! The event was held at Legacy Taipei in Taiwan 4 days ago, on August 12th. The event had multiple performers showcasing their songs that are included in the game. Naotyu- & Miyu, Yamajet vs. Tom 2, Ani & Vocalists and Cranky x Sta and violinist Teppei Okada, famous for his rendition of the Super Mario Brothers Theme Song, were among the performers that night, playing songs from the game; Les Parfums de L'Amour, Retrospective, the Cytus Main Theme, Hard Landing/Prismatic Lollipops, DRG, Light Up My Love, Cytus Story Album Debut and loads more!

Check out some pictures from the show;

Since chances are most of you don't live anywhere near Taiwan, Rayark is showing the event Delay-Live on UStream at 18:40 (GMT+08:00) on August 18th!! Here's some times for those of you around the globe;

United States West Coast: 03:40

United States East Coast: 06:40

United Kingdom: 11:40

Thailand: 17:40

China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan: 18:40

Japan, Korea: 19:40

Australia (Sydney): 20:40

Granted, personally, it's showing at 6:40 AM, and 4:40 AM back home, this is one show you will NOT want to miss, so set your alarms, watches, iDevices, dogs, chickens, whatever you use to get up in the morning, to go off a little earlier than usual, and you'll be able to watch the first ever concert for an iOS game! Chances are, if you miss it, it'll be archived, so you don't really have to get up that early, or stay up that late in order to see it. =oP

We really hope this helps get Cytus more attention, and sales. It's definitely our favorite iOS tap-rhythm-music game, and with it's most recent update that included an awesome story mode and 9 new songs, now is the best time to check out this awesome game. Also, every time the game gets another 100,000 paid downloads, 10 new songs will be added to the game! If Cytus eventually gets 1 million paid downloads, the full 10 chapter Story Mode will be added, and gamers will have an astounding 100 songs to play and master!!! ONE FREAK'N HUNDRED!!! For the insanely low price of $1.99, and NO IAPs to speak of, not only is it our favorite iOS music game, but it's also one of only a couple that does not include extra music packs only through in-app-purchasing. It has the potential to eventually be the most complete, and content rich iOS music gaming title ever! You don't wanna skip over it, trust us! 

If  you want to know more about the game, you can check out our 4.5/5 star review written back in June, or check out the Official Rayark Website. You can also watch the trailer below. Then head on over to the AppStore, and pick up this fantastic game! 

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Slydris Soundtrack free to download, and Inferno+ dropped to $1.99 in celebration of Slydris going Universal!

Radiangames first non-shooter release for the iOS, Slydris, has just gone Universal in an update that also added some nice tweaks to the scoring system. Alongside this Universal update, the soundtrack for Slydris has been released and is available to download for FREE on Radiangame's Bandcamp page. If you haven't picked up Slydris yet, it's a fantastic puzzler, along the same lines as Tetris, but with enough differences to provide a completely different gameplay experience. You can watch the trailer below or check out our 5/5 star review here on The App Shack! We absolutely love Slydris, and are so psyched to be able to play it on the smaller screen. If you're a fan of block-shifting, line-erasing puzzlers, Slydris is designed just for you. If you're more into Radiangames shooter titles, don't miss out on Inferno+, it just got a new gameplay mode (Scorched, 3 semi-random, timed levels that have you collecting as much gold as possible), and is on sale for $1.99! If you haven't heard of Inferno+, or are still on the fence, check out our 4.5/5 star review!

Feel free to listen to the Slydris soundtrack below as well. It's one of our favorite soundtracks from the studio, and definitely deserves a listen!

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Neoteria's soundtrack is now available via Bandcamp!

Orange Pixel's fabulous retro shoot-em-up, Neoteria, has just had its soundtrack released through Bandcamp. Gavin Harrison has been chosen to work with OP on more than one occasion, so if you've enjoyed the music from Chrono & Cash and INC, you'll be able to check out those soundtracks on the site as well.

For $0.99, you'll get the 3 tracks included in the game, as well as one extra bonus track. Feel free to take a listen below, and then head on over to Gavin's site and check out more of his music!

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Ravenmark OST now available for FREE!

