EVAC HD

iPad Game Review

After transporting Space Invaders in to the future, Hexage has once again used their magical time machine to create a new game (instead of selflessly saving the past by killing Hitler). EVAC HD can probably be best described as a Pac-Man puzzle game. To complete each level you have to collect all the power pellets while avoiding the minions of the evil Shadowbox, possibly solve a puzzle along the way, and then make it to an exit portal.

The puzzles generally consist of pushing a bunch of blocks in the correct order, which may not sound difficult but the fact that you can only push and not pull them means that one little mistake often causes the puzzle to be unsolvable. One Undo per level would definitely have been appreciated for these situations, especially since the touchy controls can sometimes be the cause of these mistakes. Thankfully the puzzles are not usually required to finish the levels – they simply make things easier. Their successful completion may open a door giving you access to a powerup so you can destroy all the enemies, or it may bring up some walls to trap them.

As I just mentioned, the controls can be a little finicky, causing accidents with the puzzles and making it hard to get through entrances that are the same size as your character, especially during chase induced panics.

The music is awesome and incredibly chill, and I love the Robot sound effect used for Shadowbox’s dialogue.

For $1 you can’t go wrong with Evac HD for the iPad, and you should pick it up if you’re at all a fan early of 80s arcade games.