League Of Evil Is Back, Baby! This Sequel Is A Must For Any Platform Fan
League of Evil 2 ($0.99) by Ravenous Games is the much-anticipated sequel to the original game that launched last year. Are you ready to beat the crap out of more evil scientists?
I’m a big fan of platformer games, dating back to the original Super Mario Bros. on NES. Platform games are all about the challenge, the fun, and the incredible replay value. And that is exactly what you will find with LoE2.
With the sequel, you will find more addictive platform action and fluid controls. However, the one thing you won’t find are the charming 8-bit graphics that were present in the first game. Personally, I’m not sure why they changed it – I love the 8-bit graphics of the first game, and thought it was part of the charm. Though I guess it’s not always about the graphics, because the game itself is still insanely fun. If you weren’t a fan of the 8-bit style previously, then you should be a fan of the new, modernized art style. There are new hand illustrated graphics and even comic book cutscenes to enjoy in between levels.
You are once again a special agent tasked with the mission of defeating the evil scientists that have joined forces to become the “League of Evil.” Of course, you are a big old brute punching small, nerdy scientists – it’s so cliché, but still fun. I love the music in the game as well; it sounds like it came straight out of a cheesy action movie.
The controls are incredibly responsive, just like the original game. On the bottom left are your controls to move left and right, and the attack (button A) and jump (button B) buttons are found at the bottom right. The game seems to be pretty lenient on where your fingers are, because I did not miss a button due to lack of detection. This is a relief, because other games in the past had the detection area pretty small, which made for some frustrating gameplay.
There will be five worlds for you to unlock and explore, with each containing about 20 levels. There are also boss battles, so be prepared! Just like in the original game, the goal of each level is to find the scientist and punch him in the face (and thereby decapitating him at the same time). The faster you get to him and kill him (you’re timed), the more stars you get (up to three). However, if you can find the one briefcase on each level and collect it, you’ll get more stars. This isn’t required, but if you are a perfectionist, then this can prove to be a real challenge.
As I played the game, I was really impressed with just how fluid everything seemed to be. The controls are very responsive, and the animation in the game is just buttery smooth. Even performing jumps off of walls was easy and responsive, unlike some other games. The developers weren’t kidding when they said that they have the most responsive controls – they are just a pleasure to use.
The game itself is incredibly challenging, and reminds me of Super Meat Boy, though not as masochistic. The action is fast paced, and levels can take a few seconds to pass, if you're good at it, anyway. However, one wrong move and you're dead; I'm pretty sure most people may have to play through some levels multiple times to get past it, as well as get the best score. I did like the cartoony gore that you'll see when you die or defeat another enemy. If this isn't for you, it can be turned off in the Options.
There is Game Center integration for leaderboards, and there are 16 achievements to obtain. As you play, you can even unlock new costumes for your secret agent.
There is iCloud sync support for saving your game progress, though it seems a bit glitchy. I spent the time playing on my iPhone, then decided to pick it up on my iPad later in the day. My game progress didn’t transfer over to my iPad, but then when I go back to my iPhone, the iCloud sync started to work mysteriously, thus, making me lose all of my original progress. Not sure why this is, but hopefully the developers can get the kinks out of the iCloud game saving, because this is pretty frustrating.
Despite this, I have spent a good chunk of my day playing this sequel, and I highly recommend it to any fan of platformer games, or just fans of the original League of Evil. It's incredibly challenging, the graphics look great, the music is awesome, and there's a lot to do. It's a game that should definitely have a spot on any iPhone or iPad, and with the introductory price of $0.99, there is no excuse. If you want to try before you buy, there is a Lite version as well, which will give you the first five levels.
Now get out there and kick some evil scientist butt!
