Heavy Mach Review
I’ve been looking for a decent platformer among the overabundance of them in the app store, and I think I may have finally found it.
Heavy Mach is a game in which you control ‘Mach’, your tank, through 6 different missions with 30 different stages (Additional missions are going to be added in future updates). This is done by using a combination of the accelerometer and on screen controls.
To move Mach, tilt your device left and right. To make Mach shoot, simply touch (and hold if you are using the primary gun) the spot that you would like the bullets to travel to. However, your bullets can only be shot to the right side of the screen, so don’t pass enemies without killing them first!
For whatever reason, as with most accelerometer controlled games, moving to the left is much more sensitive. Maybe the developer could balance that out somehow in the game’s coding.
In the lower left corner, you will find a lever. When pulled (tapped), Mach will temporarily be boosted into the air with his built in booster. This can be very helpful in avoiding incoming enemy bullets and missiles.
The controls work very well for me, and I have had no problems with them thus far. Kudos to the developer for the great control scheme!
To switch your weapons, tap the weapons icon next to the boost lever. This will cycle through your available weapons. Just stop tapping once you’ve found the weapon you want.
The weapons in Heavy Mach include a machine gun, shotgun, howitzer (a high angle gun, bullets come down from above), missiles, lasers, nuclear bombs, and more. There are also a ton of enemy vehicles, ranging from helicopters and tanks to armored cars and large boss tanks.
In Heavy Mach, there are also various upgrades for parts of your tank. Among those are upgrades for your booster, attack, defense, movement, and much more (a total of 21 different part upgrade phases).
The graphics in Heavy Mach are very good. The many enemy vehicles, weapons, and landscapes are anything but pixilated, and fit the feel of the game perfectly.
The game’s audio consists of many different sound effects. There is no music, but the constant sound of bullets firing and missiles exploding is enough to make me overlook that fact. All of the explosions and various other sound effects are professionally done, and are of high quality.
One thing about the game that really bugs me is the fact that the in-game menu button does not work! I can understand minor issues, but something as significant as this should not have been overlooked. I hope that the developer realizes this and fixes it in an update (preferably soon).
Heavy Mach also lacks any options. All you can do is play the game the way it is presented to you. I would like to see a sensitivity slider, tilt calibration, the ability to flip the screen the other way, and the ability to play my music and hear sound effects simultaneously.
Overall, Heavy Mach is a great game, albeit it is a little rough around the edges. If the developer adds options, as well as a fully functional menu button, this game could turn into one of my all time favorites. If the developers continue to add new missions as well, this could turn into one of the iPhone greats. This application comes highly recommended for anyone interested in a good platformer.
The Good
—————
- Great graphics
- Great controls
- Awesome sound effects
- Highly addictiveThe Bad
—————
- Game lacks any options
- In-game menu button does not work
Related posts:
- Heavy Mach 2: Heavy Armored Tank Action Never Looked So Good
- Tail Gunner iPhone Review: Polished But Unchallenging
- iDracula Review
Category: Games
This app is getting about 4 and a half stars. The gameplay looks smooth and the controls sound good. This app will definitely be my next purchase.
ive been hearing alot of rumors about this game. this should be an interesting game to try out just for kicks.
this game looks pretty intense i am thinking about getting it.
This Game looks very fun and exciting However i think the in game menu button not working is a bad thing other than that the game looks great
Congrats to Jacksonitup and greenhornet9 the winners of the app!
side scrollers always take me back
shame the menu button doesnt work. i would’ve bought it
cool game .. has go graphics and lots of fun like i shoot
I agree with pablo. This reminds me of metal slug. Bob, you crack me up. When anyone mentions a game from the 90s I always think side scroller.
This review was by andy.
I think he’s talking about the comment bob left.
ok, I understand it now.
thanks for the review,
on a completely different note, is there a way to change my password, i still have the random one assigned to me and i cant remember it.
scroll up, on your right hand side under “user controls” you will see “site admin”
then go to profile and scroll down to change password
thanks
This looks awesome. It has good graphics and solid looking gameplay.
from the review it seems unfinished and shouldn’t have been released yet
but also has great potential
I think with iTune, you generally should give developers some leeway on not completely finished apps. It’s a balance of course, but one of things I like is being able to provide feedback to devs, and then they come out with updates. No app will ever be perfect, but iTunes provides a good venue for getting heard. It’s always good to review based on potential.
Great Review. Looks like a really good side scroller
While the graphics look great, the controls more often than not, make or break the game. From the video, Heavy Mach looks and plays great. My guess is there’s a calibrate button so that helps. The jumping tank always makes me cringe though.
This looks like a very cool platformer! I dig the graphics and the sound isn’t bad. Thanks for the video it really helps get the game across.
That looks sweeeeet. I’ll definitely own this eventually.
Looks like one of the best platformers on the iphone. Seems really cool.
This looks awesome!
I love shooter games like this. Looks really good.
looks interesting, like a slower metal slug
no characters to get involved with though
and it looks as if it may become repetitive
nice review though
There is no small people in this game. Should have some people to make it more realistic.
There ought to be some accelerometer calibration controls. Check out Playtus calbration control. They are the best out there I have seen so far.
cool game
looks good and the graphics are good
just asking myself if that will make fun a long time?
Definately looks like a very decent platformer, similar to metal slug in a way.
This game looks like it’s a lot of fun. I know it’s received glowing reviews all around. I’m still debating this one though. Wish there was a lite version to convince me
Nice review as always, this game sounds pretty good but I do really like any 2-d sidescroller.
First off, the graphics look absolutely beautiful for this type of game.
If the controls are as good as you say, this may just be a keeper!!!
Heavy Mach is a great game and I am glad appversity has it reviewed here. It is like the PC version of mechwarrior except it is a platformer not in 3d shooting style.
I picked up this game when it cam out and have had a real blast with it. It’s like playing one of the best arcade games of the early 90′s… and I mean that in a good way…
Looks good: finally a good platform game with decent/very good graphics.
“For whatever reason, as with most accelerometer controlled games, moving to the left is much more sensitive. Maybe the developer could balance that out somehow in the game’s coding.”
-This is because the majority of iphone’s accelerometers are not centered when on their side. However, developers assume they are and set 0degrees to neutral without checking and now it takes a greater angle to move right. It’s something that I noticed when I started to develop my first game and was looking into the accelerometer settings.
This is why I will always say: If a game uses an accelerometer, it MUST have a calibrate button.
It is a shame you can’t shoot left though, but besides that it looks pretty good.
I love games with good graphics and this is real good… The gameplay as described in the review does seem addictive… waiting to get my hands on it!!