I’m glad that Skyworks is continuing to work on non-sports related games, because they are actually turning out some interesting “pick up and play” type games.  This time around we have Skyscrapers, where the goal of the game is to build – you guessed it – skyscrapers.  It uses a simple mechanic where each skyscraper is comprised of several layers, which typically get less wide the higher up you go.  Each layer will slide across the screen from right to left, and you must click the screen when the layer is in the desired position.  There’s not much to it conceptually, but the game can get challenging as the skyscrapers get taller.

Look Out Trump Tower!

Each skyscraper starts out with wide, slow moving layers.  As the skyscraper gets taller the pieces aren’t as wide, and they tend to move a lot faster.  There’s a guide that shows you where the next piece must be placed, and before long you’re reacting ahead of time so that by the time you actually press the screen the piece will be settled into place.  If you wait until the piece is lined up with the guide it will not be lined up when you actually press the screen.  You’re allowed a certain margin of error when trying to line the piece up with guide, but if you can line it up exactly you get an “On The Money” bonus.  On certain layers of some towers you’ll get a red flashing guide as well, and if you get the layer right on the red guide you’ll get a speed bonus.

There are two modes to Skyscrapers: career and quick play.  In career mode you start with the first tower and keep going until you fail to align layers correctly three times on one skyscraper.  In quick play mode you can pick any tower that you’ve already conquered in career mode, and you have to line up all the layers without making a single mistake.  In my opinion there’s not a whole lot of purpose in quick play mode, because you have to unlock all the skyscrapers in career mode anyway, and there’s no bonus for re-beating them in quick play mode.  The main problem I have with career mode is that you have to start from the first tower every time.  I’d be willing to take a zeroed out score if it meant I could start from the first unbeaten tower every time.

Graphically the game is plain but fairly effective.  The background is boring, but the skyscrapers themselves are actually pretty detailed.  They also each have a distinct look to them.  When you’ve completed a tower it will shrink down and fit itself somewhere into the skyline of the city you’re enhancing.  The effect actually looks pretty slick.  There’s also an option to view the skyline and see all the buildings you’ve constructed so far.  The sound effects are okay, but nothing you can’t live without.  The music is okay as well, but Skyscrapers doesn’t have the typical “one of two tracks” option that so many Skyworks games support, so the music can get repetitive without much effort.  Once again you wouldn’t be missing much if you didn’t have music at all.

Overall I found Skyscrapers to be quite enjoyable.  The audio could use some work, and the need to restart career mode from skyscraper 1 every time should be fixed, but other than that it’s a solid game that provides an increasing amount of challenge with each level.  How quickly can you build up the ultimate skyline?

Final Verdict: Recommended
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