Tunnel Shoot for iPhone Review: Visually Impressive, but Shallow on Features

App Name:	Tunnel Shoot
Platforms:	Universal: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Publisher(s):	Backflip Studios
Version Reviewed:	1.1
Release Date:	6/24/2010

What is it about space that screams danger? I can’t remember the last time I played a game set in space that didn’t involve monsters, meteors, viruses, or death of some other flavor. For once, I’d like to just take a leisurely drive through space without encountering enemies who want me dead . . . Alas, Tunnel Shooter is not that game. It breaks no new barriers, instead delivering just what we’d expect from a space racer/shooter. The final product is not bad. The stylish graphics and enjoyable gameplay may even bring you back a few times, but Tunnel Shooter is far from stunning, and instead its gameplay offers a decent diversion for a few minutes at a time.

Putting Tunnel Shooter’s premise into words would go something like this: Race down a tunnel in space while avoiding obstacles and using your plasma cannon to clear the way . . . Anyone spending 99 cents on Tunnel Shooter and hoping to dive into an epic, space-saga story line will be sorely disappointed. Then again, if you’re at all familiar with Backflip Studios, you probably already knew that. These are the people who brought us games like Ragdoll Blaster, Paper Toss, and Strike Knight. As these games indicate, their goal is not to integrate story and gameplay to recreate a console-type experience. Rather, they aim at addictive gameplay with a lot of replay value. Backflip’s history in the App Store shows that they hit more than they miss, and in the end, Tunnel Shooter is no exception. It’s only departure from the studio’s past work is its higher emphasis on visuals, and which greatly benefits a game like this.

Your spaceship is controlled using mostly tilt controls (though the screen must be touched to fire the plasma cannon). Tilt left or right to send the ship sliding up the tunnel’s curved walls. It’s possible to hold a tilt in one direction and make the ship do a complete rotation around the tube. This mechanic makes for some interesting situations when it comes to dodging obstacles. The developer’s did well accommodating the constant perspective shifts and avoiding confusion. Instead, making the ship gracefully slide around the tunnel and avoid harm is half of the fun.

Aside from the tilt controls, there are two commands that require touching the screen. Fire the plasma cannon by tapping and holding. At first, this will result in a triple stream of dots issuing out of the cannon and taking out whatever is in their wide path. However, after just a brief moment this triple stream is reduced to a single line of plasma dots, and you’ll have to stop firing in order for the cannon to recharge and once again fire three at a time. In addition to the basic cannon, you’ll occasionally be rewarded with mega bombs that, when fired, clear everything out of your way and make it smooth space-sailing for a few seconds.

The 3D graphics visually set Tunnel Shooter above most of the games we play on our iPhones. However, the constantly changing geometric shapes that represent your enemies can be a bit of a jumbled mess at points. For example, the green dots represent health replenishment that can be picked up, but they’re often lost in the mix until your eyes adjust and you begin to recognize each item/object for what it is. Differentiating between concrete objects that must be avoided (and not shot) and monsters (which can be cleared with the cannon) is also a necessary task made difficult by how things tend to blend together.

The detractions from making Tunnel Shooter great result not from what’s there, but rather from what Backflip left out. There is only one mode of play (which is “endless”), and there is no story to flesh-out the idea of rocketing down an endless space tunnel. While theses elements may not be necessary to make a game fun, they go a long way in delivering a complete experience . . . But even lacking these things, Backflip Studios provides what we’ve come to expect from them: Fluid gameplay that looks nice and provides some distracting entertainment. Fans of the studio’s past work won’t be disappointed, and it’s easily worth the low price.

Our Score: 3/5

Tunnel Shoot is $0.99 at the time of this review.

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Devin Wieland

 

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