Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, it be me, the Apps Pirate ready to haul in yet another bag of booty to share with you. For this review, we must deal with the Law, specifically the man who calls himself “The Law”. Alas great misfortune might befall some of this review’s readers who aren’t familiar with the comic book icon, for he has fallen on hard times. That doesn’t matter to me, however, for if a man chooses to stand and fight the pox of the undead, then he shall have my ship to sail upon when he wages his war upon them. Of course, how does he fare in his war, and how well does his game really stand?
Judge Dredd: Looking as Grim as ever
While I am not a great purveyor of beautiful portraits, I do maintain that I know what a good looking game should look like. In this respect, Judge Dredd might fall a little flat like each of the barren levels in this title. Though zombies do tend to create a mess when in city or world that is involved, the design and aesthetics seem to be at a lack in this game. Often, you are treated to the grey metal of the floors along with the beige steel walls,much like when I was keelhauled to the brig when my first crew mutinied. Judge Dredd as a character, however, is very vibrant and bright, which is quite the reverse of his surroundings. Of course, you do repaint the walls with the bits of your enemies, which is colorful in its own right, but ends up being gorier than most other iOS titles out there.
How “The Law” Handles
Mayhaps one of the sparkling features of this game is that it has very intuitive controls. The Judge handles well under pressure, and that is evident by how well the shooting functions. At the same time, ye are tasked with creating combos so that ye can afford new flintlocks and better frocks, if yer too yellow to take the zombie bite like a man. This is made possible through shooting effectively, and through killing the many undead that roam the halls and streets of Mega City. The game also takes some mercy on the poor soul, because aiming your flintlock is as easy as tapping the screen with a little aid from the game’s auto aim feature as well. The shooting is, as usual, broken up through the strenuous process of reloading your flintlock, which might break yer combo’s were it not for Dredd badges which keep the combo going.
As you may see above, the game also offers quite a bit in the way of upgrades where you can spend all your golden doubloons. However, the game does have the tendancy to inflate the prices and ye may find yourself trapped at certain points when ye need to level up more. This is no reason to fret for if ye have practiced on each level, the combos will become a snap, and ye’ll earn much more each time you destroy one of the undead. All these elements in tandem create a game where fluid mechanics equate into fun. One aspect that irked me though, was Judge Dredd’s incessant need to spout out his many catchphrases. For the first few times, they might feel empowering, but after the fiftieth mention who truly is the law me and me crew were ready to feed the fish with Judge Dredd.
Should you play as “The Law”
Despite a few shortcomings in terms of graphics and dialogue, the game really does try to refine shooting mechanics so that they make more sense on the iOS platform. This made me somewhat warmer to the game, and eventually ye’ll be able to tune out the sound his cheesy one liners with the waves of the sea. That, or ye can just mute the sound on yer device and play the game. Aye, it be a fun romp while it lasts, and it has kept me smilin’ on more than one dark night on the poop deck.
