Quick Look: Swirl – 3D Action Racing for iPhone
As I’ve been waiting for iTunnel 3D to come out (which I hear is any day now), several other “race through tunnels” style games have hit the App Store, all pretty much within a few weeks of each other. One of the entries in this genre is Swirl from Epicore. I really want to like this game, as it has a lot of potential. A couple of things are holding me back from being able to recommend it, however.
Swirl has you hurtling through tunnels, trying to collect stars and reach the end of each tunnel without getting killed. I’ve mastered the art of getting killed, but sadly have accomplished little else in this game. There are 4 “power ups” to be had in the game, though only two are of some benefit. One will give you some health back, while another I’m assuming gives you an additional burst of speed (which is something I clearly don’t need while playing the game). On the down side, there’s a bucket that will splash paint, temporarily blocking your view. There’s also a mushroom that makes controlling the game awkward for a short period of time.
Round And Round We Go
The problem I face is that it looks like I always have a mushroom when I’m playing. Most games of this style make you tilt the device to turn, but with Swirl you prety much have to completely rotate the device at times in order to avoid the walls that block your path. As a result, I wouldn’t plan on playing the game with headphones or a power supply plugged in. Add to that the fact that you tilt tip the device forward to gain speed, and I often feel like I have to choose between playing the game and actually being able to look at it. That’s too bad, because the visuals are actually pretty decent. There are 5 worlds to the game at this point, but in all my attempts I’ve not even come close to even unlocking the second world. I think they need to consider difficulty levels to appease unskillful players like myself.
The game does look pretty good, though I’d love to see how the levels beyond world 1 look. I like the effects when get splattered by paint or accidentally snag a mushroom, so while it’s not suggested as a general practice to get those items I’d suggest it once or twice just to see what it looks like. The sound effects are decent, but I think I’ve heard the sound of me smacking against walls more than anything. I like the music, and I’d really love to hear what the tracks in the different worlds sound like.
I think Swirl has a great foundation, and based on the “coming soon” items in the App Store it might be headed somewhere good, but as it stands right now it’s not there, especially with a price point of $2.99. For a third of the price you can get Tunnel Vision, which has multiple game play modes, has much more interesting obstacle design, and most importantly is much easier to control.
Final Verdict: Not Recommended
App Store Link
App Shopper Link
[Note: image courtesy of App Shopper]
Tags: Action Game, Epicore, Eric Pankoke, Quick Look, review, Swirl, technobrains
December 20th, 2011 at 2:26 AM
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