RayForce

Bar a bit of slowdown, it's impressive stuff. [Apr 2012, p.90]

RayForce delivers coin-op shooting action straight out of 1993, but technical niggles and a ridiculously high asking price mean that it's unlikely to find a wide audience on the iPhone.

Ludicrously expensive given both the format and the age of the game, but a loving adaptation of one of the best ever 2D shooters.

Playing RayForce is a lot like taking class A drugs. Not that you load up the game and attempt to smoke your iPhone (that doesn't work, I've tried it), but the trippy, swirling graphical effects thrown at you while playing have roughly the same effect as prancing about in a sweat soaked warehouse rave, off your face on an Ecstasy pill.

Had RayForce been $0.99 or even $3.99, I would've recommended it, since the game has plenty of fans and takes me back to the 90s. The price, sadly, is a huge sticking point, and quite frankly, you can pick up plenty of better games for less.

We think RayForce is better suited for arcades than for your iOS device. Its price tag and quality makes it feel underwhelming. Fans of this game or the shooter genre might want to pick it up at some point, but while it's 12 bucks, you should spend your money on something else.

This game may be a AAA title for the gaming giant, but it is 13 years old, putting it somewhere in the hinterlands between classic and dated.