Sega has Sonic, Nintendo‘s got Mario and it would seem crudely doodled stick-men are fast becoming something of an unofficial Appstore mascot.
The latest in a long line of badly drawn heroes (search either doodle or stick on iTunes and you’ll see what I mean) to enter the fray is Doodle Champion. A fearless warrior and dab hand with a bow and arrow, its up to this spunky little chap to inject some fun back into the doodle genre…and save the day of course!
I’ll quickly sketch the scene: An evil doodle army has invaded your usually peaceful Crayola kingdom and the people need a champion. So armed with an endless supply of pointy sticks it’s your job to erase these pesky plunderers once and for all.
The ensuing warfare takes place against the backdrop of a colourful battlefield scrawled on graph paper and looks absolutely great in motion.
Enemy troops advance from the right hand side doing ferocious battle with the good guys as they go. The aim of the game to stop them from slicing through your men and reaching the far side of the page by providing covering fire.
Controls are kept simple. Getting a baddie in your sights is as easy as touching him, while a power gauge determines the strength of your shot, so the longer you hold a finger to the screen the further your arrow will fly.
Cash is awarded for kills at the end of each wave and there’s an option to upgrade yours and your troops’ weaponry and armour. This feature providing much needed depth and adding an incentive to keep playing, as you weigh up whether to blow your gold on minor improvements to your arsenal or save up and splurge on more costly (but cooler) weapons like a cross-bow or flaming arrows.
Overall Bowman Legends is a deceptively fully fleshed game; the simple controls and mechanics mean it’s easy to get into, while the levelling up side of things is good reason to stick around. Oh and you gotta love how these guys all talk like YouTube comedy cats! A heroic addition to the Appstore’s ever swelling ranks of doodle games, give it a shot!
iFanzine Verdict: In spite of its overly familiar stick-man style Bowman Legends hits the mark with compelling gameplay, off-kilter humour and surprising depth. Bullseye!
Score: 6 out of 10
***The first five people to leave a comment here win a code for Bowman Legends courtesy of the kind folks at Pixelstick Games. Oh yes! You can haz victory!***