The premise behind the game is simple.  You control a ball that collects jewels, and your job is to collect all the jewels of a certain color on a given level while avoiding all the jewels of the other color.  As you collect jewels your ball grows bigger, and as your ball gets bigger you’re able to collect bigger jewels.  If a jewel of the wrong color suddenly becomes small enough for you to collect it will change colors so you can grab it.  The goal is to collect enough jewels to grow your ball by 10 levels.  Once you’ve done that you’ll get 5 seconds to collect as many jewels as you can for extra points (they’ll all be the right color at this point), and then you move on to the next level.

Hole In The Middle

Unfortunately there are only 15 levels, because I think I’ll be sad once I’ve beaten them all.  Of course, the developer has made sure that task isn’t so easy once you get into the hard set.  The problem is that the difficulty doesn’t really come from the levels themselves, but rather the control.  All you have to do is tilt the device to move the ball.  There’s no option to calibrate, however, and sometimes it seems like it takes an awful lot of effort to get the ball to switch directions.  There’s a speed option, but make it too fast and the motion of the ball is jerky, and making it too slow pretty well guarantees you won’t be making many necessary quick turns.  And to top it off screen rotation isn’t an option.  Screen rotation happens automatically and usually at the worst time.  The controls really need to be tweaked a bit.

The levels really don’t get interesting until half way through the game, and even then the most complicated seems to be four squares connected by walkways with skimpy borders around the edges to encourage you to fall and an occasional hole in the middle of a square.  Variety is key here.  It would also be nice if the game did something different like maybe switch up the “good’ color every now and again within the same level.  That would certainly throw the player for a loop.  Despite all these critiques I definitely think there’s something going on here.  I’d just like to see the developer take the game from being fun and strangely addictive yet average to something that can really stand out from the crowd.

Surrounded

While not at the level of games like Hydro Tilt or Aerox, the graphics in Jewels Maker are decent.  The colors and patterns can be a bit garish, but nothing is overwhelming.  The ball looks like a big marble, which is actually kind of cool, and the jewels look decent.  The sparkle when you hit a jewel is a nice little touch.  The sound effects are workable as well.  Where the aesthetics stick out, however, is in the music department.  There are three tunes: one for the menu, one for the main game play, and one for the bonus time.  I don’t know if they were composed specifically for this game or if they were chosen from a site of the internet or what, but however you look at it the music is great and in an odd way really suits the game.

I’ve played better ball rolling games, but I’ve certainly played much worse.  The truth is that amidst the game’s brevity and issues it has a certain charm that can’t be denied.  I really hope the developer continues to enhance Jewels Maker, though, because I do believe that given the right amount of love and care it could become one of the top tier ball rolling games.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

Slice It! is a game of proportions.  You’re given an object, a required number of lines  to draw, and a target number of slices to cut the object into.  You draw lines across the object to slice it, and in the end you must have made the required number of pieces, each one being approximately the same size in area.  If one piece is too big or too small, you fail.  If you don’t make the required number of slices, you fail.  If you don’t use the required number of lines, you fail.  As you get further along in the game you’ll see the You Failed screen a lot.  When you finally get that Cleared screen on each level, however, you’ll really feel like you’ve accomplished something.

The game comes with several level sets, and additional level sets will be available after the game’s release as DLC.  The graphics are somewhat doodle-like in nature, though it looks better than most doodle games on the market.  The audio is well done, especially when you hear what sounds like a kid’s voice saying “Great” or “Perfect” after you’ve solved a puzzle with five stars.  I believe the game will retail for 99 cents when it comes out, and I suggest you grab it at that price, because it’s an absolute steal.

Coming Soon Page…

You take on the role of Barry Steakfries, and your mission is simple.  Run as far as you can and take out as many monsters as possible before your demise.  You will not win, but you can have a whole lot of fun in the process of dying.  You’ll travel between four realms, fighting vampires, mummies, zombies and demons every step of the way.  You’ll also have the opportunity to collect a few weapons including “the Pacifier”, which shoots a bullet all the way across the screen, and the machine gun jet pack, which literally propels you in the air as you rain bullets on the bad guys below.

Let's Do The Dash, Let's Do The Monster Dash...

