Review: Paper Toss: World Tour

Overview

Backflip Studios has made a sequel to their super popular free title Paper Toss. Now get out of the office and test your paper tossing skills on a World Stage. It turns out that you have been fired because you were tossing paper during work (Duh!). Now you have plenty of time, so get your metal trash bin, and travel the world.

Features

There are eight new levels set in various continents across the globe. You get to play in Japanese Gardens, by the pyramids in Egypt, the alleys in the Netherlands, the Amazon rain forest, a beach in Indonesia, in front of the Taj Mahal, a snowy square in Russia, and a ballpark in the USA. Each level is unlocked by making three tosses in a row. All eight locations have a unique soundtrack playing in the background. Every level increases in difficulty with the bin further and further away from you. In World Stage you are now outdoors so you use actual wind direction instead of the fan in your office. There are online high scores for each location, and the game keeps track of your most consecutive makes for each location.

The Good

All eight locations are beautifully designed, and are totally immersive. The little details are intricate with little beer steins in the Netherlands, to the nicely designed billboards in the outfield in the USA. The animations are great too, simply seen by the flight of the paper ball. Also in Taj Mahal when you miss the paper ball lands in the pool with a nice plop. Each level has varying wind indicators showing the speed and direction. For example, in Egypt sand kicks up, in the Amazon the rain and in Russia the snow is blown around, in the USA the flag waves, and in the Netherlands the lanterns move. The sounds are nice with eight unique soundtracks that are perfect for each location. Also included are great sound effects for crumpling a paper ball, and the clang off of or in to the bucket. The songs become a little repetitive and is most noticeable in the USA with take me out to the Ball Game. This game is super addictive, and you can spend tons of time with it, without even realizing. It’s so simple to just flick one more paper ball that you just keep doing it. Every time you toss a ball you’re looking to make a new streak, and you always think you can beat your previous high. The online high scores are nice, and are location aware allowing you to see your rank locally, by state, country, and global. The controls worked perfectly, and are a great representation of flicking a paper ball. You simply flick/swipe your finger from the paper ball in the direction you want, accounting for wind. Everything woks flawlessly to let you sit back, and toss paper over and over again.

The Bad

There are not many problems with this game, and is flawless in what it sets out to do. This is a perfect casual game, and the only problem may be that you want more varied gameplay. That’s not what this game is about though. One thing I would like to see is all of your missed shots pile up, rather than each paper ball disappearing once it hits the ground. It would be great to see a big pile of paper around the bin showing how close you have been on your shots and how long you’ve been playing.

The Verdict

Paper Toss: World Tour is the best casual game in the App Store. Backflip Studios has provided plenty to make it worth the $0.99 upgrade over the free original. The simple yet outstanding gameplay is retained, but now with eight locations there is so much more challenge. The design of each level is great with wonderful visuals and appropriate sounds. This is as fun and addictive as an app can get, be warned though you’ll be spending a ton of time with it. Get your trash bin and take a trip, this is easily worth the price of admission, and a must buy. [gallery link="file" columns="4"]

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