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18 April 2011
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Anyone ever played one of those old ball games where you have to get the ball through the labyrinth? You know, you've got that little silver ball, and you have to get it past the holes till you reach the end? Now those were great fun, but after doing them a couple of time they got kinda old. Especially when you'd go to get some smart alek to do it and he'd just flip the thing upside down and go along the roof. Still though, they were great. Now how cool would it be if you could do exactly the same thing on the iPhone? I can tell you, it's pretty awesome. Hit the break for more info.
First off, you might be wondering how well this actually works. For me, on an iPhone 4, it's amazing. I can't really say whether or not this has anything to do with the 4's Gyro, but I don't think so, so accuracy should be just as good on all devices. But like I said, I can't say definitively, since I haven't got any other devices to test it on. If anyone can give me some info on this it'd be great. So how do you play it? Exactly the same way you play the physical game - hold the phone flat to the ground, and tilt it to move the ball. Now that may sound simple, and it is, for the basic levels. But once you head into some intermediate or advanced levels, it gets truly insane. To give you an idea, things you need to look out for in the beginner levels are basically just walls and the occasional hole. In the advanced levels, there's cannon's (or is it cannon? I'm never really sure) fans, laser beams, sliding walls, you have to control more than one ball at one time. And that's not even all of it. I'll tell you, "Clever as a Fox" has to be the most crazy difficult level pack ever.
Level packs? What am I on about, you may ask? So, the way this works is you choose a level pack, which is a collection of around five to ten different levels, all based around a similar theme. There are twenty odd official level packs included, with the ability to download user-made level packs (more info on that later) So, basically, no matter whether you're a ball game purist who wants the only obstacles to be holes, or if you're a revolutionary when it comes to games and want fans and lasers and cannon(s?), then there'll be something for you.
So, user made level packs. While I haven't had the opportunity to try this out myself, you can download something for your PC that lets you build your own levels for the game. The tool comes free with every purchase of the game, so anyone can have a crack at it. Why haven't I? Well, I'm out in the middle of nowhere sitting on top of a building so I can get enough reception to publish this article. No, I don't have my laptop with me, otherwise I would have tried this feature out. Ok, enough of my sob story, time for more review...
Alright, probably time for graphics now. While I'm not entirely sure whether or not this app has Retina support (And I can't look it up since I'm on a roof with barely any reception), the graphics are mint. There's a kind of textured over the whole game, especially the menu, and it's really cool. It's kind of like a watercolour, but cooler. Definitely neat, whatever the right word for it is.
So, my basic opinion of it? Illusion Labs have taken an absolute classic table-top game, and turned it into something amazing that iUsers can have with them wherever they go. They've given it just the rigth amount of extra features to make it stand above the rest of the similar games, but the features don't strangle the staple gameplay mechanic so many of us have fallen in love with. Couple that with brilliant graphics and the ability for users to make their own levels, and you've got something really amazing. Oh, and the best bit? When you give it to that smart alek who just turns the game upside down? Well, he can't do that with this.
EDIT: I'd just like to apologise for any spelling or grammar mistakes, and for the relative shortness of the article. But, to be fair, I'd like to see you sitting on a roof in the cold at night typing out an article on your iPhone. I think I've done rather well, personally.
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