You’re constantly running, so all you have to worry about is jumping by pressing on the lower left corner of the screen and shooting by pressing on the lower right corner of the screen.  Initially you’re shown buttons for these two actions, but I think you can hit anywhere within the general location of each button to perform the action.  You’ll automatically pick up weapons when you run into them.  Your main gun is limitless but doesn’t have a very good range, and all the rest of the weapons have a small amount of ammo.  I would encourage you not to horde, however.  It’s much easier to get rid of the monsters whenever possible so you have more room to jump around.

There are two ways to die – fall down a pit or lose all your hearts.  You lose a heart if you get hit by a monster or run into the various traps protruding from the ground on occasion throughout each level.  Every level has a heart on it to replenish one hit, and if you’re health is full when you hit that heart you’ll actually get an additional heart added to your health meter.  Your score is based solely on how far you run, and each 1000 meters you’ll be teleported to a new world.  The game uses OpenFeint for leader boards and achievements (there are 25 altogether), and you can also post scores to Facebook and Twitter.  The one thing I’d like to see if they do some updates is a couple of new worlds.  I love the ones that already exist, but more variety is always good.

Mr. Zappy Is Electrifying

The graphics are great.  The overall style reminds me of an updated version of an old Apogee shareware game.  The characters look cool and each has their own death animation.  My favorite is the vampire, which looks like it bursts into a bunch of bats upon death.  Even your own character crumbles into a pile of bones when he dies.  The special effects are pretty slick as well.  When you get hit the borders of the screen go red (I know it’s an old trick, but it still looks cool).  When you use Mr. Zappy everything goes dark and you can temporarily see your skeleton.  The backgrounds are very nicely drawn too, and each had nice little touches to represent the creature of the land, like pyramids on the mummy level.

The sound effects are a perfect compliment to the visuals.  Every weapon has a unique sound, and there are enough little ambient noises that the world doesn’t feel dead (though for all intents and purposes it is!)  The only thing missing are some amusing quips from the hero.  I could easily see Barry being the next Duke Nukem with some creative catch phrase.  The music is quite catchy and really helps get the adrenaline pumping.

There’s no question in my mind that Monster Dash is the premiere run and jump game on the App Store right now.  The visuals have a “modern 80s shareware” look to them, the audio is very well done, and the game itself is just plain fun.  I just wonder what the next run and jump developer is going to have to do to kick the genre up a notch again.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

Grow A Truffula Tree

The Truffula tree forests have been decimated, and it’s up to you to help the Lorax regrow them to their former glory.  To accomplish this you must raise trees and plants using the intuitive interface designed for Flower Garden.  At the bottom of the screen you have a pot, and at the top of the screen is a water meter controlled by a watering pot.  When working on a tree you’ll fill the meter to the right edge of the green, and then let the tree grow and use up some of that precious liquid.

Growing plants is a bit more complicated.  Each plant growing session is timed, so you will only get so many plants per session.  The watering meter has an “overwatered” level on the right that you don’t want to reach (it’s yellow in color).  Weeds will also sprout up which you must pull by dragging them out of the pot.  Weeding is actually kind of fun (within the context of Lorax Garden only), and feels kind of like a mini-game.  Any plant grown successfully during a session will earn you a heart that can be used to help grow trees more quickly.

Once a plant growing session is over or a tree is fully bloomed, the foliage will be removed from the greenhouse and relocated to the garden you’re working on.  Each garden has its own set of requirements in order to be completed, and you can opt to completely regrow a garden at any time.  As the game progresses you’ll earn more types of seeds for plants, as well as unlocking characteristics of the trees that will let you customize them to your will.  The one thing I would like to see is the ability to position the plants and trees in the garden yourself, sort of like how Bloomies works.

Show Off Your Gardens

Lorax Garden looks pretty sweet.  At any time you can go back and view any of the gardens you’ve completed, which really look like they came straight from a Dr. Seuss book.  When you’re actually in the greenhouse it is fun to watch the plants and trees grow in 3D.  The contraption that lets you specify the characteristics of the tree you’re planting also looks like a vintage Dr. Seuss gadget.  The sound effects are decent enough, with the gentle patter of rain as you water your foliage and background effects that shift from the howling winds of a deserted landscape to the lively chirps of a populated garden.  The only thing missing is some soothing background music.

