Go Nuts With Little Acorns
February 16, 2012
Chillingo is quite possibly one of the busiest development houses right now. This morning they added yet another title to their already impressive lineup with the launch of Little Acorns ($0.99,) a universal title created with a little help from their friends at Pesky Productions.
The game sees you take charge of Mr. Nibbles, a lovable, acorn hoarding squirrel. Your task is to guide Mr. Nibbles around some beautifully crafted levels collecting acorns to keep him fed through the winter.
Little Acorns is, however, more than just a standard platformer. A nice little mechanic included is the grappling hook/rope that allows Mr. Nibbles to gracefully swing across various ledges and platforms. When you get the hang of this it can be great fun.
Little Acorns takes place over 60 levels that are spread over four seasons and three years so there's plenty to do here. As you progress from season to season so do the gorgeously rendered backgrounds.
Within each level you must help Mr. Nibbles collect all the available acorns to unlock the door to the next level. Before moving on, however, you are then able to collect fruit for some quaint unlockable clothing including a clown costume or a rather snazzy top hat.
Along with collecting acorns, fruit and the occasional lost family member (little baby squirrels are scattered across various levels,) there are some fun power-ups to help you achieve your goals such as extra time and an invulnerability inducing crash helmet.
A particularly nice thing about Little Acorns, for me at least, is the lack of a star system that many games like this seem to feature. If you collect the acorns within the time limit you've completed the level, and that's it. Games such as League of Evil 2, require levels to be completed in super quick time frames to receive full marks, which actually detracts from the enjoyment, so not having this in Little Acorns was a welcome change.
With its quirky and wonderful graphics, relaxing game mechanic and simple yet effective control system, Little Acorns, has me going nuts (in a good way). With the promise of more levels to come in time, things can only get better for me and Mr. Nibbles.
