Help Mr. Nibbles Prepare For Winter In Little Acorns
Little Acorns ($0.99) by Chillingo Ltd is a sweet little platformer where players help Mr. Nibbles gather up acorns for the coming winter. You see, Mr. Nibbles has a Mrs. Nibbles and 10 Nibbley children, so he has to make sure everyone stays well fed when the chill comes on.
The game has uncomplicated but imperfect controls. Movement is controlled with two arrows on the left side of the screen, and jumping is done on the right. Jumping, however, is imprecise, and it’s sometimes tough to end up exactly where you want to be.
The goal in each level is to gather all of the acorns, and then the bonus fruit. Occasionally you will also need to round up Mr. Nibbles’ naughty children, who run all over. There’s a time limit, and minor obstacles to overcome, like caterpillars, spiders, and bees, plus pea-shooting raccoons. There are also typical plat former elements like ropes, platforms, and water to navigate. Mr Nibbles does not swim, so you’ll want to avoid that last one completely.
Occasionally, levels will employ bonus items, which make Mr. Nibbles invincible, or give him extra speed or higher jumps. In most platform games, there’s no going back once you stand on an unstable platform (you know, the kind that disappear) or once you use up an item, but in Little Acorns, all of these things respawn.
After every level, your acorns and fruits are tabulated, and a special item is unlocked. Mr. Nibbles can be dressed up in a variety of costumes, from bowler hats and sunglasses, to pool toys and tuxedos. Rope, which is a key gameplay element, can also be changed, and there are options like rainbow and fuzzy, which turns your rope pink.
Everything is a bit square in Little Acorns, which makes the graphics and the characters quite cute. Acorns have adorable little smiley faces, and the enemies, spiders and bees, are so sweet that you won’t want to smash them.
Speaking of enemies, landing on one does not take a life or end the level. If Mr. Nibbles is stung or bitten, it just slows him down for a few seconds, which can actually be devastating if you’re short on time. There’s a timer for every level, and you will need to finish the stage before it runs out. Though there’s a timer, the lack of a death mechanic makes this game fairly easy, so it would definitely be suitable for both children and adults.
My favorite part of the game was the continual shift in seasons, from spring to summer to fall to winter, and back again. Every few levels the decor would shift with the seasons, which kept the game from feeling stale.
With 60 levels, plus achievements to unlock, there’s quite a bit of gameplay available. I would hesitate to recommend this game to players who are looking for a difficult platformer, but if you’re in the mood for a little casual fun, Little Acorns is a great choice.
