In Minigore, you play as a gruff, blocky character named John Gore. John is wandering through the forest one night when he's suddenly and ruthlessly attacked by an endless horde of baddies. Luckily, John has a gun equipped with unlimited ammo and he can shape-shift into an invincible monster. Does any of this make sense? Well, no…not as such. Should you mind? Not in the least--because this game delivers plenty of fun shooting action.
In the grand tradition of Smash TV and iDracula, Minigore places you in an enclosed playfield and requires you blast the enemies coming at you from all directions. The goal is to rack up as many points as possible before your inevitable death. Two analog sticks sit in the bottom corners of the screen: The left one controls movement and the right one directs your bullets.
Your enemies are the unfortunately named furries. They come in four flavors: minifurry, furry, giant furry, and firefurry. Minifurries die with one shot. Furries take several bullets and spawn a minifurry every time they're hit. Giants can take a heap of damage before they turn into three regular furries. And firefurries are just speedier minifurries on fire. You'll want to take out firefurries first because unlike the rest of the beasts, they can outrun you. You will also occasionally encounter a huge monster that's half-wolf, half-snake.
When you take your first hit of damage, you start to look cut up and haggard. You also receive a temporary speed boost, which is a good thing, because it lets you escape the danger area and dispatch the horde. But if you take just two more hits, you're a goner. That's right, you can survive only three hits, so you must be cautious.
Occasionally, a furry will drop a crate containing a shotgun or grenade launcher. You can pick these up for several rounds of powerful blasts or open fire on the actual crate to make it explode, sending shrapnel in all directions. Aside from the weapon crates, the only other items dropped by the furries are clovers. If you collect three, you briefly turn into an invincible monster, capable of destroying all baddies in your path. This turning of tables adds a fun dimension to the game, but you'll want to watch your dwindling clover icons because when you turn back to normal, you'll want to be far away from your foes.
Minigore's creepy forest environment looks stunning. 3D trees, rocks, and bushes populate the landscape and provide cover for your attackers. Splashes of light and pools of shadow not only add to the atmosphere, but also to the gameplay--it's safest to stay in well-lit areas with sparse vegetation. Also, the game offers an awesome, cinematic music score that could've come right out of composer Danny Elfman's songbook and fits in quite well with the game's quirky, dark look. And once you're done enjoying the music, your iTunes library is also available in-game. The game offers leaderboards by OpenFeint as well, which are a welcome addition for a game where racking up high scores is part of the fun. And during the months since its initial release, developer Mountain Sheep has added several unlockable characters that make cameo appearances from other games, which you'll find especially amusing if you're a fan of other iPhone games, such as Hook Champ and Zombieville USA.
Minigore doesn't have a ton of depth, but the core game provides stylish, fun shooting action that leaves you wanting more. Plus, the unlockable characters are a nice touch.
This review was provided by GameSpot mobile content partner SlideToPlay.com.
