Warp Pipe's App of the Week

Warp Pipe's App of the Week honors goes to 'He-Man: The Most Powerful Game in the Universe'. It's been thirty years since Prince Adam, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, burst through television sets and comic books in the 80s. Now the sword has been passed onto the iOS.

The 'tap and slash' functionality works great through the 27 levels spread across seven realms of Eternia. The levels stay true to the cartoon series barring rich colors that look awesome on retina displays. Skeletor, Beast Man and even one of my personal favorites, Mer-Man, make an appearance for some really fun boss battles fought after braving through increasingly difficult levels.

The plot is simple, as Skeletor again hopes to put an end to He-Man. I was happily surprised at Skeletor's witticisms when he was face-to-face with his bitter rival. In a way, it enticed me to play through the entire game even more because I really wanted to have that battle between the two iconic characters. It gave me a chance to relive a fight that once was fought in my bedroom as a child with my action figures (Skeletor won his fair share since I cheered for the bad guys).

Upgraded power-ups and attacks are achieved by collecting gems and completing levels from a scale of 1-3 stars, with hidden objects found unlocking collectible digital lore that even includes 80s product art and mini-comic covers. This is a great addition to the app that many comic-based games on the iOS missed out on. Due to He-Man's deep history it is a blast from the past to thumb through these images. It's also neat to unlock some images from the app's development.

My only issue with the game is that it is difficult to turn around while attacking incoming baddies. Too often, I lost health from enemies behind me despite my best attempts to flip my attention toward them. But leap attacks are executed with ease.

'He-Man: The Most Powerful App in the Universe' packs a punch for fans of classic arcade beat-em-ups. With a download price of under a buck, celebrate thirty years of He-Man with your family and friends in the palm of your hands or raise it high above so that everyone knows you are gaming with "POWER!"