Caster is a unique third person shooter for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Your mission is to protect Middon world by eliminating the Flanx. The Flanx are uniquely designed creatures that sometimes look like cockroaches, and other times look like blobs of slime. You can enter your name as the main character at the start of the game. That's about as much customization as you'll get. You start off with the “pulse” as your primary weapon. You discover new weapons as you progress through the game and can upgrade them with the credits you earn after each level. Weapons can actually change the landscape. Fire your “blast” weapon at the ground, and it creates a giant hole for creatures to fall into. Killing enemies is practically a fireworks show. The landscape changes and the enemies do not go quietly. Instead, they explode into pieces, leaving you with tons of shiny orbs to collect for points!
The controls are my least favorite part of Caster. You move around by touching the left side of the screen. You look around by touching the right side of the screen. Looking around feels OK. But, moving around feels quite awkward at times. I never really feel like I'm in control of my movement. I would prefer a virtual thumb stick instead. Double tapping the left side of the screen makes you sprint forward for a brief time. Forget about controlling your movement when you sprint. Double tapping the right side of the screen lets you fire your weapon. All controls really do take some getting used to, but even after that, you still won't feel comfortable.
The game is definitely unique and fun to play. The weapon fire from both you and the enemy do create a spectacle. But, after playing other shooters recently, like Terminator Salvation, the controls here just do not seem right. You never have that feeling of locking on to your target. Also, yes, you can change the landscape with your weapons, which is definitely fun. But, there really is nothing to the landscape. Each level seems very open and empty. The best thing this game has going for it are the beautiful cut scenes before each level.
It's hard to give this game a high rating. I want to like it. It has everything in place to be a really great game. But, it lacks the control and level detail to really compete with games like Terminator Salvation, or Resident Evil. It is highly rated in the iTunes store. But, priced a bit too high, I would pass on this one and pick up something of higher quality.
