League of Evil 3 Review

The League of Evil games are one of the go-to series out there for hardcore platforming action. Across the first two titles, retro indie developer Ravenous Games made a name for themselves by delivering uncompromising gameplay that amused as much as it challenged players. With League of Evil 3, Ravenous continues this tradition, bringing back some of the best platform gaming you can get on iOS. If you've never played a League of Evil game before, now's as good a time as any to start.

Also, if you've never played a League of Evil game, chances are you're probably wondering about that large fellow with the red eye and ticked-off demeanor. That's the Agent, a rather angry gentleman who, in addition to bearing a resemblance to Kano from Mortal Kombat, has a serious hankering for throwing hay-makers at anything that gets in his way, especially pesky scientists.

The goal in League of Evil is to make it through different levels that are populated with an equal amount of obstacles and bad guys. The bad guys you will want to punch or kick, exploding them into bloody bits. The obstacles, such as spikes and saw blades, you will want to avoid, lest you become bloody bits yourself.

At some point you will run into a scientist who, much like the flag poles in a Mario game, marks the end of the level. But unlike those flag poles, you do not simply jump across the scientist to end the level; instead you must hit them with a giant punch and reduce those brainiacs to a fine red mist.

Since pretty much everyone would rather be playing with a controller, platform games can be hard to pull off on touchscreen devices. And the difficulty of League of Evil would probably be too much if the game couldn't back it up with tight controls. Fortunately, the League of Evil games are all about tough platforming action that's razor sharp and the latest installment only sews things up even tighter.

Maneuvering the Agent around the screen with well-timed jumps, both of the double and wall variety, will take skill and good timing. The controls are only comprised of four virtual buttons: attack, jump, left, and right. The buttons on screen are extremely responsive, allowing you to make split-second transitions from avoiding danger to destroying enemies.

League of Evil 3 also continues to upgrade its looks and visuals. While Ravenous has stuck with the cartoony look they introduced in LoE2, there are now more animations with the characters, in addition to extra details and lighting effects present in the backgrounds. These small touches help to add an extra layer of sheen, showing that LoE3 was not a sequel that was rushed out to the App Store.

Ravenous also brought back some really cool features from the first LoE game that are welcome additions to any platforming title. One of those options is the "Ghosts" feature, which lets you watch all of your failed attempts at a level as they replay behind you. While that may sound distracting, it can actually be pretty helpful and help you to pinpoint where you went wrong.

This feature will come in handy, as the difficulty of LoE3 makes itself known right away. But dying in this game is fun and I rarely got the sense that I was cheated out of completing a level because of some unfair gameplay glitch or rogue pixels blocking my path. Instead, I wanted to get right back in there and try again.

Plus, destroying those puny scientists feels extra nice after you've eaten it hard countless times on a particularly tricky level. When it comes to well-designed hardcore retro platform action, look no further than League of Evil 3. That's what this game is all about.

App Store Link: League of Evil 3 for iPhone & iPad | By Ravenous Games | Price: $1.99 | Version: 1.0 | 126 MB | Rating 9+