Growing up I would frequently send and receive greeting cards that used the poems and character of Purple Ronnie, a stick figure, funny guy who always brought a smile to my face, and in Fancy Pants for iPhone and iPad I was taken back to that time as the lead character in this game reminded me of him.
However, most of you will know Fancy Pants from the web version of the game that’s been around for a while now and the port over to iOS is a pretty accurate representation of the stick figured platformer although the opportunity to take advantage of the iOS unique control functions of a touch screen and accelerometer was one that should have been taken advantage of. Instead the controls are simply via 4 virtual buttons.
All that aside Fancy Pants {App Store} is still a lot of fun, it’s fast, smooth and addictive and has loads of content that will keep you coming back for more again and again.
The back story consists of the everyday story of rescuing your sister from a bunch of pirates who have kidnapped her, the story is fun, entertaining but following the story is not required and doesn’t take anything away from the game play.
After a brief tutorial you’ll soon find yourself running, leaping, climbing and crawling through large sprawling levels which are full of obstacles but also various challenges and things to collect. You don’t have to complete everything to move through the store mode, in fact having something to go back to the earlier levels to do is all part of the fun.
The artistic style of the whole game is one of simple line drawings but they spring to life as Fancy Pants charges through the 11 levels and multiple arcade challenges that you can unlock as you play through the levels. These arcade games can then be played separately and you can track your success across all of this via the Crystal social gaming network.
If you decide not to complete all of the side challenges then the game can be literally run through pretty quickly, the question is though, why would you!
Despite not taking advantage of any iOS unique control options the controls do work well and Fancy Pants moves around so fluidly that even when he’s not swimming under water it can seem like he is, and that’s no bad thing!
If you like platform games but want something that is a step up from the normal jump up, jump over, stomp, repeat, repeat then Fancy Pants is for you. Fancy Pants is only 99c at the moment and is a universal game so can be played on both your iPhone and iPad, however there is no iCloud support so you’ll need to complete the game on both separately.
[rating: 4/5]What to know:
Another addition to the range of games with doodle in the title, this time in the form of Doodle Invasion for iPhone. The invasion in this game is of aliens onto a beach and it’s your task to defend the beach from the onslaught.
Your primary method of defense is your breaker which you can draw across the screen to prevent the aliens from reaching the beach, you can then move the breaker up or down the screen into your ships that hover them. You can only have one breaker on the screen at anyone time though so if you start drawing a new one the other one will disappear and set loose any aliens it contains.
So far so good, you hover the aliens and stop them reaching the beach, however they’ll keep on coming from the mothership at the top of the screen that produces stream after stream of them.
So you have a balance to make, suspend as many aliens as you can while destroying the mothership by launching rockets from your ships that are hovering up your aliens.
So far so good, as you progress though the aliens start getting more aggressive both in number and their actions. Some will chew through your breaker, some will swim under it and then they will start attacking people who are using the beach and see for their own pleasure.
Water-skiers will get eaten and surf-boarders will be jumped upon, you can defend your human counterparts though with a quick tap and while this won’t defend the beach, or help destroy the mothership it will increase your score.
This is all done on a beautifully plain paper back drop and the animations look great. The sound effects are clear and simple too and if it wasn’t for the explosions and death you could close your eyes and imagine you were on a beach somewhere, especially if you turn off the sound effects.
As you progress through the levels you will get helicopters that you can use to help destroy the mothership but then there will be UFO’s that aim to repair the mothership if you don’t tap it quickly enough to destroy it.
I can’t quite put my finger on it but Doodle Invasion has an addictive quality that I’m not quite sure that it deserves, somewhere in the mess of creatures and doodles it works though and I find myself going back to it again and again!
Crystal integration is also included and this enables global, local and national leaderboards and 9 achievements which helps you coming back again for more.
Doodle Invasion is just 99 cents and is available in the App Store right now or test out the lite version if you want to try before you buy!
$0.99 (View in iTunes)
Category: Games
Released: Nov 25, 2010
Version: 1.0
1.0
18.9 MB
Languages: English, Russian
Seller: Clickgamer Technologies Ltd
© MaxNick
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.0 or later
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Doodle Swipe [rating: 3.5/5]
Doodle swipe developed by HafizAwangPon is all about the fun loving character Bubba, the little blue blob. Guide him along the platforms jumping from one to the other without falling.
