Crack Attack! Review

Developer: Attack Games Ltd
Price: FREE
Version Reviewed: 1.3.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 5

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Overall Rating:

I’m a big fan of match-3 games and I don’t care who knows it. Ok, I care a little bit because there are way too many derivative titles out there that just repeat the same, tired formula. Crack Attack! isn’t one of those games. Sure it looks like something we’ve all seen before, but it’s actually a matching game with a difference. Honest, a proper difference!

Each level looks typical of the genre. A flurry of colored eggs are placed in a grid and you have to clear them. Sometimes, you just have to work towards a specific high score or number of eggs cleared. Other times, you have to clear ice panels underneath them. You know the drill, right? You don’t clear any of these eggs the conventional way though. Oh no. Instead, you have to follow specific patterns and draw lines between them.

Each pattern is dished out to you after you’ve complete the previous one. They typically involve 3-4 eggs that have to be connected in that exact order for you to clear them. They don’t have to be adjoining. In fact, more points are gained for longer gaps between them, giving you a certain amount of license as to what you do. You can set up chains too, thanks to some eggs clearing entire lines once you use them.

It’s an interesting way of doing things and it works well for Crack Attack!. It turns pretty tricky relatively early on, as you find yourself with limited time and plenty of eggs to clear, but it’s a satisfyingly enjoyable experience.

Crack Attack! has the usual bevy of in-app purchases, including extra energy and coins to buy power-ups, but much like with other match-3 games you can look past these and still enjoy a free experience.

I’d suggest throwing some money Crack Attack!’s way though, purely because it’s managed to make the match-3 genre interesting again. Its combination of simplicity yet strategical thinking can be a winner in anyone’s book.