Destroy The Enemy Knights And Save The Princess In Catapult King
Catapult King ($0.99) by Chillingo Ltd is a game that asks players to become the catapult, using projectiles to annihilate castles, forts, and more, in order to rescue the stolen princess.
Catapult games aren’t exactly new. In fact, there are quite a few in the App Store, but none are quite as good as Catapult King. If a game is going to be unoriginal, it needs to be excellent to stand out in a genre where there are already plenty of options, and luckily, Catapult King does exactly that with its gorgeous 3-D graphics and innovative gameplay.
Your goal in each level is to use your catapult to destroy the enemy base, which can take many different forms. You will need to eliminate each knight on the structure, while also attempting to collect gems and stars to accumulate magic points and high scores.
To send projectiles towards enemies, you will draw back on the catapult with your finger, and move it from side to side to aim. Dragging your finger further backwards will increase the force of your rocks; to use less force, simply don’t pull back as far.
The cog, which is to the right of the spot where you launch rocks, is used to adjust the height of the catapult, which changes the trajectory of your launches.
Aiming is straightforward, and the controls in general are well designed for this game. Projectiles go where you expect them to go, and hit structures have the appropriate falling response.
At the beginning of each level, you’re given a detailed view of each structure, but you can also tap to the side of the catapult for a zoomed out view, and swipe to look around.
It can be difficult to determine where your projectiles will land, so the game incorporates magic to help you out. You can use the magic points that you earn at the end of each level to purchase help with aiming, which will make it easier to determine the trajectory of your launches.
There are also other magic spells that can be used for particularly tricky levels, including a shockwave ball that will take down nearly anything and a lunar storm launch that will send multiple projectiles raining down from the sky. You have a limited number of magic points to use at any given time, so you’ll want to save your special abilities for the challenging levels.
Catapult King has full Game Center support with leaderboards and plenty of achievements to earn, plus a total of 64 levels to complete.
It’s surprisingly fun to come home after a long day at work and send projectiles launching at buildings, so Catapult King is a great stress reliever, and at just $0.99, it’s a great deal, too.
