Tag: DavidLinan »

With the continued dominance of Angry Birds atop the App Store, it seems like a foolish time to try and bring a physics-based puzzle game to market. Into this unfriendly territory steps Catacrok, and while it can't quite take on the big boys, it does its best to offer a simple physics puzzle game at a reasonable cost.

Catacrok basically finds you launching balls at targets, attempting to knock down the blue blocks and gain positive points while avoiding red blocks and their negative scores. Players can control how fast and far the ball travels with finger swipes, while holding down on the touchpad determines the size of the ball. The control scheme is simple enough to allow players to jump right in, but also allows for a bit of complexity and strategy with its additional wrinkles.

As the stages progress Catacrok also throws in special surfaces like slippery ice and rough flooring to mix up how the blocks react to your shots. You'll also start seeing unstable platforms which can be exploited for scoring purposes or level-specific set pieces that somehow factor into victory. These stages are when the game truly shines, it's just a shame there aren't more of them to enjoy.

Catacrok isn't the sort of game that will really turn heads, but if you're a fan of the genre then it's another option to consider next time you plan to make a purchase. Furthermore, those who do give the game a shot can at least feel good in the fact that they're helping a small indie developer carve out a place in the big, bad world of iPhone apps. Shouldn't the warm fuzzies count for something?