I’m still not 100% sure I’d classify products like Flower Garden or Lorax Garden as games, but Lorax Garden certainly comes closer in that regards.  Whatever the case might be, it’s fun growing plants and Truffula trees, and it’s always nice to see the fruits of your labor as you gaze upon a loving regrown forest.  And, if you’ve got kids this would be a great game to play with them.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

Cow Tippin’

I always thought the concept of “cow tipping” was amusing – sort of the farmer’s version of Snipe hunting.  Unfortunately, this game has nothing to do with that age old prank.  Instead, your task is simply to keep one or more cows balanced on wooden planks for a certain period of time.  In easy mode you get one cow, normal mode gives you two cows, and hard mode tips the scale at three bovines.  On screen controls allow you to tip the each board left and right to try and steady the cows.  If one of them should happen to fall off the game is over, though you can keep trying from whatever the last round was that you were on in any given difficulty level.

The main challenge behind the game comes when it starts flipping the screen on you.  It might flip the screen horizontally or vertically (I don’t think I’ve seen it do both yet).  What this in effect does is messes up the way the controls work.  I’m not a big fan of the “opposite effect” in games in general, and it especially drives me nuts in this one, because they confuse you even further in the fact that the controls really are reflective of the way the screen looks.  Normally the opposite effect means you’re moving in a different direction then what you’re pressing, but here you have to adjust your brain to actually look at the screen different, and for me that doesn’t quite work.

Three's A Crowd

While I’m by no means perfect at any mode, I find Easy to be too boring.  Normal isn’t bad until I get fed up with the constantly shifting screen display, and hard confuses me too much because you have a separate set of controls for each cow.  The thing is, this is probably actually a pretty crafty physics game, but I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around it.  As a result, I tend to lose interest quite quickly when trying to play it.  Hopefully your experience would be different.

The graphics aren’t bad, though the background reminds me of a stock Windows XP wallpaper.  I do like the 3D renderings of the cow and the UFO, but the poor cow looks like it is having muscle spasms and continually hitting itself on the head.  Interestingly enough there are no sound effects at all.  The music actually isn’t bad, though it does tend to sound like elevator music before long.  Just be sure that if you’re not very good at the game you try endless mode, as you’ll have the best chance of hearing more of the track.

This is one of those tough calls for me.  I’m personally not thrilled with the game, but I could see how someone with a bit more coordination could get a kick out of it, especially on hard.  I’ve been leaning towards Not Recommended throughout the review, but as I ponder it in the end I realize the potential that’s there, so I’m going to say…

Final Verdict: On The Fence
[Note: Sorry for lack of a link, but this item is no longer available in the U.S.]

Fortune Panda

One thing I’ve noticed with me and mobile gaming is that I tend to appreciate “quick play” games more now.  A game where you can just turn it on, play for a few minutes, and shut it off without feeling like you’ve missed anything or your gaming experience is going to be hampered in anyway.  Fortune Panda is just such a game, and I’m quite sure that I probably would not have gotten into this game so much a couple of years ago.  Now, however, I find it quite enjoyable in short playing sessions.

There’s really not much to the game.  You play a little panda bear carrying a basket behind him, and you have to collect all the coins falling out of the sky.  Silver coins give you 1 point, gold coins give you 5 points, and a 3x multiplier triples your points temporarily, though I don’t know if it’s for a certain amount of time or coins or what.  Along the way bombs, lobsters, frogs and trucks will try and keep you from your riches.  Have no fear, though, you can collect shields to help protect you.  Shields will destroy bombs and keep you safe from lobsters (though it doesn’t destroy the crustaceans).  I’m not sure what the shields do to the other things because I can’t seem to ever get far enough to run into the frog or truck.  The other power up you’ll get is a clock that temporarily slows time, giving you more opportunity to dodge bad things.

