Crazy Boxes Turns iDevice Into Arcade Shooter Game

Crazy Boxes (Free) by Esteve Animacio is a clever arcade shooting game for iOS.

Crazy things are inhabiting boxes and they’re popping the lids left and right. Aim the crosshairs at them and fire a ball to hit them between the eyes. Other firing options are available as well, including: volley fire, fire ball, and ice ball. You’ll need these when the boxes really do go crazy.

The game starts with a well-designed tutorial, which walks you through everything you’ll need to know. The developers were kind enough to include a skip button if you’d rather just start with your gun blazing. Also in a first I’ve seen, this interactive tutorial will show you how long you took to complete it, challenging you to try again for a faster time.

However, the real fun begins when the game starts for real, so you’ll most likely revisit playing the tutorial again at a later time.

Aiming the gun is done by physically moving your iDevice. Panning left and right or tilting up and down will move the crosshair. Simply tap anywhere on the screen to fire.

Speaking of fire, you’ll need it as an option during gameplay, especially when multiple boxes pop open at the same time. The fire ball acts like a bomb, hitting multiple boxes within its blast radius. Opposite of that is the ice ball, which will temporarily freeze all of the open boxes. Finally, the volley mode will continuously shoot the balls for a short duration.

The tutorial recommends you use the special fire modes in combination with each other to score more points. For example, freeze all of the open boxes first and then use the volley mode to hit the boxes before they thaw.

Freemium aside, this is still a cool game to play. Holding your iDevice in front of you may be tiring, but at least the round only lasts for a minute. Trying to keep up with the hectic action will make a minute go past before you know it.

One cool feature that the developer promises to release as an update is the ability to add a picture of someone’s face to be the crazy things popping out of the boxes.

Set your sights on the App Store to pick up this gem.