System: iPhone/iPod Touch
Price: $2.99
Genre: 2D Shooter
Demo Available: Yes

I thought I'd try my hand at reviewing for once, so for my second one here, I thought I'd try a game I've been enjoying on a system I am somewhat embattled with. I personally don't see the iPhone as a gaming system, or at least the kind like the DS and PSP. The iPhone is a mobile phone and that's it, but that aside, I've found a couple of games that I can't find anywhere else (that I know of) that I've been enjoying. Isotope is one of them.


Your typical gameplay screen.

At first glance, you probably will say "oh hey, this is a Geometry Wars ripoff." You're partially correct. Yeah, it has quite a few elements that resemble GW (the style being the biggest thing) but I think this kinda like a sequel done by other people. I'll explain the differences as I go along.

Isotope is controlled by the two circles on the bottom, an attempt at replicating the dual-stick designs we've seen become popular since the first DualShock. You can actually set up the controls in a number of ways, from the circles remaining in place, to them following your thumbs, or even setting it up for accelerometer control. The left stick does movement while the right fires in that direction.

The game is different in that there is an EXP/upgrade system. Unlike the normal GW where you fire and have the same gun through the entire game, you can upgrade your three attributes of Guns, Shield, and CPU as you level up. Your ship starts at one in each attribute and has a maximum it can go in that stat. Guns is attack power, Shield is your health, and CPU is an interesting stat. CPU determines how many of the stat-boosting Modules, temporary-use Abilities, and auto-use Satellites your ship can attach. There is also a multiplier that goes up to 3x for boosting EXP and money earned, though it resets after a few seconds of no kills, or when you take damage.

There is a shop in the game where you spend the credits you earn in battle. In the shop, you can buy new shops (or unlock them), buy new ships, new abilities, modules, and satellites. Wait, new ships? Yeah. Isotope has a good number of ships with varying stat maximums and attack types. For instance, the default ship Hydrogen only gets 3/3/2 in Guns/Shield/CPU, and its attack type is Stream/Bullet. A decent ship for a starter that sends quite a bit of bullets to the enemy. One of my favorites, Beryllium has 4/4/3 maximums, and its attack is Normal/Heatseeker. It sends single streams of shot at enemies and naturally homes, but it doesn't have great oomph. One I bought early but ditched until recently is Sodium, 3/3/5 and Spread/ReflectBullet, a shotgun spread that travels a short distance and, yes, will reflect off of walls. Those are just three ships, mind you. Modules increase your ship stats, and/or speed, EXP/credits earned. Abilities are things like "invincible speed boost" or "heal damage to your ship" or "freeze time" and you have a set number of uses of them per stage with a cooldown timer for most. Satellites do things like "knock back enemies" or "shoot behind you" or "automatically heal when you get low on health." This is a feature also found in GW Galaxies, though there is a little variety in what they do since the focus isn't on ramming/destroying enemies so they don't OHKO you.


You'll see this guy quite a bit, sadly.

You have to buy each level/world a you complete them. This isn't really a big deal as you'll generally be drowning in enough cash to buy the levels as you go through the game. Worlds have a max of five levels and I've seen as few as three each, and there are eight worlds, not counting the five tutorial levels. The gameplay flows as thus: You start in a room and have to fly into a pulsating blue circle. The circle disappears, and enemies will start to appear. Destroy them all, and waves continue until the room is complete. Then a white arrow points you to the exit and you fly into another room and repeat the process until the end, where you usually face one of three bosses (that I've encountered so far). Honestly, that does sound repetitive, but it's not too bad, though I'm disappointed the boss selection is so small. They do mix it up a bit, like pitting you against two at once or having enemies infinitely swarm you as you fight, but I would've liked a little bit more variety on that side.

So, in summary:

What I Liked:
+ Quick shooter for pick-up/put-down gameplay (stages take as long as five minutes so far)
+ RPG elements allow your ship to get stronger the more it is used
+ You are able to customize your ships to a degree using parts bought in shops
+ Appeals strongly to "collector's frenzy" with a number of ships and add-ons to buy
+ Decent normal enemy variety

What I Didn't Like:
- Only three bosses total, so far
- Controls sometimes didn't work as expected, or sometimes would activate Abilities on accident due to their placement
- The Intensity multiplier drains too quickly (usually by the time I've gone to the next room, it's reset to 1x; may be for balancing). It also seems to reset when you take damage using invincible Booster though you lose no health (bug/feature?)
- Ships are not completely unique (by shape or bullet type, though some are obvious evolutions)
- CPU stat seems to do nothing beyond 5

Final Verdict: Honestly, I'd say go ahead and buy it now, but as always, demo when you can as one is available! This was a surprise hit for me, and I find myself going back to it time and time again to boost up another ship or trudge forward in Campaign, or get slaughtered in Survival. I had to struggle to really find much (validly) wrong with it. Even if you didn't like Geometry Wars that much, you might get some great playitme out of Isotope. I don't have many 2D shooter games on my iTouch, but in a sea of iMobs, DS Effects titles, and poorly-made games, Isotope is a gem that truly shines.