Moving Day Review

Running games are nothing new to the iOS gaming scene and like it or not, they are here to stay in a big way.  Thankfully there are developers that are trying to bring a different taste to the genre by borrowing mechanics from others.  One such title that is looking to try something new with this style of gameplay is Moving Day, and while nothing groundbreaking, it does well to present a interesting new take on the genre.

Stylistically speaking Moving Day looks like what you would expect from a Nick Jr morning cartoon.  The color pallet is bright, featuring numerous contrasting colors against a fairly light toned background.  While this isn't something that would necessarily appeal to the tastes of most adults, the game doesn't necessarily seem to be targeted at them to begin with.  If nothing else, the difficult curve of the game is another perfect example of that.

Players lace up the roller skates (yes, that's right... ROLLER SKATES) of a mover that has to take a specific amount of items from the front stoop of a residence a moving truck located a significant distance away.  The trick is that while you skate towards said relocation vehicle a wide variety of different obstacles will find their way into your path.  Dodging anything from traffic cones and garbage cans, to meandering stray black cats and trained attack dogs, you will be sliding, skidding and juking your way to safety.

Adding another wrinkle to the mechanics is the need to balance all of the items you are transporting on a plank that sits precariously perched atop your noggin.  The first twenty seconds of every stage is spent arranging these items in a way that will allow you to move them to the truck that is apparently way too far away.  The problem is that if you run into any of the animals or garbage receptacles, the booty of boxes will go skittering across the environment, only allowing the player ten seconds to gather as many as they can, before re-embarking for the truck.

As fun and simple as the game seems early on, there comes a time when the difficult will spike, leaving many uncoordinated players decimated in the wake.  This seems like an unfortunate juxtaposition, given that the games looks to be targeting younger children, but regardless there is plenty of challenge to be found in the closing stages. The only question becomes whether people will even get far enough to experience the difficult spike, seeing as how they may be turned off by the extensive ease early on.

Moving Day is certainly not going to recreate the genre by any means, it is a fun romp that should keep players busy for a couple of amusing hours.  It provides the perfect amount of gameplay for ninety-nine cents, and will keep players hanging their heads in frustration for long after they have put the game away.

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