Review: Bobby Carrot Forever
by Matt Fox
March 27, 2009
Overview
A fun and cute puzzle/strategy game with plenty of entertainment to keep you messing around with it for hours at a time. The point is to collect different items and treasures (mostly carrots in this case) and use them to advance yourself through the game and to buy different power ups and whatnot. The very basic controls and lay out of the game make it a simple “pick up and play” whenever you have a few minutes to kill. Although the more advanced gamer will probably find this game a little too easy and plain, kids will most likely be drawn in by the cartoon look and feel of the gameplay.Features
The main feature on this game is its new virtual keyboard. This thing works great and is by far the greatest improvement from the last version. Without it, the controls are incredibly frustrating so kudos to the Devs on this one. New keyboard aside, there’s also a cool level select option after you complete a world. This is a nice feature for those that like to go back and collect everything in a level. A few minor things like double tap for the menu and a zoom out option have been added as well. Personally, I found the music selection to be the biggest selling point for this game. Most games like this have the worst music ever. That and the fact that they usually have one song that loops over and over. Now yes, you can just turn it off, but the fact that we have over 17 different tracks that you can unlock as the game goes on is a nice little bonus. It helps to keep the game fresh.
Breakdown
The Good:
The ease in gameplay and cartoonish look of the graphics are easily the game’s strongest elements. It’s nice to see a game that doesn’t need a lot of “bells and whistles” in it and yet can still be entertaining at the same time. The music and the variety of the music gives the game a “new” feel to it each time you open it up. It has a wide range of fun toys and bonus items to it as well that keep the levels from feeling like you’re playing the same thing over and over. Lastly, it’s harder than it looks. Some levels take seconds to beat while others require much more thought and strategy to them. The “overhead adventure” aspect of the game is very reminiscent of “Legend of Zelda – A Link to the Past,” which is a great throw back to that type of game.
The Bad:
Although the game is on sale for $4.99, I still feel like this is a high price tag for this game. Yes, it’s fun and cute and everything, but it does get boring pretty quickly. There’s absolutely no storyline here to enrich the gameplay at all. The “Zelda” element that makes this such a “must get,” is also its biggest downfall in my opinion. You really can’t do anything but walk around and collect stuff.
Okay, you can get in different vehicles and fly around or mow over tall grass, but that’s really it. It’s just a walk and explore type of game. The action characteristics from the “Zelda” games are completely gone here. I know what you’re thinking; this isn’t “Zelda!” True, but don’t put that on the app’s main page then. By advertising that it, “Plays like Zelda,” is misleading and just a way to get you to buy it.
As someone that has played and enjoyed almost every title Nintendo has ever made concerning good old Link and his crazy adventures, this type of ploy really made me dislike the game almost immediately after I opened it up. If I was the developers, I’d get that off of there as soon as possible, but I digress. The game is just boring and the more you get into it, the more it makes you wonder why you didn’t spend five dollars on something else.
