I’d Buy That For A Dollar: Dr. Awesome and AlienCab

Dr. Awesome $0.99

Dr. Awesome has actually been around for quite some time as it it released in 2008. The first time I played as the doctor, I was on an iPod Touch before the iPhone 3G was even available. I was new to the iPhone/iPod Touch gaming scene, but I knew I was making the right choice based solely on the all caps eight word and one abbreviation description:

“YOU ARE DR. AWESOME, THE WORLD’S MOST POPULAR MICROSURGEON”

There is actually more to the description, but I have never gone back to read it. I’ve already learned all I need to know. It’s also worth noting that you are actually the most popular, which doesn’t not necessarily mean you are the best. This is especially true if we are working on popular music standards.

Dr. Awesome uses the accelerometer almost exclusively. You have to tap the screen to navigate through menus, but the gameplay is all tilting. As the doctor, you are given a plane of tissue, and your goal is to use the accelerometer to navigate a slicing laser to isolate germs and cancerous viruses. It sounds much more gruesome than it actually is, which is especially true when you consider the goofy dialogue and emotive characters. It’s very straightforward and simple, but it can become difficult very quickly, but never to a point of no return frustration.

One thing that Dr. Awesome does that is incredibly simple, but really quite brilliant, is borrow names from your address book. The game won’t save personal data, or arbitrarily call your parents (or so it claims), but it will take the names of your friends and family and insert them into your game. This means that next person you have to surgery on could be your best friend, or that person you vaguely remember getting the phone number of that one night at that one thing. It’s a simple ploy, and one whose illusion is broken pretty quickly when it asks for permission to root through your phonebook, but it actually makes the game a humorously emotional experience. The characters will even make comments saying things like, “don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of the surgery today, you need to keep it together!”

Dr. Awesome is an older title, that never received any updates, which means that the memo about the retina display passed right by them. The game does not look bad by any means, but if you are playing on an iPhone 4, you will be able to see some pixelation. No updates also means no Game Center compatibility. There are achievements to be gained, which is nice, but they don’t count towards a greater good which can be disappointing.

Customization options are also somewhat limited, which means that the only way the accelerometer works, is the way it will always work. You can’t adjust the setting to be more sensitive, or less sensitive, nor can you set a starting centered point. This means that you won’t playing Dr. Awesome laying on your back.

AlienCab $0.99

AlienCab is a game that involves a lot of tracing, a lot of aliens, a couple planets, but only one exploding alien head.

AlienCab works like the incredibly popular Flight Control, but instead of directing airplanes safely to their landing strip destination, you are directing (presumably) tourist aliens to their planet of choice in a convenient space taxi. If you crash taxis among your intricate web of crisscrossing paths, then it is game over. You can also get a game over if you take too long to pick up an alien. If you take too long to pick them up, then their head will explode, and the game will end, which is why there only ever be one exploding alien head.

AlienCab separates itself from Flight Control in a lot of good ways. It makes the game feel like it belongs in the same genre certainly, but is far from being a ripoff. The game is set in space and has aliens for one. That is a far more compelling scenario than that of an airport. In Flight Control, the best you can hope for is to deliver a businessman to a meeting on time, or making sure a family member can get to a far away relative. In AlienCab you are delivering space aliens to space planets. Who knows what those guys are doing. The aliens could be delivering space cheese to Plutorians in dire need! It’s an unknowable, and a lot more compelling.

The visual style of AlienCab is incredibly sharp. The aliens themselves look like the typical large headed creatures we are used to seeing, and the backgrounds and planets are pretty simple, but the game takes full advantage of the retina display on the iPhone 4, and looks great. The music also provides an almost creepy aura to the game, and just sounds correct in the space setting.

AlienCab is simple, and the main incentive to keep playing the game is to beat your high score. There are no levels to unlock, but there are achievements to be gained through Crystal. It’s the sort of game that you almost need to be high score battling someone against in order to fully appreciate. It’s easy to post your score to twitter, and if you are part of the Crystal community you can compare high scores and achievements. There is not Game Center compatibility yet though, which is somewhat disappointing. That really comes down to where you like to earn your achievements though. You may be perfectly happy with Crystal, and in that case then you can destroy high scores to your hearts desire.