HorseShoes Pro

horseshoes-pro-iphone-app-review[rating: 4/5]

Enjoy Horseshoe Flinging Fun with another Quality Game from Skyworks

KEY FEATURES:

– TOURNAMENT – Move up the ranks against seven computer opponents!
ARCADE TOSS – Pitch to multiple position-changing stakes!
– RINGERS – See how many ringers you can make!
– PLAY-N-PASS – Compete on the same iPhone/iPod touch!
SOUND AND MUSIC VOLUME CONTROLS
– LOCAL HIGH SCORE BOARDS
– GLOBAL HIGH SCORE BOARDS – Compete against players around the world!

Even before reviewing this game I’ve always been a fan of the throw large weights at a target type game, whether that be the indoor variety like Shuffle Board, the ice variety like Curling or the grass variety of Boule, so to get an iPhone app in the same vein was very exciting.

For those of you who don’t know the game of Horseshoes it is best played outside in the warm sunshine with a horseshoe in one hand and an ice cold drink in the other. The aim is to launch the aforementioned horseshoe through the air to a pole sticking out of the ground in the attempt to get as close as you can or even better, hook the horseshoe around the pole itself.

So with all that said how does the iPhone version match up to the real thing? With a cold drink on hand and sunshine streaming through my window I fired up the app and set about my review.

HorseShoes Pro comes with four styles of play, Ringers, Arcade Toss and Tournament and Play-n-Pass which allows you to challenge someone head-to-head on a single iPhone/iPod Touch.

The game offers the usual polish of other Skyworks games with effective graphics and sound rather than groundbreaking, but as with many games it’s all about the gameplay rather than how pretty it looks.

For those wanting an authentic game of Horseshoes then Ringers or Tournament Mode are the choice for you and the game plays very well. Throwing of the horseshoe is via the tried and tested method of sliding your finger up the screen and this works very effectively, in addition the accelerometer is used to affect the flight of the horseshoe and wrap it round the pole.

After a few games of horseshoe you’ll begin to see that using the accelerometer is required esp. if you are playing in tournament mode where each opponent will get progressively more and more accurate with their shots.

Each round can take a significant amount of time to play as you race your opponent to 40 points but if you enjoy the challenge and the subtleties of the game that won’t worry you. Being able to win the tournament on my first attempt though suggests that the difficulty level may be set a little low for some.

The final version of Horseshoe Pro is Arcade Toss which brings the games indoors and adds a bit of glamor to the game with the addition of bright lights, lazers and bonus points. Ultimately the game is still the same old throwing a bent lump of iron around a stick but the change is nice and the addition of two further targets mixes things up and will challenge you finger flicking skills.

At the end of every game you’ll get the opportunity to upload your score to the online servers to see how you compare globally but with the only a local multiplayer option Skyworks missed an opportunity here to make a good game a great game.

That being said I’m still coming back to the game for a quick go and that has to be a sign that they’ve got something right.

iphone-app-reviews-promo-codes-official-app-store-badge_touch_4Price $1.99

The Good

  • Great port of the real thing to the hand help
  • Intuitive Controls
  • Skyworks quality

The Not So Good

  • Only local multiplayer
  • Too easy

HorseShoes ProScreenshots

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