Sketch Nation Shooter Review
PROS
- Lots of embedded content to download.
- Relatively flexible creation tools.
- 'Endless' re-playability.
CONS
- Reliant on Facebook for social connectivity.
- Limited gameplay variation.
VERDICT
Much like Little Big Planet, buying in to Sketch Nation Shooter will provide you with more content than you could ever need, but clever artwork and ideas can't always mask simple, repetitive gameplay.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
When Little Big Planet was released an interesting article was written discussing the game's successes and failures, but one part in particular stuck with me. Paraphrased it goes along the lines of 'not everyone is a game designer, so why should we expect the games to be better than average?'. Sketch Nation Shooter by Engineous Games has brought a DIY shoot'em-up kit to the App Store, but is it worth the admission price?
As a shooter most of the titles are fairly generic, but the example levels give a good indication of just how flexible the system can be. For those not merely downloading levels, the 'Simple' creation mode provides an easy to follow step-by-step system that spits out a fairly generic game. 'Advanced' mode is a huge step up and gives you a whole host of options including multiple enemies, bosses, landscape and control over game rules.
Facebook is used to connect to and share or download titles created in the game. The true success of 'make and share' titles are tied to the strength of their social networking and it's not a bad idea to bring on board people you might already know. With that said, a 5-star system is used to generate an average popularity for titles and makes it hard for all but the most determined of downloaders to find worthy new creations.
Sketch Nation Shooter isn't always a perfect experience, but for the entry fee you're guaranteed more content then you could ever need and a few gems to boot.
Screenshots
$0.99
