Bit Pilot is a new game from Zach Gage, and it’s amazing. It’s probably my favorite iPhone game, but I’m definitely partial to shmups and bullet dodgers, so I’m biased. But the game is so polished, and the gameplay is so perfect for a mobile device like the iPhone, that I’m sure anyone will find it a worthwhile download.
The game is somewhat like the classic ‘Asteroids’, but you have no gun, and as time progresses, you get attacked by a swarm of space debris, interstellar time rips, and pharmaceuticals. Actually, the shiny pills flying across the screen are shield layers and points, which level you up. So, the basic gameplay is grab the pills and avoid the rocks.
So, there could have been a simple high score and that would be it, but no. Zach includes OpenFeint achievements and leaderboards, an amazingly bumping, slowly unlockable soundtrack, and two different play modes. And there could be more content, since I’ve probably played the game a total of an hour, and I still haven’t unlocked the last music track.
The retro graphics are super smooth as well, as Bit Pilot uses the openFrameworks software library. I’ve used this library myself, in my ARDJ software as well as in sketching visual effects or just playing with ideas. I could, and should do an entire entry on openFrameworks, aka ofx, so look for that in the future. Anyway, the game is probably one of the fastest loading and smoothest experiences I’ve had yet on the iPhone, probably due to the fact that Zach is part of the team that ported ofx to the device!
If you couldn’t tell, I love this game. 5 out of 5 stars! Go buy it!
