Cart Cow Review

It's not often you see a cow travel by shopping cart, even in my borderline rural hometown. I like to think it would look a little like Cart Cow, although the poor cow could clearly do with a better guide than myself. The aim of this game is pretty simple: guide the Cart Cow to the exit while collecting up the four leaf clovers that are frequently littered around each stage.

It's never as simple as that in the world of iOS casual games though. You have to draw lines in order to provide ramps and more to ensure that Cart Cow gets to the exit safely. She can fall out of the cart but bonus points are given for remaining in the cart, plus your momementum is restricted once you're out of the cart. Early levels are typically simple to get to grips with, clearly there to introduce you to the main game mechanics. Controls are easy to learn too, never overcomplicating matters. While it's possible to mess up the placement of the lines, a quick tap of the restart button will set you straight.

Further levels require more intricate planning with the likes of UFOs, springs and rockets aiding you. The general idea remains the same however and it's an entertaining one at that. There's 60 levels in all, each divided up by chapter and theme. Much like other games of this ilk, there's the added satisfaction of returning to earlier levels in order to gain a gold medal rather than bronze or silver is a convenient touch also. However lack of GameCenter or OpenFeint support is a mild frustration considering you can't compare your victories then. The main annoyance however lies with the reload times. If you want to restart a level, despite it looking rather simple, it still takes enough seconds that you wish you'd got the level right the first time. A shame as these minor problems do infringe on what is a pretty entertaining game.

For these reasons, Cart Cow might not be your first choice for a physics based puzzler but it does deserve to be in the top 10. It's got some great ideas and level design, once you look past the minor niggles.