I know we aren't a music site or anything, but I know there's plenty of you out there that are hooked on video game music, and I've been wanting to start posting about iOS soundtracks for some time now. Anyway, Josh Whelchel's music for Ravenmark - Scourge of Estellion is fantastic. I've been completely blown away by the music ever since I got the game. And now the OST is available for free via bandcamp! Though, if you feel like donating, I'm sure they won't throw your money back at you. =o)

Make sure to check it out! There's some AMAZING tracks included, as well as a reprise of the main theme that isn't included in the game. You can go ahead and listen to it before you download it if you're so inclined. 46 tracks of RPG-Adventure-TBS style greatness!

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Tone Sphere [Bit192 Labs] - $0.99

Ever since I bought my kids a Wii, and Guitar Hero, rhythm games have kind of been a family affair. Now, it’s kind of hard to find rhythm games on the iOS that the whole family can get into, especially with all of our different musical tastes, but Cytus and Groove Coaster are two games that usually result in my wife, 3 daughters and myself fighting over the iPad so we can try and break the last players score. Bit192 Labs, a one man development studio located in Tokyo, first iOS release, Tone Sphere, is now the 3rd rhythm game that my family fights over. 

Graphically, Tone Sphere looks more like an Autechre video or influenced by one of Proem’s CD covers, which, in my book, is beyond awesome. The abstract objects that twist, turn, zoom in and out, flash and more to the beats and sounds of the music not only present some amazing eye candy, but also effect the positioning of the circles which you need to tap, which helps to add to the challenge, difficulty and fun of the game. 

Tone Sphere contains over 20 songs split up between 2 Episodes, all included with the original purchase of the game. There are no extra IAP or DLC songs, which is a huge plus. The music throughout the game ranges from Prog. House+Trance, J-pop, Dubstep, Post Rock, Alternative, Hi NRG, and more. The controls are like most other rhythm games, tap, hold or drag the circles when the outer ring hits the inner ring. The circles colors also get darker as they get closer to when they’re supposed to be tapped. There is no rhythm bar like in Cytus, but it’s clear when you need to tap the screen the second you start the game up. 

There are 4 different types of circles, red, silver, black and hold. Red notes generally go along with the main beat or musical instrument/keyboard line for the song while the silver notes do the same, but are scarce and worth 10x the points. Black notes will always have an arrow in them, and you need to drag in that direction instead of just tapping them, and the hold notes are usually for vocals, drum rolls, or quick musical notes, and need to be held until they disappear to get all of the points for them. There’s perfect, great, way off, and miss hits, and the timing for them is about the same as Groove Coaster, nice and tight, adding to the challenge.

Each stage has a possible 6 star ranking depending on your combo, how many perfect hits you get, and whether or not you miss any notes. Starting off, you’re able to see 5 stars, and they each fill up little by little as you make your way through the song. Once you fill all 5 of them up, if you keep tapping on the circles perfectly, you’ll get the hidden 6th star. 

The difficulty progression throughout the songs is perfect. If you play them all in order, they get a little harder with each new song. You also unlock songs as you complete others, and once you play through 10 of the songs in Episode 1, which contains Normal Difficulty songs, you unlock Episode 2, which contains the same songs, but on Hard Difficulty, which, once you get into, is clearly a huge step up in the difficulty level. Each song also has it’s own difficulty ranking, displayed by stars over the song in the song selection list, which, even though it isn’t necessary, is a nice addition. 

The only bad thing I can say about Tone Sphere is that is has no pause button. If you hold down the Icon in the top right corner, you’re taken back to the song selection screen, which can be kind of a bummer if you get a call, or just need to pause the game. But that’s the ONLY bad thing I can say about the game. Tone Spheres is Universal and priced at $0.99 for a limited time, so if you’re a fan of the genre, make sure you pick it up ASAP! It’s a fantastic rhythm based iOS game, and fits perfectly next to Miku Flick, Groove Coaster, Cytus, Jukebeat… with GameCenter integration containing leader boards for both Episodes combined totals adding tons of replay value to the already high amount, it’s a no-brainer. Bit192 Labs has definitely made a mark within the genre, and I can’t wait to see what The Man’s brain has in store for us in the future. 

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Micron [Apparition Games] - $0.99

After the success of Pulse, another rhythm based puzzler which came in 2nd place in the Kongregate contest “Project Eden: Experience The Music”. Apparition Games was formed, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. It seems like the music genre for iOS games is finally looking up. After loads of Guitar Hero type games that required tons of song purchases or were made to help sell music for one group, we’re starting to build a list of ‘must have’ games if you’re into the genre. Groove Coaster, Cytus, Thumpies, Miku Flick, Beat Sneak Bandit… well now we can add Apparition Game’s first iOS release, Micron, another rhythm based puzzler, to that list. 

