Trampoloons Review

Developer: PunyRobot
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.1
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2

Graphics / Sound Rating:
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Overall Rating:

In Trampoloons players guide the titular characters as they bounce off a trampoline to reach the money above. Apparently the money was stolen by aliens but this is never made clear nor does it really matter. Basically, the character is constantly bouncing and the player's job is to swipe and tilt him in order to make sure he collects all the money in time. Levels are short and there are a ton of them with greatly varied designs. Plus, players can replay levels to earn medals and unlock new playable loons by using fewer swipes.

It's unfortunate that the swiping, one of the game's two methods of control, does not feel quite up to par. The game recognizes different swipe directions just fine but swiping quickly to build up enough speed can be an exercise in frustration. Quick swipes are crucial too as the Trampoloons usually need to bounce quite high to collect most of the coins. When it works it's simple and fun, especially because the Trampoloon visibly reacts to bouncing up into walls at high speeds. Too many times though they will just keep rising to the middle of the screen only to fall back down as the clock runs out.

The presentation is nothing too stunning. Visually the game resembles pencil doodles or graffiti but the overuse of grey, brown and white in many levels dulls an otherwise neat art style. Character movements impressively show off the ragdoll physics at work though. What's more noticeable is the lack of music. The only thing players will be hearing are sound effects that sound like something one could download for free online. Playing a spray can noise and drawing a paint trail wherever the player swipes is pretty clever though.

When a game only focuses on one mechanic, it better execute on it pretty flawlessly. Trampoloons only aspires to be a time waster but its sketchy controls and lackluster look and sound keep it from fully reaching even that lofty standard. One could do worse but one could also do a lot better.