Reviews
Worth iTrying – iOS Titles You Might Like
By Jorge Figueiredo - February 13th, 2012
You can see Swampy’s bathroom in the background.
We are now in the paradoxical month of February; a strange blend of positive emotions (Valentine’s Day) and depression (supposedly the most grey month of they year). We have found some fun titles that might brighten your day. Check ‘em out!
Where’s My Water?
Do you like physics-based puzzlers? If so, then you will definitely love Where’s My Water by Disney Mobile. The game revolves around an alligator named Swampy, who (unlike his reptilian friends) really enjoys taking baths. The other alligators think this is ridiculous, and constantly sabotage Swampy’s showers by destroying the plumbing that feeds his bathroom. This is where you come in; your task is to help Swampy get his clean water by guiding it through the ground to the commode in his abode (actually to his shower – I was just trying to be clever).
The game presents you with a cutaway of the area above or below Swampy’s bathroom. In every case, you can see the sabotaged feed-pipe for Swampy’s shower and at least one water source; sometimes you can even see broken sections of plumbing that have been destroyed by his meanie friends. To get the water to Swampy, you have to swipe a path through the dirt, being careful not to allow the water to touch any algae (which grows and blocks your path) or any sludge (which has the opposite effect of water in the shower).
Swampy patiently waits for his water to arrive.
The graphics are fun and colourful and physics is represented well. Attaining three ducks on every level isn’t usually too much of a challenge; but if you come across a puzzle that seems to be more difficult than average, you can simply restart the level and try again – a very handy thing when trying to find those elusive hidden items (that unlock some neat bonus levels). Some levels even have the additional challenge of a time limit (usually due to some crazy acid that eats through dirt and consequently dissolves your chances of getting duckies unless you act fast!
Where’s My Water is a great title for gamers of all ages. My daughter and I will sit down for a half hour or so playing this game and she thoroughly enjoys it. With eighty different boards and a charming story, Where’s My Water is definitely something you should pick up.
Cranky’s Story
Cranky’s Story is an add-on (a buck) for Where’s My Water. While not necessarily a separate game, it certainly feels like it could be. Rather than guiding water to an anal-retentive alligator so that he might take a shower, Cranky’s Story has you guiding the weird purple sludge to his place so that he might clean the algae off of his food.
The same game-play mechanics as Where’s My Water are employed in this game – except that everything is now essentially backwards; it is a neat twist that brings a lot more value to the original. There are even new challenges that will add a lot of twists to some of Swampy’s existing levels. Seriously, you can’t get much better value than this – Disney Mobile is really on the mark with this franchise!
Serves you right for messing up Swampy’s shower you Alligator-Hole.
Jigsaw Mansion 2
The folks over at SGN have recently released another awesome title that’s after my own heart: Jigsaw Mansion 2. The name pretty much gives away the fact that this game is all about jigsaw puzzles. My wife and I tend to do real jigsaw puzzles from time to time; it is a great way to hang out and spend time together. Sometimes, though, you get the urge to puzzle when you have no way to actually do so (like on the bus, or in an orbiting space capsule). Jigsaw Mansion 2 solves that problem by allowing you to do them on your iPod/iPad – and without the need to look under the sofa for that last missing piece!
The game boasts some impressive graphics and a control scheme that surprisingly doesn’t get on my nerves (I hate not being able to see exactly what it is I am touching on the screen), allowing for easy control of puzzle pieces. The included puzzles are somewhat holiday-themed at the moment (which isn’t a surprise, given the release window), but you will be more than satisfied if you are a puzzler that decides to pick up this game. I was pretty impressed at some of the shapes that the pieces come in – not your standard fare. You even have the ability to create puzzles to share (through social networks) using your very own images!
Jigsaw Mansion 2 is a fresh take on puzzling that you can take with you wherever you go (and allows for multiple saves)!
Unlocking the puzzle mat makes things a heck of a lot easier.
2XL MX Offroad
2XL Games, the makers of Ricky Carmichael’s Motocross Matchup Pro, have created another fun and engaging racer called 2XL MX Offroad. What’s cool about this game is that it allows you to race ATVs and dirt bikes against each other. What is really great about this game is that it comes with a beefy career mode as well as an arcade mode – so you can spend as much or as little time fiddling about with the minutae as you want.
Graphics are fantastic (I was playing this during break at a convention and turned the heads of a number of passers-by) and really convey the feeling of racing really well. Sound is mediocre; however, it does the job and really, with the graphics being so fantastic, it is a forgivable thing. There are a number of preset control schemes (including tilt); chances are, there will be a control setup that gels with any player that picks this up.
I really don’t have too much to say about this game other than it is really great. I am absolutely horrible at it (I don’t think I have won a race yet in career mode) thanks to my love-hate relationship with tilt controls and AI that is smarter than me. However, even though I am not good at it, I really have a good time playing it!
“We are the Super Friends!”
