HackEm vs ArcadeBox
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HackEm
Engage in a unique blend of real-time strategy and tower defense as a hacker seeking revenge. Build a base to extract data and defend against security drones and autobots on randomly generated maps. Upgrade weapons and equipment with earned credits.
- Real-time strategy and tower defense mix
- Diverse enemies with unique mechanics
- Randomly generated maps
- Extensive weapon and equipment upgrades
- Intuitive controls
- No ads or in-app purchases
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HackEn is a mix of a real-time strategy and a tower defense game. The player is a hacker who has been set up by a mysterious enemy and now is trying to get his revenge. The game is a mix of a real-time strategy and a tower defender. Data sources are located on the randomly generated map and the player will need to build a base to extract information from all of them and at the same time protect himself from waves of security drones with turrets and autobots. Completing missions will reward the player with credits that can be used to unlock new weapons and equipment upgrades. Features: • Original mix of RTS and TD • Various enemies with different mechanics • Randomly generated maps • Many upgrades and improvements for weapons and equipment • Simple and intuitive controls • No Ads or In-App Purchases Good luck and have fun!
ArcadeBox
This application serves as a free emulator for GameBoy and GameBoy Color games. It supports iCade controllers and offers customizable game modes. Users can legally add their own purchased ROMs via file sharing.
- GameBoy and GameBoy Color emulation
- iCade controller compatibility
- 80s and 90s arcade style design
- Color or green game mode
- Supports user-added ROMs
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"ArcadeBox" is a free emulator for GameBoy, GameBoyColor. The emulator is free, what you pay (at the price indicated in the App Store for downloading the app ArcadeBox) is the ROM of the ArkAttack game (COLOR version, copyright Gianluca Natalini 2024) already pre-installed inside the ArcadeBox emulator. To add new ROMs: ArcadeBox allows the installation (using file sharing or the FILE application - copy/paste or share with or AirDrop, see screenshots of the app) of additional original ROMs for GameBoy, purchased by You in other stores. Please remember that downloading ROMs from internet is ILLEGAL; you can therefore only install the ROMs that you have regularly purchased and for which you have the license to use. COMPLIANCE with the LAWS / COPYRIGHT for the ROMs is your responsibility. Features: - compatible with iCade - 80s and 90s arcade style console/controller - color or green game mode (green phosphors, it depends on the installed ROM) LICENSE for ArcadeBox: - ArcadeBox is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 License. LICENSE for ArkAttack ROM: - ArkAttack ROM is NOT FREE (copyright: Gianluca Natalini 2024).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ArcadeBox at 4.5 against HackEm's 3.6. ArcadeBox also leads on price ($0.99 vs $1.99). HackEm's advantage is review sentiment (25% vs 0%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
HackEm costs $1.99 and ArcadeBox $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
ArcadeBox holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 25% of HackEm's written reviews are positive against 0% of ArcadeBox's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HackEm ships an update every 21 months, ArcadeBox every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HackEm | ArcadeBox |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 | $0.99 — better |
| Rating | 3.6 (5 ratings) | 4.5 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 25.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 5 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 21 months | Every 12 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 78 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | +4 |
| Developer | Game Dev Team | Gianluca Natalini |
Customer experience
HackEm
ArcadeBox
In-app purchases
HackEm
No in-app purchases
ArcadeBox
No in-app purchases








