Just in time for your Halloween party, here comes the Horror Movies version of Scene It. Scene It has a fine reputation for making quality games, whether it be the board game, or on DVD, but now they can add the iPad to their list. I have to say that I’m not a real big fan of horror flicks myself, I’m more of an action/sci-fi/romantic comedies kinda guy myself. If you wanna watch the new Iron Man flick or the latest animated Batman flick; I’m your dude! However, I’ve put all that aside for this App and dove head first into blood, guts, screams, and went in search of glory. This App features a few options for game play so I’m thinking for this short list I’m just going to go down the list and only say a few words about the graphics throughout. Let’s do it.
First up is the classic one player mode. This mode offers up the most robust experience for a single iPad out of all the options. The opening graphics for the App itself are very smooth and very detailed. The App developer that the company who makes Scene It partnered with really deserves an extra pat on the back for making a visually exciting game. The quality of graphics continue throughout the single player mode. I’m sure that most anyone who wants to read this review will have probably played this game style before so I don’t have to explain too much here. The game starts up and you are told a type of clue you are about to receive, then once you review the clue you tap to answer and choose the correct answer. Some of the game elements differ from this basic method though, such as one where you drag the factoid about a movie to the appropriate movie poster, or ones where you tap the screen to reveal different things about the clue in front of you. The App works with you to tell you how to do each of the sections of the game as you go, so this makes for smooth and easy game play. The visuals all throughout are very nice, and well done. I particularly liked the “Cut to bits” section where they show you a scene from a famous movie in 8-bit nintendo like graphics. I was very pleased to see this type of spoof of pop culture present in the game. After you have played a round and scored a nice high score you can sign into FaceBook or Twitter and post your score for bragging rights.
Next style of game play is death match. Death Match isn’t the most visually exciting, but it is fun. This version allows 2-4 players to all grab the corner of the iPad and race to answer the same question. This mode was well thought out, as given evidence of the question being displayed in all of the four corners for each person to read silently to themselves, as well as the individuals score put into flat section near them that is easy to read and keep track of. The best part of how this game works is that everyone can answer before the timer runs out just incase the first person to get there isn’t right. The imagery that the game board has is very funny and light-hearted making the game appealing to those who might not even like too many scary movies, people like me for instance.
Multiplayer is the final option here. I did not, however, get to test this option as it requires more than one iPad in order to play this version of the game. I can tell you about how it works though. The iPad will either over BlueTooth or Wifi host a game for other iPad’s to join up to, and then the iPads will in turn display all the necessary game elements for each player. Presumably it would be the same game play experience as the single player method, but with more than one player at a time. This mode will allow for up to four iPads to connect to play the game.
Lastly there is a bonus feature added here, which is great for some Halloween party fun; a scream machine. This little add-on isn’t really a game, but you can select from ten different sounds bites and fiddle with them and make a chorus of horror for your parents, your neighbors, or just your dog to run and hide from. This is a cute little add-on graphically speaking. It almost looks like an old style radio, you know, the kind that used to come in a solid wood encasing and had all kinds of knobs and toggles to play with? Ooo I miss those days sometimes.
Over all this game has got what it takes to be an instant classic this Halloween. And I am almost scared to say this, but even though I hate horror flicks, I really enjoyed this game and will gladly recommend it to anyone who is a horror movie film buff or anyone who just wants a good and scary game to play this season.
Game receives a 9/10 rating – App rated on a ten point scale.