Super Crate Box (Universal), the scintillating arcade-style action platformer from indie superheroes Vlambeer, hit the App Store last night, and with it the tradition of great videogame boxes continues.

If you read this blog, I assume you recognize the top four boxes in that picture up there. And I’ll bet they’re all tied to emotional memories, too — a little jolt that runs up your spine when you see each of them. Something like despair, amusement, affection, and excitement, respectively.

SCB’s eponymous box adds a new feeling to that list: suspense.

In SCB, the all-important box does two things. First, it gives you a new weapon. No surprise there. Second, it gives you one point. That’s the revolution. In Super Crate Box, the only way you can score points, the entire purpose of the game, is to grab a box. That means you get zilch for killing enemies. That means you have to switch weapons constantly, even when you got your favorite two seconds ago. That means you can never get comfortable. That means every time you approach a box, you know the entire game is about to flip on its head, for better or worse, so you have to be prepared for anything. The tension is beautiful.

That’s the singular flash of inspiration in the concept behind SCB’s box, but what’s inside the box shows a meticulous attention to detail. The weapons in the game are all familiar—mini guns, revolvers, laser rifles, grenade launchers—but they are executed with balance, precision, and variety. Each forces you to play in a different way: land mines are powerful but require time and space to operate, while the disc gun instantly cuts through swaths of monsters if you can dodge its rebound. You’ll praise the lord when you get a rocket launcher with a big red baddie in your face, and curse the developer as you pull dual pistols with enemies swarming. And because you never know what’s next, at some point you will have to rely on each and every weapon to get you out of a jam, even the one you hate the most (I’m looking at you, flamethrower).

The chaos created by running all over and adapting to random weapons gives SCB a depth of strategy that’s rare in fast-paced, action heavy games. You must constantly balance your desire to run after boxes to score points with your need to clear out monsters so you don’t die. As you unlock more advanced arenas and more frantic game modes, you have to develop an intimate feel for each weapon and a balletic touch with your character’s movement to survive more than a few seconds. And since SCB’s physics and mechanics are wound as tight as the most relentlessly hardcore bastard of a retro game, this learning curve is nothing but a joy to climb. Well, besides the time you spend cursing.

And now we come to the elephant in the room. Super Crate Box was originally a PC game, and as you know, PC games are often controlled with the keyboard. You may also notice that neither the iPhone nor iPad can use a keyboard to control games. What a conundrum!

Look, I know this is supposed to be a big deal. And I promise, few despise virtual controllers on iOS games more than me. I couldn’t bring myself to put the super awesome platformer Pix’n Love Rush on our list because I never felt I could rely on its controls in tight situations. But just a few hours before I wrote this up, I posted a 102 in SCB on my iPad. Granted, it was on the easiest mode and level, but that’s like 70 higher than I ever managed on the PC. Vlambeer got help on this port from seasoned App Store developer Halfbot, and it shows. You might need a few rounds to get comfortable with the virtual buttons, but honestly, after playing the game heavily for a week, I don’t even think about the controls anymore. They just work.

On the PC, Super Crate Box was a pure, perfect gem of a game. It lost nothing in its translation to iOS. And it gave us our latest great videogame box, a modest little brown crate, filled with suspense and thrills.

—Nick

9 Notes/ Hide

  1. knguyenknguyen reblogged this from playontap and added:
    I’ve been playing...couple days — lots...hundred times...
  2. playontap posted this