Tears of the Machine – Total Recall in a Game

Many defender games are founded on friction between factions, but Tears of the Machine brings a storyline full of unanswered questions and mysterious memories into a battle to defeat the enemy and discover where you came from.

Creatively quartered into four episodes, this app overflows with adventure, challenging you to defeat the Global Order Coalition, all while you maintain your quest to discover the identity of the girl that haunts your dreams.

Set in 2085, this game finds you awakening with little memory of what was. They only thing you can recollect is the idea of a girl. Who she is, where she came from, and where you are these are all a mystery. Your mission is to defeat the hordes of evil doers who have taken over and fractured the universe, bringing some semblance of calm, and hopefully, bringing you closer to your one memory of the past.

When you first download the app, you will be given short synopsis of what has just transpired. You can opt to see the main screen with options for the app. This includes information about the app and its creators, under Credits.

You can customize the app to choose your weaponry, primary and secondary, your attacks, your passive abilities and your capacitor. Much of this will not be available until you have mastered and passed through the required levels needs to earn sufficient points; but, once youve accumulated enough, you will see more options as indicated by your shadow data. Experiment with different pieces to see what works best for you.

Extras become unlocked and available to you as you move through the game and move up in levels. Options allow you set game play level, an important feature if you want to start slow and then get the hang of things before pursuing a more challenging agenda. You can also set volumes here, as well.

Game play can either be in Story Mode or Survival Mode. Story mode takes you through the play based on the storyline, while survival mode is totally based on staying alive and collecting points, which you can post to the leaderboard through the Game Center.

The graphics are somewhat primitive and the controls a bit difficult to master. However, with some practice, you will get a better feel for how to move your mechanized self. Yes, you are the robot that wanders around the almost god-forsaken lands that have now become desolate. As you move along the rocky terrain, you will see beings that are the enemy. The yellow shooter icon will spew a laser and destroy when you tap it. Tap on the screen with another finger to move your robot forward, backward, left and right.

After playing for a while, the game began to grow on me, especially because it had an underlying story to it. As I slowly made my way through chapters, more of the mystery was revealed and the game became more enticing. The graphics could be better, but for now, this game has become my new favorite.

Rating: 8.5/ 10
Price: $1.99