In For The Long Haul

To move the panda you simply tilt your device left and right.  If you want to jump just tap the screen.  In the original version the game used the “delayed jump” mechanism where you didn’t actually jump until you let go of the screen, but the developers must have heard my silent cries.  Now you jump as soon as you tap the screen, which is the way it should be.  About the only real drawback to the game is that there are no difficulty levels, and as the game gets rolling power ups seem to fall abundantly from the sky.  Of course this doesn’t stop me from being bad at the game, but it might bore more talented game players a bit.

The graphics are cute, especially when it comes to the panda bear.  When he gets hit by a bomb he gets all singed like in the old Tom & Jerry cartoons, and for some reason that effect never gets old.  Unfortunately nothing cool happens when he gets hit by the lobster.  The one other really cool thing is that the background turns cool shades of red when the slowdown is in effect.  The sound effects as a whole are just okay, but the one thing I do appreciate is the fact that the noise made when a coin is collected is actually different when the 3x multiplier is in effect, so at least you have some way of knowing it’s still going.  The music isn’t anything you’ll hum to yourself while standing in line at the grocery store, but it’s lively enough to compliment the game well.

This is one of those games that is almost too casual for even the seasoned casual gamer, but I still really like it.  Granted I could never see myself sitting down and playing it for hours at a time, but I’m not ready to give up after playing just one game either.  If you’re looking for something with any amount of depth you should probably pass this by, but for anyone else it’s a nice diversion from time to time.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link

This time around I took a look at two games that, while both casual in nature, will probably appeal to two primarily different sets of people.  As it is I didn’t really care for Cow Tippin’, but if you’re a casual gamer with a closet interest in physics games you might want to take a look.  Next time I’ll be analyzing the sequels to two iPhone games I really enjoyed that managed to capture snippets of my youth in an electronic format.  Until then…

Alienz

In a former life this was known as Earth Day, but no matter what you call it, the game is intense, addictive fun.  Your task is to protect your planet from invading aliens by shooting first and never asking questions.  You start with one gun and three weapon points, and it’s up to you to make it all work so you can keep your planet safe for as long as possible.  Of utmost importance is destroying the aliens.  At first an alien will only require one hit to dispatch, but soon multiple shots are necessary.  Thankfully you have some options to enhance your attack.

As the game progresses satellites will float by the contain power ups.  These bonuses include the freeze bomb, which is activated on contact and temporarily freezes everything on screen.  Then there’s the smart bomb, which you can horde up to five at a time on and are activated by tapping the planet or the smart bomb icon.  This nifty little device will blow up everything on screen.  Earth points help replenish damage done to your planet by the invaders, and then there’s the BFL – you’ll just have to try it to find out about this bad boy.  Finally you have weapon points, which is what has always attracted me to this game.

I'm Being Invaded...

There are six areas you can upgrade, including number of guns, rotation speed, and two special weapons.  Each area has three levels of upgrade which require weapon points.  You start the game with three points, and some satellites will leave another point for you.  At any time you can tap the score to enter the customization screen (this is also pause).  What’s cool is that at any time you can take points away from one area and allocate them to another.  More and more games are employing this technique now, but Earth Day / Alienz was one of the first that I was aware of.

Visually Alienz is quite appealing.  The aliens are almost too cute to shoot, but you’ll get over that when you realize that they care nothing for you.  Some of the weapon special effects are pretty slick, and I like how the planet degrades as it looses earth points.  The only thing I miss from Earth Day was how the planet turned “techno” as you got further along in the game (unless I’m just not far enough in Alienz yet).  General sound effects are, well, general.  Nothing really sticks out too much in this department.  I actually do like the music, however, even though it’s not my normal style of tunes to listen to.

I’ll leave you with a tip – don’t waste smart bombs, but don’t be afraid to use them.  Okay, here’s a real tip – go buy this game.  It’s a nice derivative of all the other shooters on the App Store, and its dynamic upgrade system is rather engaging.  Besides, this is one of those development houses that we really need to encourage to keep them making more games.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link

Jumpbot

Yes, this is another one of those “jump as high as you can” games.  And yes, I am a bit biased because I just really like the company behind the game.  Still, this is one of the more entertaining variants on this theme and it’s free, so even if you think I’m nuts on this one it won’t cost you anything to validate my opinion on your own.