In Micron, you need to place objects around a level, guiding balls to hit buttons, opening doors, to get a ball into the exit. A basic beat will be playing at the beginning of the stage, and every object within the level creates a sound. Bouncing balls off of platforms creates new sounds, which wind up making a full song by the completion of the level. Granted, music doesn’t effect the gameplay, but it’s a very creative use of beats and sounds merged into the gameplay, and it’s clear that a lot of thought, work, and testing has gone in to the placement and possible placements of each and every object. 

The controls in Micron are simple. In the left column, you’re given a certain amount of items which you can use to complete each level. To place them, you just need to tap on the level’s grid where you want to place the object, and then select the object from the column. Each exit has a barrier, which requires 4 balls hitting it in order to open, exposing the exit, which just needs one ball to enter to complete the level. There is no time limit, and each level is shown as complete by having a star next to it on the level selection screen. 

The level select screen is made up like a tree, with branching off stages which unlock when the previous stage is completed. This means that not every stage needs to be completed to get to the last level. As you progress through the game, more objects are thrown into the level designs, like different colored balls which can go through lasers of the same color, but can’t go through lasers of a different color. With the placement of different colored doors and buttons to open those doors around the levels, there’s some very nice level designs, especially later on in the game. 

All of this going on with each object being hit making a different sound is incredibly impressive. Sadly, there’s no real replay value, so after you complete the 51 stages, there’s no drive to keep you coming back. Also taking away from the replay value is the lack of GameCenter or OpenFeint. No achievements and no leaderboards. A game that has this much work and thought put into it suffering from no scoring system, leaderboards and achievements is kind of disappointing. If players were timed, or there was a score based on how quickly you completed the levels, and had that as the leaderboard, it would add quite a bit of replay value. Not to mention achievements. The game just needs something to keep players coming back to it. 

All-n-all, it’s a very impressive first title from Apparition Games. Priced at $0.99, and being Universal, those of you who have been waiting for more music based games to hit the AppStore should definitely pick this one up. The developer has said that he’s planning on adding more levels, more music, and possibly a level generator and way to share community generated content, but only if the game sells well. It’s a long shot, but here’s hoping that more will be added to Micron. There’s tons of potential here, and it would be a shame if Apparition Games didn’t take advantage of it. 

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Cytus [Rayark Inc.] - $1.99

Music based games on the iOS are almost always a disappointment. Miku Flick and Groove Coaster are the only ones that come to mind that have really kept my attention for more than a couple of minutes. Now, Rayark’s first iOS title, Cytus is another game that I can add to that very small list. Having incredibly easy to understand controls and gameplay along with fantastic graphics and all coupled with a great soundtrack, Cytus might just be my favorite music game on the iOS to date. 

Cytus’s gameplay is centered around tapping on bubbles when the line following along with the tempo crosses over them. Helping you figure out what bubbles need to be tapped, they grow from grey into a brightly colored mix of purple, blue and pink when the tempo line is going up, and yellow, green and orange when the line is going down and they’re ready to be hit. This makes for some very simple gameplay, but offers up the possibility of some very complex tapping, and developer, Rayark takes full advantage of that. Starting off, you’ll be able to play through only a couple of the available tracks, and only Easy Difficulty will be accessible. Once you complete songs with specific ratings, usually a B or above, you’ll unlock more tracks, and getting an A will unlock the Hard Difficulty for that track as well. 

There are 15** available tracks within the game, and with a fairly wide mix of genres ranging from Jazz and Pop to Trance and Drum & Bass, there’s a pretty high chance that you’ll fall in love with at least one of the songs in the game. Even if you’re not a fan of the music, it fits in perfectly with the graphic look and feel of the whole game, and is by no means cheesy like quite a few of the music games available. 

However, even with the great gameplay, awesome graphics, nice music and all around fantastic feeling of the game, there are a couple of issues. The bubbles that you’ll be tapping on do have a fairly large area for a ‘Perfect’ hit and a ‘Good’ hit. This does make the gameplay a little more easy than I originally thought it would be when watching videos of gamers playing songs on hard difficulty. There’s also some sections which, unless you know the song and bubbles by heart, are almost impossible to hit right because of where your fingers are placed right before. This is mainly an issue when there are bubbles that need to be held down on the screen for extended periods of time, and not when there are just bubbles that need to be tapped quickly. While holding down on these, there’s almost always quick tap bubbles that don’t appear until you let up off of the screen, either hidden under the line of the held down note, or directly under where your fingers are. 

