Bio Sub: Jack of all trades, master at none
It’s dark and lonely at the bottom of the sea. And you’re a biochemical submarine plunging to the depths of the ocean and your mission is to smash together canisters and collect artifacts. Interested? From the guys who brought you “MonsterKill” and “Sentinel: Mars Defense”, Origin 8 brings us a different kind of tilt physics puzzle game in “Bio Sub”. Is it worthy enough to become one of the top-tier puzzle physics game? Let’s take a deep sea dive and see if we find any treasure down here.
Gameplay:
Although Biochemistry is no walk in the park, figuring out the concept of Bio Sub is. As you take your first couple rounds around the sea in your Biochemical Submarine, your task is simple: to use your submarine to canisters to match the corresponding colors. Pretty simple enough, right?
As your skills of maneuvering the submarine develop and you progress further into the game, the puzzles get more challenging and more obstacles are placed in your way. From pillars to multiple colored canisters, the game isn’t short on ways to challenge the consumer. However, many levels felt the same to me. Going from level to level, the feel of the level design never strayed far enough where it felt like a different challenge. Everything ended up being the same after a while.
There are different tasks where you have to recover certain items in the correct order but even that didn’t save the game from monotony. It’s a nice change of pace from just bumping canisters together but in my opinion I think there should be more variety in the missions. Maybe add a missile to the submarine and have aliens flying towards you or something, I don’t know. But it just got repetitive very fast.
Controls:
The controls take a bit of time to get used to, like most games that use the “tilt” function. Overall, the tilt function works very well and reacts to your slightest movement very accurately. A nice feature for tilt games to always have is the “Calibration” and “Sensitivity” option in the menu. This is essential as users won’t always be holding their device at the same angle.
What’s catching on more and more in todays’ apps is the option to switch the control scheme. In this case, you can change it from “Tilt” to “Touch” where you can direct your submarine by simply touching the destination. But to me, this just seemed like a way for the developers to seem more user-friendly, but the touch function really isn’t practical. It is too hard to control your speed and velocity in your movement and you’ll end up flying past your canisters.
Although it’s simple, the level design make it more and more challenging as you progress. What’s nice is, like the ocean, you aren’t boxed in. Your submarine can roam free and if you stray too far from the screen, you’ll simply find yourself on the other side (wrap around feature a la “Pac Man”).
What We Liked:
+”Tilt” function works smoothly and accurately
+ Both “Touch” & “Tilt” control options
+ Awards and achievements
+ 70 levels
+ Beautiful graphics
+ Soundtrack fits the overall feel of the game
+ Sound effects add a nice touch
+ Wrap-around movement
+ Option to play your own music
+ Open Feint
What We Disliked:
- Repetitive
- Could use a couple more modes
- Levels feel too similar
- “Touch” function isn’t practical
- Not enough variety/diversity
- Lacking originality
Final Verdict:
Bio Sub is your typical jack of all trades, master at nothing. It’s a solid tilt puzzle physics app that will appeal to all the avid fans of the genre. However, it adds nothing new to the table, and doesn’t have a lasting appeal that will have you coming back for more. The graphics are top notch and the controls and sound are spot on, but the gameplay is unoriginal and will leave some gamers wanting more.
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Category: Games
GOOD news…Origin8 has released a BioSub LITE version for all of u who are on the fence about the game. go to the app store and u can see for urself if u agree or disagree with my review. no problemmmm
I’m torn on BioSub. Love Origin8 games, but it just feels like it won’t be the type of game I’ll play beyond the first day. Can’t pinpoint it, but it just seems too repetitive to warrant repeated play.
I’m a fan of the Open Feint achievements but the lack of different level designs really makes it sound more tedious than enjoyable unfortunately.
Variety is essential in these type of puzzle games to keep you wanting to come back for more…to see what the next level looks like, but if it’s all the same, then what’s the point?
The game overall seems pretty unique, but for some reason the core gameplay I feel like I’ve seen before. Though it is another polished game from Origin8, so it can’t be that bad.