Twang The Fox Review

Oh line drawing games, how common you have become. What was once a neat and fresh way to interact with games has since grown rather long in the tooth. Thankfully the developers over at Conix Games have taken note of this irritating trend and decided to bring a new flavor to the genre. So begins the story of Twang The Fox. Instead of creating platforms, players draw lines to generate rubber bands that can launch the creature skyward. Is this enough to cure a chronic case of monotony, or should players chose to be hands-off instead?

Poor Twang is the patriarch of a family of acrobatic foxes that have been kidnapped by a rival circus. It is your job to help reunite the group so that their tour can continue. The snatched litter decided to leave a trail of assorted fruits so that their father could follow their path. So as the player might expect, the goal is to gather as many of these items as possible, en route to each stage's exit. Depending upon how many are gathered, there is a score assigned to each completed level. Each of the title's six episodes are grouped into packs of ten levels, at the end of which one of Twang's spawn is freed.

The main drawing mechanic consists of drawing a rubber band line that is used to direct the flight of your fox. The shorter the line, the tighter the spring and the higher the shot. As soon as the drawing of a line starts, the game enters a "bullet time"-like state where everything slows down, enabling the player to more effectively draw and thusly control flight with a high amount of precision.

Roughly every five stages a new environmental enemy or launching item is introduced. These tweaks to the gameplay help diversify the action that could otherwise become stale over the span of sixty levels. Each addition brings with it a refreshing new strategy that can be employed to clear stages. By the time that end stages are coming up, the player should feel like they have a full arsenal of options at their disposal.

As far as line drawing games go, Twang The Fox is like a breath of fresh air for a genre that seems to have been on its last leg for quite some time. The minimal ninety nine cent investment provides a great variety of game experiences that will keep players constantly on their toes. If you are in the department for a time sink that won't feel like a throwaway purchase, Twang has quite an adventure in store.