Jive Turkey Shoot

Jive Turkey Shoot is part advertisement, part game, but that doesn't stop it from being fun. It's free—the folks at Pangea says that it's a "thank you" present to all of their fans—and though it's hardly a deep game, this holiday-themed shooting gallery is worth a download.

The premise of the game is simple: shoot the turkeys! There are more objects being tossed onto the screen than just birds, though: pumpkins, sweet potatoes, and corn can all be shot for (fewer) points, and clocks and ammo packs also appear (these give you extra time and ammo, respectively). Shooting a bottle makes you dizzy; shooting a skull means game over.

That's really all there is to Jive Turkey Shoot. If you run out of time or ammo, it's game over. There's a local high score board, but that's it: no other frills or nifty features. At the start of every game, a screen inviting you to try on of Pangea's other titles pops up, reminding you that yes, this is a promotional game. At least there aren't any other in-game ads.

The graphics and sound are both what you'd expect: a bit crude, but funny and cute nevertheless. The sound effects (gobbling turkeys!) should garner a few chuckles. There a few silly touches too, like how the corn bursts into bits of popcorn instead of just exploding. (What kind of gun does that?)

I'll be honest: I'm not usually a fan of shooting gallery games, but Jive Turkey Shoot is fun...for a while, at least. This is the kind of game that wears off quickly. But that's not to say it's a bad game. It's simply meant to be a freebie, and there's no denying that blasting turkeys is exactly the kind of mindless minigame that feels right at home on the iPhone. It's free and fun, even if it's an ad, and Jive Turkey Shoot is well worth a download.

Be sure to check out Pangea's sale titles, as well: they're an excellent company, and all of there games have been knocked down to $0.99 for the holiday weekend! Enigmo 2, Nanosaur 2, Billy Frontier, and Cro-Mag Rally all garnered good reviews from us. Enigmo 2 in particular is an excellent gem, and at ninety-nine cents, it's a steal!