Review: Gravity Well

Overview Get the ball in the hole...only this time use gravity and the accelerometer to navigate the ball into the goal and complete the level. That's basically it. As you advance to higher levels, they get harder and there are more obstacles in your way as you attempt to...well, get the ball into the hole. Gravity Well is a fun and addicting game little game that will no doubt drive you crazy, but in a good way. Features Not a whole lot of features on this one, but there really isn't any need for them either so...The main feature here would be the soundtrack. There are over 17 tracks that have been custom created for this application by the award winning Humble Brothers and they can also be purchased in iTunes...so that's pretty cool. Other than the innovative touch controls, which are also cool, a portion of the proceeds goes toward the BCSPCA, Heart & Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon, and the Canadian Cancer Society. So you're helping people by buying this app... bonus points on that one! Breakdown The Good: The soundtrack and gameplay are easily the app's strongest elements. The music in a game like this can get really old, really fast. It's nice to see more game applications implementing this type of feature where you not only get multiple tracks, but you're able to get said tracks on iTunes as well. Definitely a cool addition to the game. The gameplay is surprisingly smooth and works quite well here. You basically just touch wherever you want the ball to go and it reacts to the gravity it takes to get there. So in other words, it's like if you threw a ball toward something and then suddenly wanted it to go in another direction. The ball would need to expel the energy it already had first before switching directions. So the ball doesn't go exactly where you touch once you get it moving. Still following me? Basically, it really feels like there is some gravitational force pulling at the ball when you play. Again, it works extremely well. The Bad The graphics...they're not very good. Ever play any first generation game on either XBOX or Playstation and then compare that game to the current game that are now out there? The first generation game doesn't really hold up, right? Well that's how I felt about these graphics. They seem out-dated on a device that is capable of so much more. The reply value on this game isn't really that high in my opinion. It's a fun game, don't get me wrong, but I doubt I'd ever go back and play it again after trying it out for a few hours. For the price of four bucks, I'm not sure it's worth that much. The Verdict The game's not bad. I wouldn't put it on my "top games list," (assuming I even had one) but I wouldn't dismiss it either. If you like these type of games, I say pick it up. You'll get plenty of enjoyment out of it. However, if you're looking for something casual to play every once in a while...I'm not sure this is worth the price.

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