Review: Ice Cube Adventures - Cool As Ice, Or Does It Melt?

Overview

Darkness is invading the world, and it's up to an ice cube to make darkness retreat in Ice Cube Adventures. The ice cube moves automatically with just slight adjustments from you in this one touch 2D platformer. You simply tap to jump, press and hold to change direction, and tap on various items to interact with them.

Features

You will travel through some dark places including the caves, old mine, and dark forest during your adventure.

The Good

The game offers the usual platform fun of exploring levels not knowing exactly what to do, and actually try to figure some things out. You get to jump on enemies with a tap, and the game is simple to pick up for any user with the one touch controls. The cartoon artwork is really well done that is definitely on the cute side. There is a nice soundtrack as well to fit with the overall more kid friendly theme. This isn't a deluxe platformer for veteran gamers, and is more a version for first timers.

The Bad

The controls have good intentions in mind, but the execution simply isn't there. Since the character moves automatically you need super precise timing to make a majority of the jumps in the game. Changing direction takes an extra second because you have to tap and hold, so you can't get out of sticky situations. Using the ladders or any interactive items is a hassle as well as you'll usually have to try a few times to finally start using the item. The controls take away any of the fun the game had potential for. You can deal with the controls, but it will feel more like a chore, and there's no reason to pick up a game that feels like a chore.

The game is designed for first time platfromer players so I imagine the controls would be even tougher for someone who's not experienced in playing these types of games. Playing the game with the bad controls still isn't very fun as you make it through complex stretches only to end up where you started with no apparent reason for taking that path. This is one of the few games that is so frustrating that you want to toss your idevice against the wall.

The Verdict

Ice Cube Adventures has a nice theme and premise, but falls short in actual execution. The one touch controls while sounding like a good idea are rather terrible in actual use, and prevent you from enjoying any aspect of this game. You should definitely steer clear of Ice Cube adventures as there are far better ways to spend $1.99. The iPhone and iPad versions are practically the same, so the same advice for both. Sadly this one melts.