Fighting your way through dark and dreary dungeons has always been a popular theme among video games. Catacombs is yet another dungeon shooter that puts you in control of either a warrior, mage or archer with the ultimate goal of killing all the enemies while collecting as much gold as possible. Even though it may seem like just another dungeon game, the graphics, sound and controls make it a pleasure to play.

You need to make two decisions before you can start playing. First, you need to decide what character you’d like to play as. You can choose between the warrior, mage and archer. Each of these classes play pretty similarly to one another, with the only major difference being their primary weapon. Second, you have the option to choose to play in the dungeon or the forest. However, the forest map is locked, and can only be unlocked by purchasing it for a dollar more. This wouldn’t have bothered me as much if it was clearly explained before downloading the app. Nowhere in the app store description does it say anything about having to purchase an additional level. There’s even a screenshot of the forest, but it only says, “Downloadable Content.” It does not say, “Downloadable Content for Purchase.” The game’s content should be clearly explained in the app’s description.

The gameplay here is nothing new. All you need to do is run around the map, pick up keys, collect gold and kill the monsters. There isn’t much strategy involved. This type of shooter has been popular for a long time, and Catacombs is no exception. It’s still fun to shoot at and kill masses of skeletons, giant spiders and orcs. What make this game stand out from the crowd are the smooth, responsive controls, beautiful graphics and animations, and rich sound and music. You can precisely control his movement, direction and speed with the left virtual thumb stick. The right thumb stick controls the weapon. You can tap on it or hold it down to continuously fire. Whatever direction you move that thumb stick in is the direction your weapon will fire. Again, these controls work very well for this type of game. They are so smooth that it actually becomes enjoyable just to move your character around the map.

At times, you will be overwhelmed with masses of enemies surrounding your character. These are perfect times to utilize your character’s special ability. When the archer uses it, he will fire multiple arrows in every direction, taking out any monster in the area. These special weapons must be charged up before use.

While traveling the map, you will encounter different items to pick up. Besides gold, there are potions that increase health, speed boots and special weapon upgrades. These weapon upgrades only last a short time, but there are many opportunities to pick them up.

As you progress through the game you will gain experience and level up. Enemies will also become more difficult to defeat. So, the game offers quite a bit of challenge as you advance through each level.

Catacombs is absolutely one of the best dungeon shooters out there. The genre never really gets old; it’s just how you execute the gameplay that really makes a game successful or not. This is definitely a good one. The only feature I see lacking is OpenFeint capability. I would love to see achievements and the ability to share and compare my score with others. Hopefully, that will be added in a future update. Regardless, it’s still a fun title that I strongly recommend checking out.

Visit Appolicious for more iPhone app reviews and articles.