SolarQuest from Neon Surge is a side scrolling space action game that challenges players to fly through space themed obstacle courses. SolarQuest made it first appearance back in 2004 at an independent Mac game developer competition. Four years later the open source desktop version has been ported to the iPhone. SolarQuest costs $2.99 and features 7+ levels, two-button play, 4 different obstacles and 3 different pickups. This review was based off the recently updated SolarQuest 1.1.

In Solar Quest player’s ships start on the far left hand side of the screen. A map of the level is displayed above and the controls/display information below. Once the level begins your ship begins to drop to the ground. Players can use the upward thrust button or tilt controls to move the ship up and down. Moving the ship forward is done exclusively with the forward thrust button located on the far right of the screen. As you fly through the levels you can use the controls to dodge objects and pickup shields, point coins or extra lives. If you hit an object, floor or ceiling you will loose part of your shields. Once your shields are gone a collision will cause your ship to explode.

Parts of SolarQuest are fun. There are times when zooming along at full hyper speed barely missing moving objects that feel pretty satisfying. Unfortunately, there are a lot of missing features, glitches and design choices getting in the way of those fun moments.

The SolarQuest screen is way to crowded. The top map should be replaced by a simple progress bar and the layout of the display information could be a lot simpler. To complicate the layout issues further, the forward thrust button is on the right side of the screen and must continually be pressed to sustain speed. The major problem here is that the game moves left to right, so you essentially cover up some of the oncoming level with the finger or thumb using the forward thrust control.

SolarQuest feels like it’s missing a lot of features. There are no weapons and no real goals, objectives or achievements for the levels. Your only motivation is score and staying alive to see the next level. There are also no checkpoints and no continues. As of version 1.1, SolarQuest will save your game upon exit.

Controlling Solar Quest is adequate but could stand for a lot of improvement. You shouldn’t have to continually hold down the forward thrust button and there are still some annoyances in the ships post collision physics.

There are a host of other minor things that bother me about SolarQuest. The first few levels have invisible ceilings, there isn’t anything noticeable above your ship, yet you loose shields for hitting the top of the screen. The powerups/pickups are weak, placed badly and are not worth the risk of picking up. The levels end abruptly with no visual change to indicate that you’ve reached a station, platform or some other safe haven. The music added in version 1.1 does not compliment the game and adds two more buttons to an already crowded screen.

SolarQuest is a side scrolling space action game which has a few moments of fun. It’s repetive game place, lack of features, crowded interface and questionable controls make the $2.99 price tag hard to justify. With lots of improvements and features, SolarQuest could be a great game.

By: Aaron Robbins