Dizzypad

Developer: Nimblebit
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS

Gameplay [rating:4/5]
Controls [rating:4/5]
Graphics and Sound [rating:4.5/5]
Re-use / Replay Value [rating:4/5]

Overall Rating:

From the makers of Scoops, Textropolis, Moon Drop and Sky Burger, comes Dizzypad. Nimblebit are now somewhat known for games which fit into that casual category of gaming, but tend to come in a clean, polished package .. and I'm pleased to say, Dizzypad is no exception to this. Described by many as "Koi Pond meets Doodle Jump" Dizzypad, brought to us by active iPhone development studio Nimblebit, is a simple, yet fun and visually playful game in which you control multi-coloured frogs on their day-to-day journey, as they leap from floating lily pad to floating lily pad. The trick here is timing. If you don't have timing, well .. all you're going to greet is the waters surface matey!

Taking and building on top of the same basic one-tap gameplay mechanic featured in Doodle Jump, the game sees you trying to navigate across a large koi pond by using the oncoming lily pads to aid you as your stepping stones. With gameplay highly centered around high scores, unsurprisingly the actual goal of Dizzypad is pretty simple. Keep leaping from each lily pad as fast as you can for as long as you can. But there's a catch! ... those lily pads? They move. Actually, they spin. Yeah .. Fast. With your projected leap direction marked with a light blue arrow attached to each of these spinning lily pad, you'll aim to judge when is just the right moment to make that death-defying flying departure!

So .. um, How do I gain more lives boy? Anytime within the game that you manage to bypass a pad, as long as you've successfully land on the pad after the one you bypassed, you'll automatically earn another life. That means if you're stuck on a pad, there's a pad another pad in front of you, and then another pad ahead of that pad, you'll have to time your leap just right in order to hit the furthest pad away from you. Once you do you'll automatically gain one more life .. and trust me, you'll need em'! The pad you originally bypassed will show this extra life by sprouting a lily flower and you'll see the extra life appear in the top right of the screen.

As you progress further and further into the game, you'll start to earn achievements. Achievements come in two forms. The first will see you receive award recognition when you pass certain amounts of lily pads. The second type of achievements are unlocks. unlocks come in the form of different cosmetic skins for your frogs. By default you start off with a frog that is lime green. All in all there are 11 cosmetic frog skins to unlock , including that all important Golden Idol frog! Plus, with Dizzypad supporting ngmoco:)'s Plus+ network, your achievements and high scores are stored on your online profile for all to see, making the game ever-more addictive and ensuring the game retains that competitive element.

Visually, Dizzypad is a joy to look at. Boasting similar visuals to some of the more advanced pond simulators currently in the store, like Koi Pond and Reflecting Pool to name just a few, each successful leap within Dizzypad is accompanied by a rather appropriate rippling of the surrounding water. But it's not just the small visual touches that will make you fall in love with this game. If anything, part of your new-found addiction will come from wanting to listen to the in-game soundtrack. Kind of country based, Dizzypad is set to the backdrop of a bouncy feel-good and laid-back string party, which in my opinion only seems to compliment Dizzypad's polished gameplay.

Overall, Dizzypad lives up to Nimblebit's previous strong track record, delivering a fun, well-rounded, casual and visually good-looking gaming experience which is both addictive and at the same time, a joy to play. I really can't recommend this game enough!

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