Game Reviews

Dynamite Jack

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| Dynamite Jack
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Dynamite Jack
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| Dynamite Jack

Dropping in like a space-age blend of Bomberman, Alien Breed, and Metal Gear, Dynamite Jack looks like perfect iPad fodder, with large maps ideally suited to the big screen, plenty of explosions, and enough bite-size content to justify the price.

You play as Jack, a space marine (apparently) who's been captured and put to work in the mines of Anathema. Naturally, old Jack doesn't much fancy hanging around, so he soon breaks free and gets to work bombing everything in his sight until he's free.

Explodemon

In order to escape, Jack has to first find the flashlight and detonator on each level, which let him see and drop infinite bombs, respectively.

Guards patrol the mines, and stick rigidly to their routines until they either see you (resulting in an instant death) or hear a bomb go off, which they'll investigate for about two seconds before forgetting about it. In truth, they deserve to be blown to pieces.

This means Dynamite Jack is a hybrid stealth-puzzle game, asking you to work out how to get to each level's glowing exit without being spotted. You can kill absolutely every last person in the room (as they can't see bombs even when you place them directly next to them), or try to sneak past, nabbing keycards and blowing up locks along the way

The sneaking option is trickier, mainly because Dynamite Jack's controls are a little awkward. Both virtual joystick and line-drawing options are included, and while the former is much easier both can let you down in particularly tight situations.

So it's better to bomb everything that moves, including the destructible terrain. A dead guard is better than a clear conscience.

Da Bomb

In addition to Dynamite Jack's 28 levels there's a fully formed editor that lets you create and share arenas with the Game Center community. It's completely intuitive, too, letting you use the touchscreen to carve out rocks and drop guards, keycards, and lasers wherever you fancy.

As with most stealth games, Dynamite Jack requires a sternness and patience that some might struggle with, but when you do negotiate a room of gun-happy chappies it's surprisingly tense and exciting.

There may be more explosive games available on the iPad, but few give you this much bang for your buck.

Dynamite Jack

A tense and surprisingly strategic stealth puzzler that's only let down by awkward controls
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