by Joan Inong

Created on: March 06, 2010

For some reason, I like playing games that seem to have bad reviews on the iTunes App Store. Even though this game is "only" 99 cents, I can still download games that are even better than this for free. Coast Guard is one of those games that seems to have been created on a whim, and then finished slowly but surely without very many good features. That's too bad, especially considering that this game has a price tag - the same price tag as a song, or, a bigger price tag than a free game. 

With that said, Coast Guard has at least one thing going for it. The graphics match the price of the game. I have played games before that cost more than 99 cents and the graphics were bunk. You would have been angered to find that they charged for a game that looked like it was created overnight. However, Coast Guard's graphics remind me of the graphics I'm use to seeing on the desktop, especially when I am playing simplistic simulation games.

The premise of the game is also quite good. I would not have thought of making a game like this about the Coast Guard, but this takes that to a whole new level. After all, games about the Coast Guard in general are about shooting and have extremely realistic graphics. In this case, you have to draw paths in order to shoot anything, and the fires that entail aren't as realistic as the 3D ones you will most likely find on desktop PC games. 

However, I find that the controls are a little difficult to use, and in a game like this, the controls are everything. I would downplay the graphics a little if that meant that the controls would see an improvement. At this point, however, I do not think that I could give a good review on a game that is difficult to use.

All in all, I think that this game has a lot of potential. It's great that there are different types of weapons and levels, and that there is good replay value, but it is even more important that the quality of the gameplay itself is improved. Or else, I will just have to relegate this game to my iTunes and keep it out of my iPhone. There are other games that I would much rather play, and are less expensive, too. 

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