Green But Not Envious

The game actually started out in a collection called Arcade Challenge for the Pocket PC, but like Alienz and the soon to be released Jump Rope (another Arcade Challenge remake), it has gotten a substantial face lift as it has made its way over to the iPhone.  You control the Jumpbot, a little robot who just wants to climb as high as it possibly can.  You do this by simply tapping the screen to get the robot to jump.  If you land on the platform above you then you keep going.  If not its game over and you start again.  Spikes and fast moving or vanishing platforms will try and deter your progress, while transmitters will give you extra points.  You can also score bonus points by landing closer to the center of a platform or by jumping multiple platforms in quick succession (this takes practice and good timing).

In addition to the game’s original (or Normal) mode you have Spike Attack and Ironman modes.  In Spike Attack every platform has a spike on it, so your jumping must be really precise.  In Ironman mode each platform has a transmitter, and you have a power gauge.  If your power drops to 0 it is game over, so you need to be sure to collect as many transmitters as you can.  The game is OpenFeint enabled, and there are 12 achievements to earn as well as leaderboards for each game type.

The graphics are good, especially when it comes to Jumpbot itself.  The backgrounds have a simple Saturday morning cartoon look to them, but the dark tones kind of counter that in an odd way.  It’s almost like they were going for a Bladerunner-esque feel in the coloring but a Fox kids’ cartoon style for the images themselves.  The main sound effects almost sound like a cash register, which I’m not really sure fits the overall feel of the game, and as always when you have a cool looking main character you almost feel like it should say something every once in a while.  Guess it’s the silent Wall-E type.  While not overly impressed with the effects, I do quite like the music.  It’s not overbearing and at the same time gets you pumped up if you take the time to listen to it.

Have I played better games in this category?  Yes, I have.  Have I played worse?  Way too many!  Jumpbot is a nice happy medium, with just enough variety to keep it interesting.  If this and Jump Rope are any indication, I can’t wait to see what Kuyi Mobile does with the rest of the Arcade Challenge mini-games (I’ve already told them what I’d like to see next).

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link

I think Kuyi Mobile has proved that they’re in this for the long haul.  That, and they certainly know their way around the casual game market.  They’ve already given us several good games, and I think we’re in store for a lot more goodness to come.  Just make sure you support them by picking up their free games, as it really is a win-win situation.

You control the pig team, and you’re goal is to try and keep those nasty wolves at bay.  The playing field is divided into 4 rows, each row containing 7 squares.  You can place a unit on any square that is open.  If you decide you don’t want a particular unit on a square, erase it and place something else there (you don’t get any money back, however).  Once you fend off a certain number of wolves you’ll move on to the next level.  At the beginning of each level you get to pick which units you wish to take with you on the level.  You get 15 to choose from, but you only have a certain number of slots that you can fill, and you can’t put the same unit in two different slots.  You must choose wisely, but chances are you’ll need to play some levels through a few times before you know which combination works best.

Robin Pork And His Merry Bacon Squad?

I like the variety of units.  The most fundamental unit is the piggy bank.  Without any of these you’ll never be able to build enough troops to fight your battles.  As for troops you have your basic pig with a sling shot, but eventually you’ll get more worthwhile shooters.  In addition to the offensive units you have defensive units like the Eskimo that throws ice at the enemies to slow them down or the photographer that flashes the bad guys to temporarily stun them.  There are even pig-made units like the bomb that will take care of all the units around it when it goes off, and the scare-pig, that acts as a defense the wolves have to get through before they can proceed.  Each unit has an offense and defense rating, so plan accordingly when placing them on the battlefield.

There are also plenty of villains to go around.  You start out with the basic brown wolf that can easily be dispatched with one or two shots as you get better shooters.  Then you have the blue wolf which is somewhat tougher, and the granny wolf that requires you to get through the disguise before you can actually take out the wolf.  Other wolves include a kamikaze wolf and a wolf with a torch that likes to burn down defenses.  This is just the tip of the iceberg, however, as new wolves get introduced for quite a few levels in classic mode (which you might also call campaign mode).  There’s also a survival mode, which I think is just playing for as long as you can with as many units as you’ve unlocked in classic mode.  I personally prefer the finite levels to classic mode, but I’m sure there are others that will enjoy the “how long can you last?” option.

