Physics platformers would love to check this game out. Space Bikers, developed by Mobirate and published by Chillingo gives the genre an extra with its storyline.
You take control of a bunch of Space Bikers, who crash-landed on Earth. Guide them through various obstacles such as books, boxes and puzzles around the house to collect the required parts required to fix the damaged space craft.
Space Biker uses an advanced physics engine, similar to the multi-platform hit title Bike or Die 2, also published by Chillingo. Unlike BoD2, the game is more forgiving though. For example, my biker could hit the wall or an object, but that won’t cause a restart of the level unless he falls off the bike. The physics engine is so advanced that I could even decapitate the bikers by riding them underneath certain low-placed obstacles – check out some of the screenshots in the gallery.
Story mode levels require that you find a certain number of the required parts. It turned out to be a bag of pain at first, as I was having my biker wondering around without any guidance or on-screen navigation. Not until I found out that I could actually pause the game to explore the whole gameplay area. Note to self: read the manual first the next time!
If you find yourself repeating the same level over and over again (you shouldn’t, really!) then try looking into the options menu for the easy mode. This enables the checkpoints feature which basically lets your biker respawn in a certain location if he ever falls from the bike. It is something not available in the more challenging hard mode.
Aside to the story mode, the game also comes with a set of mini games as well as quick race modes. Quick race modes are unlocked once you complete the said level in story mode. Likewise, you’ll be able to pick up the mini games after completing it at least once in the story mode. Since the story mode involves collecting all required parts and could be finished quite quickly, the additional levels definitely gives an extra mileage to the replayability department.
Control-wise, the game lets you choose between using the accelerometer or on-screen buttons. The on-screen buttons could be customised further, you can change their locations for example. I used the on-screen buttons throughout my reviewing of the game and find it to work smoothly with no hiccups whatsoever.
Graphics-wise, the game looks quite polished. Gameplay area is depicted in 3D space, giving an extra depth to the experience. Certain objects in the game are pretty detailed, while some others look quite washed.
Accompanying you and your bikers on their quest to fix the damaged space craft is a country-music soundtrack. Weird combination, I’d say that they should have used a futuristic track – but the country track is engaging nevertheless.
Overall, if you want a casual physics platformer and find that repeating a certain level 200 times without success is not your cup of tea, then Space Bikers would definitely fit the bill. It is quite forgiving to mistakes – the added story line makes completing the game a more enjoyable experience.
Space Bikers is available now from the iTunes Store at a discounted price of $0.99. The game has recently seen an update to include an additional rider (making it a total of four) and more additional levels to boot.
Check out the gameplay video (courtesy of Mobirate) right below.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 Taps
App Data
App Name: Space Bikers v1.1 | Publisher: Chillingo Ltd. | Purchase via: iTunes App Store @ $0.99 | Released: Mar 28, 2009 | Reviewed on: iPod touch v2.2.1
