Review: OddBlob - Universal App

Overview

Oddblob brings claymation to iPhone gaming, and a relativel6y fast paced puzzle game. You need to bounce though the course with missing tiles while collecting fruit, and watching out for the tiles that fall row by row behind you. There are also special bouncing tiles that can help you move quickly, but can also bounce you right into a gap if you’re not careful. The game is a universal app with native versions for the iPhone and iPad.

Features

There are two gameplay modes with a slower methodical strategy mode, and a faster paced panic mode where the tiles fall away quickly. There are four levels of difficulty for each mode which changes the number of gaps, fruits, and jumping spaces. A special edible item is cake which brings up a mini-game with a board of jump tiles, and you need to land on cake, and not the gap. OpenFeint is included for online high scores and achievements.

The Good

OddBlob is an engaging take on a puzzle game with all the various titles you have to bounce through and around to reach the end. It's nice and fun as you have to find the proper path to reach all of the fruits, and find the bouncy tiles while avoiding the gaps. As you progress it is not always easy to find the path proper path though, and sometimes there is only one way through. It's nice to have two different modes to give you the challenge of time constraints with the challenge of scoring the most possible. Panic mode provides much more fun as the tiles fall behind you as you go, and you still try to collect as many fruits as you can, but knowing you have to let some go. The strategy mode is more for completionists to collect all fruits as you go, and look for the highest scoring path through the tile board. The claymation is wonderfully designed, and great to see especially for uniqueness in the App Store. The game is full of great design with clay fruit, and animated goopy backgrounds whether in space, mud, or lava. The animations are also well done as oddblob bounces from tile to tile, and juggling around with each jump. The game has quite a bit to do with two considerably different game modes. On top of that there are online high scores and achievements using OpenFeint for fans of that feature. The included soundtrack is goofy with an upbeat tone fitting perfectly with the theme of the game. The game saves your progress on exit to pick up right where you left off. The game itself is a quality deal for each individual idevice, and that much better if you own both an iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad. The iPad version looks outstanding, and is easier to play, but both native versions are quality built.

The Bad

The controls work well, but are a little bit of a hassle. You have to tap for each jump, and that can get quite bothersome with so much tapping on screen. A better control method could help this game a lot, so you don't have to tap nearly as much. All the tapping can take away from the fun leaving it more of a chore to make it through these levels. The gameplay itself isn't that long lasting as it's relatively simplistic, and all the levels meld together. As you're bouncing around it seems much too easy with no challenge of losing your lives. You will probably lose most lives by simply not having your full attention on the game, and will bounce into a gap on multiple bouncy tiles. On the iPhone version there were a few times when it didn't pick up precisely where I tapped, and oddblob jumped into a gap. This wasn't a problem with the larger canvas that is the iPad.

The Verdict

OddBlob is a unique puzzle game that intertwined some action to the gameplay bouncing through various tile arrangements. The claymation makes the game stand out, but the gameplay isn't as noteworthy. It's fun a couple times, but it's gets boring after awhile, and feels more like a hassle than enjoyable. OddBlob is worth it for only $0.99 if you own a single idevice, and higher if you own an iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad.

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