Quick Look: Imp Or Oaf? for iPhone
Over the year I’ve had my iPod Touch I’ve had the opportunity to play some really silly games, but I think Imp Or Oaf takes the cake in that department. Of course, one might argue that’s where the game gets its charm, and I’d have to agree with that. It reminds me of those pictures that used to be on the back of Ranger Rick magazines where you’d have to identify something by a blown up image of just a section of the object. Here, however, you simply need to identify if the image is an imp or an oaf. Do you know your oafs?
The game is quite simple. You start by picking between 10, 20 and 50 rounds (personally, I can’t see going 50 rounds, but whatever works for you). In each round you are presented with a zoomed in picture of either an imp or an oaf. All you have to do is press the Imp button if you think it’s an imp, or the Oaf button… well, you get the idea. If you’re really not sure which to pick you can tap the picture to zoom out a little. Be cautious when you use this feature, though. You start out with 100 points for a round, and each time you tap the screen you lose 20 points. If your points for a round go to zero the answer is revealed and you move to the next round. You also don’t score anything for guessing wrong, though you don’t lose any points on your overall score, either. If, however, you can guess correctly multiple times without using any hints you’ll gain bonus points.
That’s all there is to it. The help gives you some tips on how to identify an oaf or an imp, but really your left to the whim of the initial placement of your view to determine if you’ll get the 100 points or not. If the part of the image you see is mostly clothes or dead space, it will be hard to determine anything without zooming. That aside, I think the game could be a lot more interesting if they made it more socially interactive. First, throw in some achievements and put it on OpenFeint. Then, give me the ability to brag about my high scores and how I can tell the difference between imps and oafs on Twitter. Finally, put in a two player hot seat (or even wi-fi) mode to see who can get the higher score. All these things could make this game more appealing to an older crowd. Even without any of those enhancements I think the kids will get a kick out of this game.
The visuals have a very interesting style to them. They look like they’ve been drawn in chalk by a very talented child. I actually think it’s a neat style, and I look forward to seeing more of this in their next game (though the actual characters will be much more detailed to reflect the nature of that game, of course). There are some quirky sound effects, along with comments from time to time pointing out that you thought the picture was of an imp or an oaf. I absolutely love the music – but I’m not talking about the in-game music. That’s good too, especially since there seems to be a nice variety of tunes throughout the rounds. What really sticks out is the main theme, which is some twisted amalgamation of Andy Griffith and Brady Bunch background music, and the help theme. Yes, there’s music specifically for the help screen, and it cracks me up every time I listen to it.
If you have kids, Imp Or Oaf? will probably keep them entertained for some time. If you’re just a kid at heart, this might not quite do it for you. This is one of those tough situations where I should try to look at it from the perspective of the target audience, but the only experience I have to drawn on in regards to playing it is my own. It’s a nice game, but it just wasn’t for me. As a result…
Final Verdict: On The Fence
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Tags: Gilded Skull Games, Imp Or Oaf?
