Drop the Cake!

There's no lack of physics based puzzle games on the iPhone, but depending on how hungry you are this one will probably make you drool more than most.

Drop the Cake! is a block busting, balance game not unlike Tiki Totems or TumbleDrop. The goal is simple. Keep the game's precariously perched pastries from falling while eliminating the various objects holding them aloft. However, contrary to the games cutesy vibe, achieving that goal is no cake walk. It can be brutally difficult at times to get that cupcake, donut, or cookie to stay right where you want them.

The characters and backgrounds in Drop the Cake! are beautifully drawn and make the game so sweet that its liable to bring on a toothache. While moving from one visual theme to the next, the game progresses much like one would expect. Each new level brings new and challenging sets of object that must be removed so that the cakes can come to rest on the platforms near the bottom of the screen. Where this game varies from other similar games is its variety of unique objects that are stacked in each level (such as tree branches, balloons, and life-preservers) and the unpredictable way these object react with the game's physics.

These unique objects make for interesting gameplay, but they are also the source of the game's uncharacteristic difficulty. Having such oddly shaped objects often means that a level will begin with every object already off balance. As soon as the level loads and the physics engage, the objects start tumbling, and by the time you get your bearings the cake has dropped too far to save. While this adds another degree of difficulty to the game it can get quite frustrating. Fortunately, you can choose any of the game's 50 levels at any time so particularly painful levels can be skipped.

The game's 50 levels will take some time to complete; especially when it will probably take ten or more tries to clear some of them. That said, Drop the Cake! doesn't include any score or rating system for completed levels. A level is marked by a single star as either completed or not, and there doesn't seem to be any incentive to return to completed levels for a faster time or a better score.

Drop the Cake! is certainly fun to look at (or drool over), but the rich molten chocolate at the center of this confectionary game is the surprising challenge it presents. Consider this warning though: sometimes that rich center is hot and you may get burned.