Little Big Adventure Review
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Little Big Adventure Review

Our Review by Jennifer Allen on March 27th, 2014
Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar :: SNEAK DOWN MEMORY LANE
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A charming classic brought to iOS, Little Big Adventure maintains its charm but that control system is awkward.

Developer: DotEmu
Price: $3.99
Version Reviewed: 1.02
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 5

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Game Controls Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Replay Value Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar

For the more experienced gamer, it's a little disheartening to realize that Little Big Adventure is a 20 year old game. It doesn't feel that long, and I'm convinced time has sped up in recent years. It's now available for iOS, along with so many other great games of days gone by, and there's a quandary: if a game is flawed in a way that was fine all those years ago, how big an issue is that? The nostalgia is there but it can only go so far.

For the inexperienced, Little Big Adventure is about a young hero named Twinsen. Having experienced visions of a destroyed planet, he's taken away to an insane asylum where he has to break out in order to uncover what's going on and ultimately save his home world from a dictator. What this means for the player is that Twinsen is full of ambition and bright ideas, but is actually fairly weak. Stealth plays a pivotal role here.

Controls have been streamlined for the touch screen, meaning that touching anywhere moves Twinsen while tapping and double-tapping on other characters initiates relevant reactions. Rather frustratingly, Twinsen isn't the smartest of characters so tapping on a location means he goes straight there, or at least tries to, whether there's a wall in the way or not. It makes for a clunky interface as one taps carefully around such obstacles, which further complicated by the isometric perspective of the game.

Combined with the risk of instant deaths from various threats, Little Big Adventure isn't the most forgiving of titles. There's a fair amount of trial and error to things, which ages it.

Stick with it and Little Big Adventure is still as charming as it was before. Fans of the original will still enjoy that pleasant wave of nostalgia and it's a soundly well made port, but it's not without its issues.

iPhone Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 1 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 2 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 3 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 4 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 5

iPad Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 6 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 7 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 8 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 9 Little Big Adventure - Relentless: Twinsen's Adventure screenshot 10
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