Infinity Gene is a shooter worth your iPhone dollars
Reviewer Device: iPhone 3G
Graphics:
The game relies on a mixture of original Space Invaders graphics, as well as a series of stylized new enemies. New enemies are consistent to the overall Space Invaders theme, and blend well with the original graphics. Menus are also highly stylized and fit well with the overall line/pixel art look. Fitting with the "evolution" theme, game graphics become more complicated as new levels are unlocked, but they never divorce themselves entirely of the original graphical style.
Music:
Techno remixes are the name of the game for this release, with each level having its own individual song as well as an unlockable music jukebox for those who enjoy the tunes. I found most of the music did not detract from the game, and some of the tracks were rather memorable. Also one of the modes of the game allows you to play your own music and create random stages based off that music.
Controls:
There are no tilt or vibration controls, everything is handled via touch. I found that the vast majority of the time I had no issue moving the ship even through some rather tight bullet spreads, but after extended periods of play the screen would become less responsive due to sweat or oils on the skin. This can be solved by wiping the screen off a bit between stages if you find it to be an issue.
Gameplay:
Infinity Gene plays like a modern vertical shooter, such as rRootage or Warning forever. It has a variety of bosses and weapons, and uses a "gene" bar to unlock new powers for your ship, special features, hidden stages, and new levels. I found that the game became rather difficult after the first sets of stages, but that this could be overcome with playing the level and building up your gene bar for powerful weapons and an increased number of lives.
Length:
The game itself is longer then your average iPhone game, and I was unable to reach the end after playing it for over 30 hours. It also has a great deal of longevity in the form of its "Music" function where it generates a random stage by using your music library, overlaying that song while you play through the stage. It should be mentioned however that there are no ways to control the difficulty of these random stages and that they are quite challenging. I would have appreciated the ability to scale them back somewhat.
Speed:
Other then a loading screen at the beginning I was able to play this game without any slowdowns. Touch and iPhone players of any generation should be able to play this game without any speed issues.
Misc. Complaints:
The game is very well put together, but suffers somewhat from a lack of documentation and broken English throughout the game. Explanations of abilities like "Nagoya Attack" (which is actually a special way of dodging an enemy bullet to gain points, not any sort of attack) are almost completely incomprehensible, and while the titles of each new power-up are generally enough to explain what they do, the detailed descriptions sound like they were run through babelfish. Also the random music stage doesn't appear to be synced up to the music you choose, I found this a bit disappointing.
Buy or Not?:
Currently priced at 4.99$ on the App Store, fans of Vertical Shooters should buy this game immediately, as it contains all of the hallmarks of the genre, from power-ups to bullet frenzies and random stages. You will get a lot of playtime out of this game, and the evolution mechanic ensures that even if you find yourself stuck that you won't stay stuck for long. The music stages, while difficult, are fun to pick up and play while waiting in line or whatever situation you may find yourself playing an iPhone game. If you're not a fan of this genre, wait for the inevitable 99 cent sale a couple months down the line and pick up this excellent iPhone Game.
Final Score: 4/5 - A good iPhone game in a sea of crappy ports and fart horns that would benefit from better translation of the menu screens and a bit more control over the random music stage feature.
