Bed Bugs

Developer: Igloo Games
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1

Graphics / Sound Rating:
Game Controls Rating:
Gameplay Rating:

iPhone Integration Rating:
User Interface Rating:
Re-use / Replay Value Rating:

Overall Rating:

If it wasn't for the near complete lack of replay value, I would say Bed Bugs is one of the best games out in the App Store. Though, it's lack of replay value doesn't mean it wasn't one of the most unique iPhone games I've played yet.

I may have compared Bed Bugs to Devil May Cry or Jade Empire, but don't expect an adventure-fighting game. What the similarity is between the games is the frantic smashing of buttons (or touch screens) in order to kill bad guys and progress to the end of the level. Obviously unlike Devil May Cry or Jade Empire, this game is 2D instead of 3D, you also don't control your character walking - all of your attention goes to the killing of the different monsters (or protecting of fairies).

What's unique about Bed Bugs is that as you progress through each level it adds more monsters for you to kill - each monster must be killed differently. Your goal is, first of all, to identify the correct way to kill the monster and then defend your sleepwalking character from attacks by these monsters. The first few monsters can simply be killed by tapping them, they just attack in different ways. I refuse to explain how to kill any of the others because I feel like figuring out how to kill each one is half of the fun. The graphics and sounds of each monster are unique and slightly childish. The monsters look like something a young kid would draw, which kind of adds to the whole nightmare theme.

The game contains 28 levels, 4 of which are bonus (meaning that the level keeps going until your "dream bar" goes down to 0). After you are finished playing these 28 levels there isn't much incentive to replay them, which is my problem with the replay value. I beat the game in somewhere between an hour or two and had no motive to go back and replay any of the levels. The only reward you get from repeating a level is that you get a gold star in the corner of the level for completing it perfectly.

Problems, Wishes, and Misses
Problems. The only problem I had was with the lack of replay value. Everything else in the game was basically perfect.

Wishes. My suggestion in fixing the replay value problem is to add a survival mode. Where randomly generated monsters constantly attack you until your character takes too many hits - similar to the bonus rounds but the randomly generated monsters part is important. The difficulty of the survival mode should be selectable, the hardest including every monster in the game. Throw in the ability to post my high score in survival mode online and you've got yourselves a perfect game.

Misses. I thought the bonus rounds were a miss because the only thing that they do is boost your overall score, something that doesn't matter much.

Even though the game will only give you a few hours of gameplay, those few hours are well worth the $1.99. Check it out.