Dam Buster Review for iPhone and iPod Touch

A fun and simple game for the iPhone, Dam Buster, by Cobra Mobile, takes you back to a World War II era setting, your mission: to destroy the enemy dam after flying through hostile airspace. While this is no straight-up action game, Dam Buster gives you a wacky new look at flying games.

Review

When opening Dam Buster for the first time, the game presented itself as a much more complex game experience than what the reality was. But the game basically boils down to a new iteration of that old flash game everyone used to play, Penguin Golf.

The goal of the game is to fly through enemy airspace, all the while dodging incoming artillery and enemy planes. There are also gas canisters that you can pick up, increasing your speed. After a certain point, your aircraft flies low and you then prepare to drop your bomb. You pick the speed and direction of the launch, and let go. Ideally, the bomb drops, bounces on the water all the way to the dam, and then destroys it. But if you happen to miss or launch too slow of a bomb the first run, you get three chances.

There are bonuses available each level as well. You have little allies floating in the water, in the shape of yellow rubber duckies. But don’t underestimate these little squeak toys by their cute and harmless outer appearance. If your bouncing payload hits one of this chew toys, the ensuing explosion will send your bomb high in the sky, giving it that extra boost it potentially needs. But be wary, the duckies can do as much harm as good. Hit one too close to the target and your bomb will sail right over the enemy dam.

The scoring system is straight forward and gives you an opportunity each level to score a ton of bonus points. Each floating duckie, each remaining life, and each time you destroy the dam on the first flyby, you get stacked with points.

Gameplay for Dam Buster switching between accelerometer usage and the touch screen. You start with the accelerometer to navigate around the artillery and enemy planes. Then once you are aiming for the dam, you spin the bomb with your finger to determine the speed of the throw, then tap to set the angle of the throw. So as you can see, very straight forward.

The audio for Dam Buster is what impressed me the most. The soundtrack was old collegiate “graduation” music, while the sound effects blended perfectly with the gameplay. Not overly noisy or annoying, the audio complemented the levels and the overall setting of the game.

Some things that could be improved upon are the, for one, the scoring system. Adding a global ranking system would help draw gamers back to see how they rank up against others, and give them that push to try for new high scores. Also, I think this could be an interesting multiplayer experience, maybe have one person control the artillery and enemy planes while the other tries to destroy the others base. Anything to give the game a deeper gaming experience, as the current gameplay is good for just those quick gaming sessions.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game for its simple controls, great audio that compliments the gameplay nicely, and the idea behind the game. If you are looking for a quick game to help pass those minutes in line at a restaurant, or while stuck in traffic, Dam Buster is a great app to choose.

Tips

1. I’m giving her all she’s got, Captain! While its always reassuring to get the throwing power up to 100%, its not always necessary. If the distance to the dam is pretty close, a full on bombardment might miss the target.

2. Aiming is everything. If you happen to just damage the dam after the first pass, make sure to readjust your aim accordingly. Aim too high, and the bomb will sail RIGHT over the target and that means less points for you, maybe even game over.

Recommendation

I would recommend Dam Buster to those in need of a “filler game,” all you need to spare is a minute of your time and $.99!

Photos

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