Microtrip Review
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Microtrip Review

Our Review by Cata Modorcea on March 11th, 2014
Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar :: REFRESHINGLY SIMPLE FUN!
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Microtrip is a simple, cheerful little physics-based arcade game where players steer a dynamic white blob through the body of a strange creature, eating white cells and dogging monsters along the way.

Developer: Arthur Guibert Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 4S

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarstarhalfstar
User Interface Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

Microtrip is centered around a refreshingly simple and enjoyable concept that allows users to focus on reaching higher scores without the distraction of completing missions to increase their score multiplier.

The objective is to stay alive for as long as possible. To do that, players need to mind their happy protagonist’s health as it depletes when it isn’t feeding on the packs of white cells found in the organism. Baddies are (of course) present as well, to make the trip a little more challenging (and exciting). There’s a nice twist in this regard too: bumping slightly into the larger monsters or even heavily into the smaller ones will have a very severe impact on one’s vitality, but if players manage to keep their health levels at an all time high, making a mistake and bouncing into a baddie won’t necessarily be the end of the game – just a big loss in health that can be made up for thanks to the ever-present white cells. Every now and then users will stumble across a special pill, which if picked up will result in a random power-up. Those have different empowering attributes such as making the blob larger (which will give it the strength to bash right through monsters and obstacles of all sizes), making the blob smaller and quicker, attracting white cells, etc.

The animations and artwork in Microtrip are cheerful, enhanced further by a similarly colorful soundtrack. The little white blob squeezes happily through tight shapes, splats smoothly against larger, heavier objects, slows down and slightly sticks on to gooey microbodies and so on. No doubt, the strange creature players find themselves inside of has a very lively set of innards.

But now that I've talked about the gameplay, I have to mention the controls as well. Users can choose between tilt and touch controls, with tilt being the default option. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that a game like Microtrip is best suited for tilt controls. Unfortunately though, this is also the game’s most noticeable defect. Tilt controls feel uncomfortable, and that makes me believe that the touch controls were added in because even the developers felt there was a problem in this regard. That’s not to say that Microtrip can’t be played using tilt mode, but steering will feel more difficult that way and I’ve been able to play better using the second option.

Touch controls do work very well, and choosing this mode will likely make players forget all about their less comfortable alternative. Another thing I should mention is that players can't do things like upgrade their power-ups or purchase single use boosters. Personally I haven't missed their presence.

In the end, Microtrip is a fun, nicely animated endless arcade game that is ideal for passing the time when waiting for something, or simply to cheer one up after a long day.

iPhone Screenshots

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iPad Screenshots

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