Harbor Havoc 3D, a mashup of some of the most popular varieties of route-management games, has been released by Backflip Studios and is now available from the app store. With locations reminiscent of Harbor Master, smooth game mechanics, and a great soundtrack to boot, Harbor Havoc 3D quickly ups the frantic meter while offering a fresh take on this increasingly crowded genre.
There are multiple maps available in Harbor Havoc 3D, but no difficulty levels or game modes of which to speak. Of the 4 maps, the first three (Far East, Atlantis, and Arctic) are unlocked from the start, with Lighthouse being the only holdout. Select a map and you are transported to a beautiful, water-based location. The goal is to route each vessel to its proper docking location without crashing into another vessel. As soon as you experience one crash, the game is over. Only similar vessels can crash into one another, so you need not worry when an aircraft passes over a ship or a submarine slips under one. Each vehicle will enter the screen with a light warning, a tiny symbol at the screen edge indicating which type of vessel it is. Once on screen, you must draw a path from the vessel to its corresponding docking location. These paths will often have to be redrawn a few times as the screen fills with other vehicles crossing paths at different rates of speed. Vessels that are about to collide will be outlined in red and give off a warning sound, quickly drawing your attention to the need to re-route them away from each other.
There are several features that set this game apart from Harbor Master, which draws the most comparisons. There is no need to wait for docked ships to undock and safely lead them off-screen again. Once the ship reaches its location, it disappears, as with Flight Control. This also means that there is no waiting for a ship that is taking up a docking spot. In fact, there are no specific spots at all, just a land mass that any number of ships could dock at simultaneously. If you are unsure of which area a specific ship docks, you can tap-hold on that ship and its dock will light up. Tapping on a vessel will stop its progress, effectively anchoring it in place. There is no more need to create funky whirlpool lines to keep your ships in a certain location. A stopped ship has a tiny anchor symbol over it. Tap again to restart its journey. The most notable feature is the three layers (underwater, sea level, and in air) that create a terrific amount of confusion. Though we have a warm place in our hearts for Harbor Master and others, Harbor Havoc 3D is quickly becoming our go-to game for our route management fix.
The 3D graphics are quite nice, utilizing images that really do invoke Harbor Master. The line drawing is smooth and vessels are of an adequate size that you should not mis-tap. Collisions cause a visible explosion and a significant rippling of the water, beautiful touches that need not be there, but certainly enhance the experience. The nautical sound effects are great, and the soundtrack is bold, bordering on that which is reserved for epic battles and conquests. The controls, as explained previously, are dead simple and very effective. Global leaderboards are maintained via Plus+, creating an incentive for gamers to keep playing and improve their scores. You can also send challenges to friends or post scores on Facebook and Twitter. Our only complaint is that there is no screen flip option. In its current orientation, iPod users have their headphone cords jutting into their palms. This minor issue is certainly not enough to put a dent in Harbor Havoc 3D’s 5-Dimple score. Harbor Havoc 3D is available now for $1.99.
Harbor Havoc 3D gets our AppSmile 5-Dimple rating:
