Review: Burn The Rope - Flame On!
by Staff Writer
January 11, 2011
Overview
It’s time to Burn The Rope, not to be confused with Cut The Rope, as this time there is much more rope destruction as well as a flair for the pyromaniac. Your goal is to burn every thread of the rope guiding the little flame by tilting. The flame only burns upwards so you have to rotate your iOS device to make sure the flame is burning upwards.
Features
Each of the 80 levels gives you a different pattern/picture to burn, and the flame can split off when it reaches connecting strands of rope. Further along you will come across ants on the rope that change the color of the flame when burnt. There is also certain colored rope that can only be burned by the same colored flame, as well as colored beetles on the rope.
The Good
A new rope destroying puzzle game has entered the App Store, and presents a unique gameplay mechanic. You tap anywhere on the rope arrangement to place the flame, and then try to guide the flame across the entire rope to burn it all. The flame only burns upwards, and you tilt your iOS device to have the flame continue along the rope constantly changing the up direction.
If the flame has nowhere to burn for a few seconds it burns out, and each rope arrangement can split the flame up to burn multiple strands at once. The puzzle aspect arises as you face more and more complex rope constructions, as you try to burn every part of the rope. Adding to the challenge are bugs on the rope, and different colored rope as you play like you’re lighting a fuse.
It’s nice to play something different that takes advantage of the unique iPhone tilting capabilities. You will rotate your iOS device 360 degrees multiple times to burn the more complex rope arrangements. One of the best aspects is there isn’t one right way to do a puzzle as you can begin anywhere, and choose which strand to continue burning after it splits.
The game controls well, and it allows you to flip direction very quickly to burn multiple flames going in different directions. The art style is also well done with the authentic look of the burning flame, and the overall color cartoon scheme of the rest of the game. There are a ton of levels, and there is potential replay in that everyone is scored on a gold to bronze scale depending on how much rope you burn.
The Bad
If you hold your iOS device too flat the game doesn’t recognize which direction is up, so you need to avoid that. Also around corners it’s tough to determine when enough rope has been burned to switch direction turning the corner. There are a lot of levels, but it would be nice for some social connectivity for online high scores and achievements.
Luckily an update has already been submitted for Game Center support, and better corner handling as well as more levels. The flame does move a little on the slow side, and you would like a just a little bit more speed as levels seem to drag from figuring it out to actually finishing. The game does seem a bit repetitive as once you figure out the basic gameplay there isn’t much variation beyond the bugs and colored rope.
The Verdict
Burn The Rope offers up another new puzzle gameplay mechanic that is engaging and challenging. The rope arrangements that you have to burn become more and more complex, with new elements to add variation, and there are a lot of levels to enjoy. It’s great using well made controls, and tilting your iOS device so much plus the game has great art style.
Burn The Rope is worth picking up for only $1, and is a great addition to your iOS puzzle collection for a new spin.
