Albert Review

There's definitely something to be said about a game that is made entirely of cardboard cutouts (1,000 of them in fact) that have been "sliced, glued, photographed and animated by hand." 3D graphics are nifty and all, but handmade craftsmanship in the app world certainly does go a long way. Tack in some craft holographic effects (tilt the iPhone and the background moves independently of the foreground) and you have something that looks really special.

Past the wonderful graphics that were made with so much love, Albert is really a simple game comprised of a few well designed mini-games that make up the odd life of Albert. The mini-games range from turning off a vast array of alarm clocks by touching them so that Albert can sleep, to jumping over oncoming traffic with your odd car that has feet instead of tires (it's truly odd), to calling to your dog via the iPhone microphone so that he doesn't fall into the river, to using the accelerometer to tilt the soap into Albert's morning bath. The mini-games are all over the place, and while they are usually quite fun, only a few are truly memorable. More levels are said to be on the way (assuming there is support for the game), so in time the truly memorable games could multiply.

If mini-games and truly creative graphics and gameplay are your thing, don't hesitate to give this indy developer some love in the App Store. Albert has a charm that is rarely matched in on this device, and while it doesn't necessarily seem to have the staying power of an Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, it will entertain you just the same.