AppleShooter’s title gets right to the core (pun intended) of what this 99-cent iPhone game is about. You play as William Tell, and you like to get your kicks by shooting arrows into apples that are resting on people’s heads.
You’ll aim your bow either by swiping your finger up and down on the screen, or by tilting your phone up or down, and you’ll press one finger on the screen to power up your shot — and voila. Either you’ll have a headless subject, or an apple with an arrow through it.
As the game progresses, you move further and further away from your subject, so you have to be extra careful not to behead your apple-holding friend. You only have three arrows to hit the apple, and if you get your pal, then it’s game over.
That’s all there is to AppleShooter, but it does sound fun, doesn’t it? It is, actually. Quite a bit of fun, even if the fun is very well contained and simple. I can’t quite decide which control method I prefer. Although tilting the phone seems more comfortable and natural, like tilting a bow might be, it also can be a bit buggy, and it’s much more difficult to see the screen and your charge-level when you’re tilting the phone all over the place.
The music and visuals aren’t anything special, and there aren’t extras to speak of, so AppleShooter stands alone on the merit of its gameplay. That’s not bad thing, as it can be addicting to try and top your previous high score, but I can’t help but think that there should be more to this in some way.
Still, if you have a hankering to shoot arrows through apples and you don’t want to risk one of your real friends’ lives, AppleShooter should fit the bill nicely.
