Today we take a look at and review an awesome premium app on the Apple App Store called Netwars – The Butterfly Attack – Episode 1. Netwars is an interactive graphic novel meaning it’s similar to a comic book but better because it’s filled with music, sounds, and interactive elements you can tap on in order to activate. You swipe left to continue the storyline and you swipe right in order to go back a page, the character dialogs and images pop up in chronological swiping order.
The Butterfly Attack Episode 1 has a very engaging and dramatic storyline that forces you to continue to the next part because you can’t help but want to find out what happens next. It’s a story that takes place in the year 2017 about a new advanced virus that’s been released worldwide called the Papillon Virus created by the hacker group known as the Black Flag. The main characters of the story are hackers and computer security experts who initially don’t take the Papillon Virus to be any threat, but are eventually forced to confront it once it crosses their paths.
There are a lot of interactive elements inside of Netwars that allow you to take a closer look into the personal lives of the main characters. You can read their emails, check out the websites they’ve visited, and even read the personal message exchanges they’ve had with other characters. The personal messages of the characters adds a slight comedic touch to the otherwise serious and dark storyline.
What stands out the most is how the music and artwork are portrayed beautifully in this storyline. The music and the artwork are all uniquely presented, having matching soundtrack to match the current mood and flow of the story. When there’s a suspenseful event occurring in the storyline, suspenseful music and artwork are shown, when the story has a lighter mood at that moment, lighter music and artwork are shown. All the artwork and music are brilliantly done together and their presentation looks great on the iPhone.
As you can see from the above screenshots, there is a lot detail and artwork done in the story meaning there was a lot of effort put forth into making this app beautiful. A lot of apps created today may have been rushed or maybe some costs have been cut here and there, but there is a lot of beauty and art inside of the app itself and it combines three human senses of sight, sound, and touch, beautifully.
Another unique feature that Netwars has is the 3d panel. You can actually rotate your phone, tablet, or other iOS device and you can change your view of the scene. For example there may be hidden interactive elements behind an object but you normally can’t see it until you rotate your screen and adjust your view. With this feature you can find hidden elements of the story that you normally wouldn’t have seen.
Overall Netwars: The Butterfly Attack Episode 1 is a great interactive visual novel with brilliant graphics, engaging storyline, and many different interactive elements. There are a lot of cool things that happen in the storyline of this futuristic hacker world and if feel like you want to engage yourself in the story, then this app is definitely recommended.
