Disqus
I just got a review copy of the game Star*burst, which is a good thing – because the PR did give the impression this would be a cool game (check my post on it here)!
Now, it’s not the latest thing in first-person shooters set in a galaxy, far, far, away – but it IS a very solid puzzle game, which draws elements from many of the games we know and love. I noticed styling cues from some classic board games, plus a stack of the block-based stacking games that we’ve seen on handheld consoles over the last few years…
That said, Star*burst does bring a unique enough combination of these to make it fun and engaging. You have a paddle, at the bottom of the conveyor belt, that works like a builders’ hod carrier – that is, you can 3, 4, or 5 blocks a time on your paddle as they come off the belt, then flick them back at the top of the screen. The blocks are different colours, and need to be arrange in lines in order for them to disappear.
Key in this game was going to be control – there’s another famous block-based stacking game (you know the one) that has suffered from some really bad implementations on certain devices, where the controls were crippled – and when you get to advanced stages, you have to know you can move things about at pace, and the control will definitely respond. No worries here – thanks to the iPhones superior capacitive sensing, and good coding in the game, you can play this game hard! And that’s probably another key point – this game is easy to pick up, but hard to master – and that’s exactly what you want in a good ‘casual puzzle game’!
I could go on and mention the nice whizzy graphics in the background, but you’re better off looking at the images below. I could also talk about the Facebook scores integration, but personally for me, these sorts of games are a challenge to myself in those short periods of downtime I have. On that basis, my summary would be that this game is VERY good, and well worth the cash!
Verdict: highly recommended!
Star*Burst / $1.99 [iTunes link]
About The Author
Ben Robinson
Ben is a 10+ year veteran of the Mobile industry – starting his career when SMS was a still a relatively new concept for most people (!), he has now consulted on everything from bleeding-edge Mobile content, to the next-gen accessories you might view it on. As a result he has a broad and deep knowledge in numerous areas of Mobile – from network operators to device vendors, to infrastructure and middleware vendors (not to mention content delivery) – and has worked for companies in all of these areas! He is based in the UK, a hotbed of activity for mobile, and recently became a father for the second time – as oppose to in his younger years when he was happy spend time tweaking all manner of mobile devices to 'nth' degree, he now looks for services and hardware that provide the most efficient, compact, and reliable improvements to his already manic life! It’s his opinion that Mobile solutions should be there to help to make your life better – if a particular solution (be it service or device) isn’t doing this, he believes you need to ask the very important question of why you continue to use it... His focus at IntoMobile is mainly on Mobile content, services, and infrastructure, particularly as regards the UK market – and with the occasional look at devices. Additionally, using his extensive experience in the industry, he will provide commentary on the industry at large, with regular (and hopefully thought-provoking) articles.