There are 3 leader boards on GameCenter, one for your Total Easy Score, another for your Total Hard Score, and one for your Total Score which combines the totals of both difficulties. This does add quite a bit of replay value to the game, especially if you’re a high-score chasing GameCenter addict like myself. With Cytus being Universal, and priced at only $1.99, it’s a no-brainer. If you’re a fan of Musical Rhythm Based games, Cytus is one iOS game that you need to have on your device. There’s also more songs coming in future updates, which will be available for free, which is always great to hear. For their first iOS title, Rayark has done an outstanding job with Cytus. Hopefully this is just a glimpse of what they have in store for iOS gamers in the future. 

** There are actually 19 tracks in the game. Once you unlock hard mode on the track "Precipitation" you can drag up or down on the screen with two fingers, unlocking the secret. Sorry about this.

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'Beat Sneak Bandit' Review

It’s rhythm! No, it’s puzzle! Actually, it’s both: Rhythm AND puzzle! Simogo’s Beat Sneak Bandit is a rhythm puzzle game where you attempt to sneak your away around police officers, spotlights, and vacuums and you attempt to save the city from a terrible misfortune brought by Sir Duke.

Gameplay

The core of Beak Sneak Bandit’s gameplay lies in its simple one-tap control. You tap to move, turn around if you’re facing a wall, and climb stairs. With that, every level is presented as a puzzle, with obstacles such as police officers who cause you to fail if they see you, moving platforms, and buttons that open or close walls (which works both ways, because the wall allows you to turn around). As you move around, you attempt to collect 4 clocks as well as reach a final 5^th clock. Basically, it’s your classic 3-star level, but with 4 now. At the very heart, Beat Sneak Bandit is a basic puzzle game, however, when you add the rhythm element into the genre, it becomes a totally new game; it’s now a music puzzler. What’s fascinating is that the focus is not on a person’s ability to perform rhythms; the time signature is in 4/4, and you simply tap on one of the four quarter note beats to move. Instead, the game is about your ability to observe patterns in the level. As every obstacle makes a noise when they perform an action, you put your auditory skills and combine them with your visual skills to plan out your action, and these two elements blend perfectly. I cannot say how much joy I’ve gotten out of this game; it’s not just how fun it is, but how utterly creative it’s core element is; I’ve never seen it done before and it just works splendidly.

As a music aficionado, you can say that I may favor music games, but I can always easily find any flaws within the game. I can say with confidence that there are none to be found. However, those that do have trouble with rhythm may find the difficulty to be high, but I personally found the overall game to have a nice difficulty curve.

Presentation

Beat Sneak Bandit presents itself in a charming, funky sort of way, loaded with personality. I do have some minor complaints about the level select system, as you need to scroll through levels instead of simply picking one. Overall though, the game executes itself extremely well and is a refined piece of art. I can honestly say, it’s games like these that make me appreciate videogames as art.

Graphics

Flows well, no lag or crashing, and the artwork is nice and bright. It’s everything you could ask for. I don’t need to say anymore.

Sound

Oddly enough, as a music game, the music soundtrack isn’t as amazing as I thought it would be. With that said, there is nothing wrong with the funk and jazz tracks that it brings, as well as the noticeable music cues to aid your timing in the game; it’s still a strong element.

Replay

Beak Sneak Bandit offers 40 core levels, 16 shadow levels, 12 remix levels, and 1 boss level, for a grand total of 69 levels. Considering how each level might take a few tries to learn the pattern, you’ll be spending a decent amount of time trying to figure out how to 4-clock every level. It’s a game that will last you a decent amount of time, and if you’re still not done, then go for the achievements from Game Center.

Conclusion

Unless you’re continuously had dreadful experiences with any type of music or rhythm game, you’ll find Beat Sneak Bandit an immersive and unique experience. You’re not simply playing the game, but when you play, you’ll have immense appreciation for the game. And that’s why I can say with full confidence, Beat Sneak Bandit will be a top contender for Game of the Year.

Gameplay: 5/5

Presentation: 5/5

Graphics: 5/5

Sound: 4/5

Replay: 4/5

Overall: 5/5

Beat Sneak Bandit on iTunes

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