Newtonica2 Resort (iPhone) Review
Posted by Joe Richardson on 01.18.2009
Is pushing ducklings through outer space as fun as it sounds?
Newtonica 2 Resort at its heart is a quirky puzzle game that marries a memorable graphical style with a simple puzzle concept. Though the idea of pushing small ducklings through space into swirling blue vortexes may sound convoluted, the game never takes itself too seriously and conforms well to it's medium. For only 99 cents you get 36 levels, many of which will rack your brain and patience before you finally complete them.
The idea behind each level is to find a way to push the duckling through space and into the vortex. The means by which you control the duckling is through concentric "cosmic waves" which you can launch by tapping on the black spheres. The waves spread outward and push the duckling along. Most levels include more than one black sphere, and on some you can move the spheres in a line so as to affect the trajectory of the duckling. In your way are various smiling or frowning creatures called "Elppa" which have different characteristics based on their color. Green ones bounce the duckling slightly, and are affected by the cosmic waves, Red Elppa strongly bounce the duckling, but disappear once anything touches them twice, and the Purple Elppa absorb momentum and can stop your duckling dead in its tracks. While this may sound complex, the gameplay is delightfully simple.
The only control the player has over the level is when and occasionally where they choose to activate the black spheres. The first few levels are very simple and act as a good introduction to how to control your duckling. As you learn the basics, Newtonica2 starts throwing more and more complex level arrangements at you. Each level has a difficulty level which is indicated by a number of flowers from one to five, with one being very simple, and five being extremely complex. By the time you reach level five you'll be bouncing your ducklings off moving Red Elpaa while timing your cosmic waves to the millisecond. In addition to the overall goal of helping your duckling make it to the vortex, some levels include an optional donut, which you can try and collect on the way. Though I'm still a bit lost on the connection between the ducklings and donuts, they do add a lot of difficulty if you are trying to collect them all. If in fact you do eventually collect all the donuts, four additional levels will be unlocked which happen to be the most difficult you will encounter.
Though the gameplay is simple, the difficulty is high. The later levels require split second precision and many many attempts before they will be completed successfully. Fortunately after a few failures a smiling yellow star will appear on the level, which shows the path your duckling should take on its way to the vortex. Unfortunately on more than one occasion I found the suggested path either vague or more difficult than another method. While most levels require precision and foresight, there are a few that seem more based on luck than skill. Level 20 in particular puts about 20 green Elpaa in your way and after 50 or so tries I stumbled into the answer, which I'm sure I couldn't repeat. While this type of level is more the exception than the rule, there are still quite a few which will try the patience of even the most zen-like player.
The presentation of the Newtonica2 is very high for a bargain game. The graphics seem like a mix between Geometry Wars and LocoRoco. There is a low key techno beat in the background, which sounds nice at first, but eventually becomes repetitive. One minor annoyance was that turning on the vibrate feature of the iPhone does not silence the game music. It's a small thing, but something that hopefully will be remedied by the next installment.
The game keeps track of the amount of time it takes you to complete all of the puzzles, and puts the lowest times on its web rankings. Fortunately the game remembers your lowest time for each level, so you can lower your overall time without any fear of ruining a great score. Each second it takes you are tallied and each donut lowers your score by ten seconds. Its an advanced feature for a game that only costs 99 cents.
The one real disappointment I have with the game is that it does not use the iPhone's accelerometer at all. There were many times where I wanted to infulence the trajectory of the duckling by tilting or turning my phone, but was unable to. Including this in future installments would truly push the gameplay over the top.
The 411
Newtonica2 Resort take a simple puzzle concept and makes the most of it with outstanding production and challenging levels. Though some will become impatient with repeated failures, puzzle devotees will find hours of gameplay at a price you can't beat.
Graphics
8.0
For a 99 cent game, the graphics are well above the curve. The characters are charming and colorful, while complimenting the gameplay rather than detracting from it.
Gameplay
7.0
Simple can be good. While you don't have control of much in the levels, the essence of the puzzles is working with what you've got.
Sound
7.0
A good techno beat overall, but it can become repetative and will most likely be replaced with songs on the iPod Touch or iPhone by most gamers instead.
Lasting Appeal
9.0
36 levels for 99 cents absolutely cannot be beat. Harder levels require multiple attempts and web rankings will challenge the true enthusiast for weeks.
Fun Factor
8.0
While some levels can truly irritate the impatient, there is a lot of fun in the idea of guiding interstellar ducklings through space.