They Call Me MR. Pig!

The graphics have the same cartoon charm as imPig.  The characters are nicely detailed and the animation isn’t too bad.  Everything is bright and colorful, and the cutscenes look like comic book panels.  It would be nice to see more of them, though.  The sound effects are okay, but the game needs more of them, especially when it comes to the wolves and pigs.  It would be nice to hear them react when they are getting hit or when they’ve made a kill.  It doesn’t have to be every time, but the occasional noise would be cool.  The music is good, but the various selections are all wildly different, and I know I’ve heard at least one or two of them in other games.

Overall I’ve quite enjoyed this game.  Again it’s not my favorite style of strategy game, but it certainly makes up for that shortcoming with a variety of units and a great atmosphere.  I’m really starting to get into this “pigs vs. wolves” universe, and I hope we see more games that tell the tales of these warring clans.

Final Verdict: Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link

[All About Quick Looks]

Tunnel Shoot – I like to call this game “Tempest in a tube”. There have been several tunnel flying games in the last few months, and this is by far the most entertaining. The graphics are slick, the music is cool, and the action gets intense, especially in the recently released Insanity mode. The tilt and fire controls work flawlessly, and releasing a bomb is a simple matter of a two finger touch. This is a nice change of pace from the typical scrolling shooters, while still maintaining all the thrills you’ve come to expect from such a game.

App Store Link

Fastar! – This game is more of a spoof than anything, but it’s fun to play none the less. You are the brave hero of a nameless town, and it’s up to you to conquer the hordes of squares that have taken over the countryside. A simple mechanic of tilt to run, quick shake to thrust, and tap to swing your sword normally is amazingly enough a fulfilling combat experience for short bursts. You can collect money to regenerate health and increase strength and defense, and your ultimate goal is to reach the right side of the level. There are 28 different modes to play, and you can record your high scores both locally and globally. The graphics are cute, the music is actually well done, and the overall spirit of the game is light and relaxing.

App Store Link

Leap Sheep! HD – I honestly probably never would have gotten this if it hadn’t gone free for a day, and that would have been my loss. This game is a blast! You wouldn’t think making sheep jump over a fence would be all that fun, but as you start to get three rows of sheep going at a brisk pace it can be challenging. Add to that the fact that more than one sheep start coming out in a single row at the same time, and the playing field gets downright hectic. Thankfully the rams can help clear the lanes, but they are in short supply, so use them wisely. The graphics are cute, the music is amusing (though it only plays for a short bit as the level starts), and this is one of those games that you could easily play with your kids – though you might have to fight over your iDevice with them. The game is a universal binary, so you win no matter what iDevice you have.

App Store Link

That’s another edition of “Games I Like”. Next up… who knows? Why should I spoil the surprise!

The Dark Forest

I really wish this game had a story, because it’s just the kind of game that needs one.  Not because it would make the game any better, but because given the overall look and feel of the game, a story would be both amazing to look at and funny to read.  Since there’s not one, my best guess is that you’re trying to save a princess, since one of the levels is entitled “save the princess”.  I have some deductive reasoning skillz, that’s for sure.  You do this by employing one of the greatest weapons to ever grace a video game – a giant sling shot and a gnome.  Not even any old gnome, mind you, but Chuck Gnome.  I think his middle initial is D, though it’s never clearly stated.

I know Angry Birds did it first, and there’s even some argument that the birds are more amusing, but there’s something so prolific about hearing the war cry “Chuck Smash” in a high pitched voice that can’t be beat.  Regardless, your sole purpose is to pull Chuck back in the slingshot and let him go, hopefully hitting one of the many targets that litter the screen at any given time.  The first level is practice, so it’s filled with mundane things like clouds and trees.  There’s an additional cloud level to be unlocked when you beat the first one (appropriately called “First Flight”), but that level is just insane.  The other unlocked level right from the start is “When Ogres Attack”, and while this is much simpler than “Cloud Buster”, I still can’t figure out how to beat it.  But at least you get cool things like ogres, flaming balls and birds that look suspiciously like one of the characters from the aforementioned “other” game.

