QuickAdvice: Lame Castle Is Anything But Lame
Lame Castle ($0.99) by Bradley Johnson is a running platformer where you must dash your way to save the kingdom and get the princess from evil Wizzy wizard's castle!
For those unfamiliar, Sony had some PSP commercials featuring the spokesperson, Marcus, who slammed on the iPhone and other mobile phones and the games that people play on them. In one commercial, an iPhone was featured with a fake game called "Lame Castle." Well, now that game has actually come into fruition.
Lame Castle is very similar to other games like Canabalt, Monster Dash, and Robot Unicorn Attack. You control the knight who dashes on his pony stick and must jump or dash through obstacles and rack up points while speeding up. There are 24 levels to go through, and there are bonus goals that will unlock new modes in Endless Mode.
The controls are fairly simple, with the left button to jump and the right button to dash. Sound familiar? It's the same as other games like the ever popular Robot Unicorn Attack.
I mentioned some bonuses earlier. Bonuses involve getting a certain amount of points from smashing a certain amount of rocks, juggling chickens, looting chests, or just scoring a certain amount of points.
When you reach these bonuses, they unlock new modes in the Endless Mode. So if you get the chicken punt bonuses, you'll get the Endless Mode version, where you only score points by doing that specific action, like punting chickens or rock smashing.
Of course, if you feel like going the old RUA method, there is a normal Endless Mode. Dash as far as you can, and smash through obstacles and rack up points.
It's the same concept as the other games, but what makes Lame Castle great is the graphics and music. I found the cartoony graphics to be a nice touch and they remind me of colored pencil drawings. The music is pretty quirky too, and speeds up with your character. If your character slows down from obstacles, then the music slows down as well. It all goes together so well.
Lame Castle also features Game Center integration for achievements and leaderboards. You can compare your score among your friends and with the rest of the world, and see how many achievements are left.
I found this game to be pleasure to play, and is different enough from other games in the same category. It's especially hilarious watching your knight punt chickens and sticking the lance in the lame castle at the end. The game is different enough from the other games that will keep you coming for more.
The only thing I noticed is that the game doesn't have Retina display support for some of the graphics in the menu screens and the game icon. But this isn't a major issue, and should definitely not stop you from getting this game.
Despite the name, it's certainly not lame at all.
