Quick Look: Elf Command for iPhone
They say the third time’s a charm, and it certainly doesn’t hurt when the first two hits were out of the park. If that mixed metaphor makes any sense to you please explain it to me. At any rate, Elf Command comes from Retro Dreamer, the fine folks that brought us Sneezies (one of my first iPhone reviews) and Eyegore’s Eye Blast, both of which I give really high regards to. Elf Command does not let the pedigree down.
Things Are Getting Crazy
In Elf Command Santa’s Workshop has been automated, and you control two robotic elves trying to get toys out to all the good little boys and girls. You don’t directly control the elves, however. Instead, you draw lines between the gifts that are traveling via conveyor belts and four terminals that are displaying what the kids want. If the elves can get to the presents in time they will take them to the terminals. Each terminal has a timer on it which starts at some point, and you must get all the presents that are required to that terminal before time runs out or you lose a life. You also lose a life if you accidentally take the wrong present to a terminal. If an elf doesn’t yet have a present you can cancel the command by clicking on either the present or the elf. To cancel once the elf has a gift, simply click on the elf and he will stuff the present in a compartment in his chest. Once you lose all your lives the game is over.
The thing that’s so captivating about this game is how manic the pacing can get. Everything starts off nice and pleasant, but when you start having all four terminals requiring 4 gifts it can be quite a trick to manage, especially if you’re not getting the exact gifts you need to complete an order. The game actually requires you to plan ahead a bit, contemplating the best way to get the robots to move the most presents in the shortest distance. Fortunately you can queue up several presents at once, but then you have to remember to check on your elf from time to time to make sure they haven’t completed their task. You never want to leave an elf sitting idle if you can help it.
The graphics are charming enough. I don’t know that they are quite to the level of other Retro Dreamer products, but everything is bright and colorful, and there’s enough animation to keep things interesting. The sound effects are okay, and the music is decent but gets repetitive quickly. Overall I’d say this is the weakest of their games aesthetically, but it’s still not bad.
The thing about Elf Command is that it really sucks you in. You only get one or two points per correct toy, so you can do the math to realize how many gifts you have to deliver to score 1500 points. When the game’s finally over and you realize that a half hour has passed, you don’t really feel like a half hour has passed. That’s the sign of a good game. Just like Retro Dreamer’s other two games, Elf Command has left me in great anticipation of what this team has to offer next.
Final Verdict: Recommended
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Tags: Elf Command, Eric Pankoke, free, iPhone, Quick Look, Retro Dreamer, review, technobrains
December 18th, 2009 at 12:49 PM
[...] few sites reviewed Elf Command this week too, thanks 148apps, Technobrains and BabyBinks. It’s great that people are enjoying [...]