Twitter Has Never Been As Much Fun As It Is In Tweet Land
Tweet Land ($1.99) by WHY Ideas is an innovative new game that turns tweets into tangible objects. Hopefully, there won’t be an earthquake anytime soon, or this game will be all shakes.
The gameplay is simple. Players drive a fast car, collecting bonuses and avoiding obstacles. A virtual joystick controls movement. The side-scrolling car is on auto run and the goal is to make it through the course by avoiding health damaging incidents while earning the highest point score possible.
The amazing aspect of this game is that it incorporates real Twitter posts into the action. For example, a person may post “Just saw a car accident on the I-5, thank goodness I left work early today,” and the phrase “car accident” will prompt the game to create a car accident as an obstacle for players to avoid.
Obstacles include things like volcanoes, zombies, police cars and meteors. Twitter posts that include those keywords are used to create in-game difficulties. Bonuses include things like health increases, gun turrets and flamethrowers. You’d be surprised at how many people use the word “turret” in a tweet.
Each level increases what bonuses and obstacles will affect the game. For example, the first level only makes use of the phrase “car accident,” while the second level adds “turret” and “sidekick” to the mix.
As the car receives damage from being rammed by a bull or smashed by Godzilla, it changes into a slower, less protected vehicle until it eventually turns into a kid on a skateboard.
The graphics are retro arcade style, which is a great juxtaposition to have the current decade’s technology mixed with a game design of the '80s. There are 20 levels over two worlds with additional worlds planned for the future.
The replay value of this game is through the roof. Every time you play, something different happens because the bonuses and obstacles are generated by tweets that are taking place in real time.
Fans of casual games will love how easy it is to play Tweet Land, while Twitterholics will be delighted to see tweets being used so inventively. The $1.99 price tag teeters on the edge of high, but it is worth it for the hours of enjoyment players will get out of it.
