Many of you know that physics puzzlers are far from being a rarity within the AppStore. Us iOS gamers get about 2 physics puzzler titles released a week, if not more, so it’s no surprise that most of them go un-noticed. But with most gamers turning their heads at just about every physics puzzler that comes along, it’s inevitable that there’s going to be some decent titles that end up slipping through the cracks. Yateland’s latest project, Rejoin, just happens to be one of those titles, even though it‘s missing some pretty important elements. The gameplay isn’t really anything ground-breaking, but it’s also nothing that’s been cloned, copied, and “influenced” by one of the 4 or 5 usual types of physics puzzlers you’re likely to see 95% of the time.
In Rejoin, you’ll control two balls at the same time, using platforms, portals, boxes, moving platforms, and other objects, mixed in with hazards, to collect each of the 3 stars per level, and get the blue and red balls to touch each other, finishing off the level. You’re given right and left movement arrows on each side of the screen, and can only move the red ball. With each move you make with the red ball, the blue ball makes the same move, only reversed. So if you move your red ball right, the blue ball will move left.
The controls work very well, and have not been the cause of any deaths so far. The same can be said for the game’s physics. Though the balls might seem a little more bouncy than they should at first, it really comes into play later on down the line. The graphics are pretty simplistic, metal like structures against outer space backdrops come together nicely, though if Yateland put more time into the platform’s graphics, it would have gone quite a ways. It seems like some steam punk type influence mixed with a sort of cyberpunk semi-futuristic look to everything would have fit in perfectly with the gameplay. The level design is definitely worth bringing up, as it’s a big part of the game. It’s easy to tell that a lot of time, work, effort, and testing has gone into creating these levels, especially the levels with special objects that you can use to your advantage, like portals and bouncy objects, to make everything line up perfectly, while having control over one orb, and not so much over another. Getting everything placed just right had to have been quite the task, but it was done perfectly.
As mentioned already, there are 3 stars in each level. To get a 3 star ranking on the level, you’ll need to collect all 3 stars. You do not need to collect any of the stars to move on to the next level, so long as you get the two balls to connect. There is no time limit, no scoring system, and no online support for leader boards or achievements. This does take away quite a bit from the replay value, making it more of a game that you’ll play when you want to challenge yourself, and probably only play one time through, deleting it when you’re finished. There’s no drive to get a better score, or beat your friends times, and no achievements to keep you playing a level after you get a star or two, or even just skip the stars and get the orbs to touch.
For $0.99, it’s worth getting if you’re looking for a challenge, and if GameCenter is added in the future, it would add a lot of meat to the game, giving players more to reach for while playing. If a scoring system is added, or time limits, these would also add a lot to the game, especially if both are added. That, along with a leader board for each, a total time for the first 15 levels, and for the last 15 levels, a total score leader board, and a score board for the highest score in a level, would add a ton of replay value, a lot of drive, and push the challenge bar over the edge, making it a game that truly would start to stand out in the AppStore. If the graphics are worked on a bit as well, it could make it a game that people compared other games to, posted about, and told their friends to get. In short, it has a ways to go before it’s a game with that something special, but what Yateland has here is the core of what could be great.
For $0.99, it’s worth getting if you’re looking for a challenge, and if GameCenter is added in the future, it would add a lot of meat to the game, giving players more to reach for while playing. If a scoring system is added, or time limits, these would also add a lot to the game, especially if both are added. That, along with a leader board for each, a total time for the first 15 levels, and for the last 15 levels, a total score leader board, and a score board for the highest score in a level, would add a ton of replay value, a lot of drive, and push the challenge bar over the edge, making it a game that truly would start to stand out in the AppStore. If the graphics are worked on a bit as well, it could make it a game that people compared other games to, posted about, and told their friends to get. In short, it has a ways to go before it’s a game with that something special, but what Yateland has here is the core of what could be great.
Rejoin gets a score of 3 out of 5.
0 comments:
Post a Comment