Developer: h.grenade
Publisher: Chillingo Ltd
Genre: Shooter
Price: $0.99
Verdict: The only game you MUST buy this summer!
Pros: Asteroids + Geometry Wars + Tron = Hell Yeah!
Cons: Controls are tough to get used to

This is hands down, the best shooter on the iPhone to date, rivaling even the likes of Geometry Wars itself. A cocktail of space shooters and the world of computer hacking, circuit_strike.one is definitely like nothing you’ve seen before. Flashing lights, streaming colors and intense music keep your heart racing while you’re trying to infiltrate the system. It’s simply amazing how everything comes together to completely immerse you in this hacking world. Every move you make will affect the over all pace of the game, as danger approaches the music intensifies, when it’s clutch time the arena turns into a mess of flashing lights and warnings, which include a countdown to your death should you not succeed.

The game challenges you in ways that make you, at times, will make you want to throw your iPhone/iTouch across the room. Enemies will come at you from every angle, even directly on top of you at times, forcing you to be on the move at all times. While you’re on the run there are objectives that you must complete in order to proceed to the next network. The whole idea is to crash the core, but the network core isn’t just up for grabs, it’s protected by towers, which in turn are protected by turrets, oh plus lots and lots of kamikaze geometrical shapes.

Each network has a security system that matches its numerical position in the game (i.e. Network 1 has only 1 guard tower, while Network 2 has 2 guard towers etc.) and the difficulty spikes the deeper you get into the system. From the start you have plenty of breathing room, but come Network 6 and 7, you’re getting shot at from the second you spawn. Bullet time becomes crucial at this point and you’ll want to make sure you collect all of those green bits of code that enable you to slow down time, as well as all of the enemies around you.

With three unlockable difficulty levels; Easy, Hardcore and Leet, you’ll have plenty of challenge ahead of you. After you’ve unlocked Hardcore, Easy will seem, well, easy. But when you first come to the world of CS.one, even the easy difficulty might seem like a bit much. The controls are ridiculously hard to get the hang of, but don’t let that detour you from this game. Once you get into the swing of things your hacker ship will be zooming through these networks and pulling 180 degree turns while blasting the hell out of geometry, you never liked math anyway right?

The great thing about CS.one is that you have total control over your ship. Before the match even begins you can choose to have standard or advanced controls (you probably don’t want the advanced controls). Even after you’ve had hours upon hours with this shooter, the advanced controls seem too clunky. You can use the left 3rd of your screen, dragging from left to right (or vice versa) to turn your ship, the problem is there’s no defined radius, and the farther from your initial point you go, the faster you’ll spin around, often resulting in spinning far past the direction you had planned. I have no doubt in my mind that advanced controls can make for quicker reaction time on enemies, but from what I’ve seen the standard directional pad that is offered is a much more solid choice.

From the power that your ship puts out, to whether you have air brakes or a reverse thruster, your ship’s output is fully customizable. Once you get used to the controls you’re most likely going to want a reverse thruster rather than air brakes. Enemies that fly straight at your ship are easier to avoid if you can back up as opposed to turning around and thrusting away. Whichever way you choose to play, there are plenty of options to ensure that you’re comfortable with control.

DJ Vitamindevo and Bianca Dino (of Three L Three Tronic) pump up the volume with one of a kind music, sound effects and voice overs. This game will make you want to put the headphones on and jam out as you blast through the system. The beats are very reminiscent of Geometry Wars, but so much more engaging as it changes throughout gameplay. You feel as though the music is a part of you, Three L Three Tronic have done an amazing job at rounding out the experience.

Full career stat trackers and leader boards ensure that you’ll have plenty of competition with friends. Personal stats include your best score, total kills, deaths, shots fired, hits, your accuracy and then some. Stat freaks and achievement whores are well taken care of. That’s right, there are 30 unlockable achievements as well, ranging from killing 100 enemies without dying to earning 1 million points. Shooter fans will not be let down, and for the $0.99 launch price, it’s safe to say that this is the best bargain we’ve seen in a very long time.