Fishy Controls Make Kiki Fish Fun To Play
Kiki Fish HD ($1.99) by Underwater Labs makes loose controls a good thing.
Kiki is a terrified fish, and who wouldn’t be with falling starfish and urchins? Guide Kiki toward the starfish in the fish tank to score points. The urchins will take away points -- nab all of the required starfish before time runs out.
“Pull to throw” are the game’s only instructions. But it’s not quite so easy because Kiki’s movement is frenetic. Just like a real fish, Kiki zips and turns on a dime.
Controlling the fish isn’t easy because if you’re not deliberate about your movements, you could send Kiki one way and then in the opposite direction the next moment. Kiki can also bounce off the tank's walls.
Under normal circumstances, such loose control of your video game character would be frustrating. However, Kiki’s erratic handicap is what makes this game so much fun. The jaunty music helps, too.
The game has 21 levels, with the last one being “a real challenge” as the developer states on the App Store page. Survival mode is also an option for gameplay. The timer doesn’t count down and urchins will take away a life. Score as many points as you can before your five lives disappear.
This is definitely a quirky game that defies normal expectations. I would recommend the HD version over the iPhone one, given how much room you'll need to swipe across the screen.
