Plummet To The Earth's Core And Save It From Destruction In Stan Lee's Verticus

There's a story to go along with the game, as you would expect from something that comes from Stan Lee. You control a hero named Veritcus, who is equipped with a super high-tech, heat-resistant jump suit. It kind of looks like the outfits they wore in TRON: Legacy, actually. Anyway, there is an evil race known as The Obliterators, and they want to destroy the Earth from the inside out, thanks to an explosive weapon in the core of the earth. Verticus must plummet from the sky and into the Earth's core in order to get the weapon and get it away from the innocent.

The visuals in this game are extremely sharp and crisp, and look fantastic on Retina iDevices. The game also features excellent music and sound effects, and the best part is the fact that the story is narrated by Lee himself. He will also give you encouraging messages as your mission commander, so you’d better listen up.

At the start of each game, you must power up Veritcus’ suit by touching the screen. As you drop through the skies, you’ll have to steer him along the way. This is done by moving your thumb around in the bottom right corner. Once you get the missiles, you can launch them with the button on the bottom left corner. Missiles will auto-target any enemies or bombs that are in your path, and will fire on their own for a brief amount of time. Use the missiles wisely, though, as they need to recharge once used. A map of your current location on the Earth will be shown in the top right corner. The scenery will change as you get closer to the core.

You will find gold rings and purple orbs to collect along your journey. The rings and orbs are used in the shop to purchase power-ups, upgrades, and even alternative suits for Verticus. As you upgrade the suit, the game will become easier, allowing you to take more hits and have faster reload times. The purple orbs can also be used to continue your game if you die, with the cost starting out small but increasing each time.

Green triangles and spheres will provide a boost to Veritcus once he falls through them, so try and get them when they pop up. These boosts also more than likely lead to a path of rings or orbs as well, so take advantage of that. You can view your current health and armor with the meters at the top — when these stats are upgraded, you are able to take a few hits on obstacles or attacks before you are done for.

Verticus also has missions that you should try and accomplish, which will earn you orbs as rewards. There are three objectives at a time, so make sure to check them out before diving in. Once you get rid of the bomb, Verticus will fall back to the Earth and do it all over again, hence why this is an endless faller, despite there being a story. It's kind of like Infinity Blade and the endless bloodlines. Game Center is integrated for leaderboards and achievements.

Sometimes I’m finding it a bit difficult to precisely collect coins and gems, due to the perspective. It’s not that big of a deal, but I hope that it can be optimized in the future. Regardless, the game is still extremely fun to play.

If you're a fan of endless runners, then Verticus will be just what you want. Make sure to get it in the App Store for your iPhone and iPad for $1.99.