Review: Gyro The Sheepdog - Gyroscope Herding
by Staff Writer
September 28, 2010
Overview
Now you get to play as a sheep dog using that fancy new gyroscope in your iPhone or iPod Touch 4 in Gyro The Sheepdog. The gameplay is similar to the path drawing genre, but instead if drawing lines you're tilting to control the dog. You have full movement of your dog with the gyroscope support.
Features
The goal is to herd as many sheep as you can while fending off the wolf, avoiding the cars, and trying to deal with a UFO. You simply hold the button on the bottom corner to herd, if you tap it the dog barks, and everything else is tilt. There are multiple pick-ups with some good and some bad, and as you herd sheep you fill your cane meter which can be unleashed to herd all sheep on screen.
The Good
The game feels so similar to the path drawing genre, but changes it up with tilt. You have three lives which means you can lose three sheep and then it's game over, and you try to rack up the highest score before that point. The game is effortless to control, and the dog goes exactly where you want it to, though the slightest movements can have the dog speeding across screen.
Herding the sheep is quite a challenge especially when you want to group them together for combos, and the sheep don't stay compacted well. The game isn't simply herding as you have to deal with a wolf and cars that are constantly coming. All the pick-ups keep the game chaining, and once you reach a certain level the UFO appears shaking up everything.
Each sheep you herd just introduces more and more of them that always seem to be in danger. The game features very detailed visual assets, and there are great animations when fighting off the wolf or having sheep run over by the car, or even sheep dancing. There’s a nice modern soundtrack that is definitely catchy intermixed with bahs and barks.
The Bad
The game uses Facebook connect for online high scores and achievements, and it's just such a terrible system. You can't even access high scores so really the game lacks them, and same goes for achievements. The gameplay is the same every time you play starting out with a few sheep, and working your way up.
The Verdict
Gyro The Sheepdog has a unique mechanic that is effortless to control. The gameplay itself is just run of the mill, and it doesn't have much replayability especially with the lack of online high scores. The game is made really well, but once you play a couple times there is really no incentive to play again.
Gyro The Sheepdog is worth considering for $0.99 depending on if you want a game taking advantage of the gyroscope.