If you have ever played Doodle Jump, which I am sure most of you have, this game seems to be inspired from it but features completely new gameplay. The idea is the same the little blob has got to jump from platform to platform without falling to his death on the ground. Where it differs is to do this you have to draw a line with your finger for him to bounce on. When you do, he will then bounce on it and move slightly along so you then draw him another one.
Now if you draw a level line he won’t go any where he will just keep bouncing up and down. So you need to do it at a slight angle then he will bounce with a little push forward. Once he moves and whilst he is in mid air it is then you draw another line for him. The more of an angle you draw your line the faster he will move so make sure you can keep up to him.
On some of the platforms there are springboards which if Bubba bounces on them it gives him a gentle boost and also new in the latest update a jet pack. All quite helpful to get you a bit further in the game. It does take some time getting used to the controls and drawing the line at the right angle. After a few attempts though you should get the hang of it. If you draw the line too high on the screen Bubba jumps above off the screen and you have to then guess where he is going to come back down at. The best thing is to draw it as near to the middle as you can.
Your score is recorded for your own records but also for the online leader boards should you wish to add it there. At any time you can check them to see how high up on the board you are. You can also submit your scores to Facebook and share them with your friends and family.
The sound effects fit in well with the cute blob, lots of boings and jet pack noises. The graphics are quite basic, in the style of doodle sketching with colourful details.
It is a good game and quite hard at times to get far so it becomes quite addictive. The game is a good time killer, perfect for picking up and having some quick fun.
Doodle Swipe is recommended for any Doodle Jump fan!
The Good
The Not So Good
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Updated: May 03, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.1
1.1 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Size: 4.3 MB
Language: English
Seller: Hafiz Awang Pon
© 2010 Hafiz Pon
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later
Doodle Kart Multiplay [rating: 5/5]
Doodle Kart developed by j2sighte is a fun, doodle style driving game. You guide your car around the track with the chance of gaining weapons and unlocking different stages. It is a great, addictive game!
When you first launch the app on the main menu is an option to draw or import your own car. A great new feature and the car you draw you can actually use it to drive around the track! Once you have created and saved the car you are ready to race. You can choose between single race which is just you driving around, against the AI or you can play championship. Which ever you decide to play they all have different levels of difficulty ranging from super easy, easy, normal, hard and nightmare. Then the final choice is what stage you would like to play. Although some of these can’t be played straight away as you have to unlock them first.
The controls are very simple. You drive your micro car around the track. With your left hand you control the directions by selecting the arrow and with your right hand you press the green button for gas and red button to go backwards. If you like you can put your gas on auto mode so you don’t have to control it which makes it a little easier for you. Now to add a little excitement to the race as you move around you can collect items like rockets or pencils. When you have them you can then fire them at the other cars which is a great way to get them out of the way!
To unlock different stages you need to come 1st in the championship mode and win a gold cup. To unlock the dark mode you have to come first in the championship mode and win gold cups in every stage, so the game is offering you great replay options to keep you playing.
Altogether there are 5 different environments, 25 different tracks with 7 weapons within the race to collect. As I said earlier you can doodle your own car if you like and there are a variety of colors and brushes you can use to do this. The large choice of difficulty settings is very good, it gives you a chance to get used to the controls. You can play it in portrait mode or landscape and you control the car by touching the screen or there is a tilt option where you just use your phone instead. I personally preferred the touch option.
The game is a multiplay game. You can play it via bluetooth with your friends. It is also OpenFeint enabled to track your scores and achievements on the global leader boards.
Doodle Kart is a great example of a fantastic doodle game. It looks fun and is accompanied with great colors but not so much that you are taken away from the actual game. In the background it plays some really funky music and the sound effects of the car are what you would expect any racing car to sound like. There are a few flaws within the game that I noticed. When you have created your car and save it, it says you have saved your plane when obviously it should be car and a few times I turned the music off but it still played. These two things in no way spolit the game though it was just something I had noticed while playing.
It really is an addictive racing game. I normally don’t enjoy racing games but this one for me is a keeper. I love the popular openfeint option. The game play is just brilliant and with the chance to play multiplayer against my friends I really didn’t want to put it down.
The Good
The Not So Good
Doodle Kart for iPhone gameplay
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Updated: Apr 19, 2010
Reviewed Version: 2.0
2.0 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Size: 48.5 MB
Language: English
Seller: Jerry Lee
© j2sighte
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later.