Swift Revenge Review

Swift Revenge (out now, $0.99) is an endless runner that follows the story of Swift, a cute little bird whose peaceful lifestyle is suddenly interrupted by the evil Dr. Crow. It’s difficult for developers to enter such a crowded genre like that of endless runners, but Swift Revenge definitely stands out with its humorous personality and several unique features, ensuring you get the most for your 99c.

screen568x568Each level has you chasing Dr. Crow by speedily flying towards him, avoiding certain obstacles and powering through others. As the game is a vertical endless runner, Swift is flying downwards as opposed to most other arcade games, but this uniqueness is just the tip of the iceberg. Each level has a different scenario with varying power-ups and boss fights. For example, you start off flying solo in a typical blue sky. The next level dresses you in a western-style scenario where your special power is a gun. Another notable level is the one where Swift swings a samurai sword as his ability. It’s very interesting to see what crazy and out-of-the-blue scenarios the developers could come up with, whilst adding the extra variety it needs.

But that’s not where the uniqueness or personality stops. At the beginning and end of each level, Swift and Dr. Crow exchange a few words that often leave me chuckling to myself. It’s not Russell Peters material but it is humorous enough to make me wonder what their next conversation will be like.

The controls must be spot-on in a game as frantic as Swift Revenge. You tilt the device left or right to move Swift around the screen, and tap to use his ability (shoot gun, swing sword, etc.).  If you tap and hold, Swift will use his ability continuously (keep shooting, swinging, etc.), but you must be careful because there’s a limit bar up top that shows you how long he can use his ability. It makes it much more challenging because you have to think whether or not you should save the tap-and-hold until the end of the level, or just go all-out now.  As for titling, I found it to be slightly off. A slight tilt to the left would make Swift move left, but then he would slide a little when I tilted my iPhone back the other way. It’s a minor problem that I doubt many of you will take care of, especially when you have a plethora of islands to dodge.

iFanzine Verdict: There are so many little aspects of Swift Revenge that make it easy to recommend. Whether it’s the high variety of levels, humorous characters, epic boss battles, the colorful cartoon graphics, or even something as simple as a checkpoint that acts as progress indicator, Swift Revenge gives you everything and more for 99c.