Review: Aqua Globs HD - Path Drawing Glob Matching Now On iPad - Plus Giveaway
by Staff Writer
August 20, 2010
Overview
Combining single cell organisms in the primordial goo is now on the iPad with a redesigned iPhone version. The path drawing game where you combine rather than avoid now takes advantage of the full 9.7” screen, and isn’t simply just a boost in graphics. You merely combine orange globs together and blue globs together, and make sure orange and blue never touch.
Features
There are two maps giving you the basic original level with no obstacles, and just one special green glob that can combine with orange and blue. The other map is Rockville where there are rock obstacles and a cave plus a special purple glob as well as a crab that pops up. The iPad version features brand new multipliers to earn points quicker as well as a special power-up that lets you clear the board which is earned by filling the meter at the top.
According to the developer they have a new system so the game is “watching you” which was created after tons of player testing. Now the game has adaptive difficulty so the difficulty is based on your skill level rather than programmatically set as in the iPhone version. OpenFeint is also included for online high scores and achievements.
The Good
The same great iPhone experience comes to the iPad which gives you a whole new way to path draw by combining objects rather than avoiding objects. I don’t know about others, but it seems so much easier to smash things together than trying to keep them apart. You also get to combine two small globs to make a big glob, and then you have to combine two big globs to remove them from the screen so the screen does not get overloaded with globs.
The iPad version offers up more action on screen so there are more globs to deal with at any one time. Drawing the paths on the 9.7” screen is much easier which is absolutely necessary to deal with the onslaught of blobs. The game includes a huge bump in the graphics department, and really looks great on the iPad.
You can see the goo wavering around ever so slightly at all times, and there is actual depth to every object on screen. When you draw a path, waves emit from your finger, and the same goes for the path behind globs as they propel themselves along. The same soothing and relaxing soundtrack is included which is absolutely a good asset.
You can really feel that the game has adaptive gameplay to your skill level especially when I compared myself to someone who’s never played the game before. The multipliers are great as well to let you increase your score that much quicker, and the clear all button can really come in handy in sticky situations. The same special globs are included to change it up from simply matching orange and blue globs.
Also maintained from the Phone version are the three lives per game so you can actually make a mistake, and keep going with your high score. The three fast forward levels are included to let every player play at their own speed which can be switched throughout the game to speed through the beginning and slow down in the later stages. The two levels offer some variability, and OpenFeint achievements and high scores can keep you coming back.
The Bad
Aqua Globs HD only features two of the six maps of the iPhone version though that one has been updated multiple times. It would be nice to see some more of the maps make the transfer from iPhone to iPad. The experience on the iPad is so much smoother as well as action packed so even if you own the iPhone version it’s a quality pick up.
The other maps also add more variable obstacles and special globes, and not just the environment change, so they’re very important for long term replayability. The gameplay itself though will keep you coming back always knowing you can improve on your best score, and wanting to do so.
The Verdict
Aqua Globs HD is a great example of how you make a port of an iPhone game to the iPad. You maintain the same great gameplay, and simply improve upon it adding a few features here and there, and taking full advantage of the 9.7” screen. The game looks simply gorgeous, and is loaded with action and fun directly related to the amount of globs on screen.
Aqua Globs HD is a should buy for $1.99 that will make any iPad owner happy, and hopefully we see the same kind of updates we did for the iPhone version.
***To win one of two copies for Aqua Globs HD simply leave a comment and/or retweet this post. You can enter either or both ways, but the deadline is tonight 8/20 at 11:59 PM PDT. US iTunes only, and you must leave a valid e-mail address or follow us on twitter. Good luck.