The ultimate goal of each level is to defeat enough of something so that you can expose the key, which you also have to acquire by chucking Chuck at it.  The problem is that I can’t for the life of me figure out what the trigger is to finding the key in each level.  I’m pretty sure it has something to do with full moons and the position of your hand over the iPhone antenna, but I can’t prove it.  I’m actually quite shocked that I beat First Flight, and even more so that I actually managed to expose the key two different times (I missed it the first time).  I still haven’t deduced the “last straw” for finding the key on “When Ogres Attack”.

Which brings me to another point – you might be tempted to look at the fact that there are only six levels and say “that’s not much”.  It may not seem like much, but unless you’re an expert Chuck chucker you’ll get your money’s worth simply by playing those levels again and again until you find the key each time.  Plus, rumor has it that the developer is already readying the next two levels for an update to follow soon after the game’s initial release.  I’d be a lot more excited if I thought I’d ever actually see those levels in my lifetime.

Controlling Chuck is a simple matter of dragging him and letting go when he’s in the proper position.  Thankfully you have Chuck Vision, which is a nifty line that shows you the arc he’ll take when flying through the air.  Do keep in mind, however, that the obstacles will be moving all the time as well.  You also have to remember to grab Chuck towards his head, because if you grab too low not only will he get uncomfortable, but you won’t be able to make a very big launch arc.

Storming The Castle...

The graphics in Chuck’s world are fabulous.  The design is such that you feel like you’re watching a puppet show, but of course you’re the main character.  Nothing is overly detailed, but it’s still clear that a lot of work went into making everything look distinct and consistent.  The colors are both vibrant and brooding when they need to be, and it’s fun watching Chuck smash against a mountain or twist an object when he lands on it and his weight spins it around.  I also love how the backgrounds change around as you progress through each level.

The sound effects are decent, though truly the weakest part of the game.  Everything you hit makes a cha-ching, which sounds fine for a target, but not so great for a nasty ogre.  The thump when Chuck hits a hill or something should have been a bit more pronounced as well.  On the other hand, the Chuck-isms are great.  There aren’t many, but they make me smile every time, I’m sure partially due to the helium-inspired sound of Chuck’s voice.  The music is very well written and has an epic quality to it, which almost doesn’t fit the overall mood of the game… or maybe it does.  Either way it’s wonderful to listen to.

* Breaking News * – I finally managed to complete the “When Ogres Attack” level.  I’m not telling, though, so you can suffer just like I did!  Anyway, if you haven’t gathered by now, I’m rather enjoying this game.  I think you will to if you give it a chance.  If you’re really dead set against it, maybe they’ll at least come out with a soundboard app so you can play “Chuck Smash” to your heart’s content.  I know I would.

Final Verdict: Highly Recommended
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[All About Quick Looks]

Recall of RedEye mini Lot C0101

We regret to announce a full recall of RedEye mini units bearing serial numbers beginning with C0101. We have determined that there is a high likelihood that these units will fail. Customers who purchased may choose to receive either a replacement unit from the next lot (D0102) or a full refund of their purchase.

Failures are the result of vibrations which cause wiring between the headphone jack and the mini’s printed circuit board to break or to create short circuits with other components. In the original design of the RedEye mini, the headphone jack is soldered directly to the printed circuit board, preventing the printed circuit board from moving relative to the headphone jack, as shown in the following photo of a prototype unit.

Owners of the RedEye mini are instructed to contact support@thinkflood with the original order number. You can request a full refund which includes the priginal shipping costs or wait for a replacement unit to be sent out. In either case, the original unit does not have to be returned back to Thinkflood.

Added Nore:

 Technobrains had arranged through Thinkflood to review the RedEye mini as soon as the product was available to the general public. Due to the initial high sales volume, a unit was not available for review at launch time. I have been contacted and reasured by the PR rep @ Thinkflood, Christina Carlson that a unit will be available for review once the replacement products are available.  I have also made special arrangements that will allow my review to go beyond my usual comprehensive review and add an interesting twist that will help current owners of the RedEye mini to be comfident that their replacement RedEye mini is a solid product. The review item should be available in the next 6 – 8 weeks. Owners should start to recieve their replacements units before this time but stay in contact with Thinkflood over the course of the next 3+ weeks.

Bob Katayama Executive Editor