Sticky Review

Game: Sticky

Developer: Gamistry

Publisher: Chillingo

Available on: iPhone Only

When it comes to iPhone games there are a few things that need to be considered before you make that all important purchase, for example, how long you’ll spend playing the game and where you’ll be playing it. Most people will play their iPhone games while waiting for a bus, travelling somewhere or maybe just while they’re laying in bed waiting to fall asleep. To that end what they really need in an iPhone game is something that’s easy to pick up and get straight into, but what’s even more important than how quick they can pick up the game is how quickly they can put it down when they need to (when they’re ready to fall asleep or they’re getting off at their stop). What those people need are casual games and, in that respect, Chillingo have them more than covered.

If anyone can save the day it's glowy, sparkly, orange-blob man!

Sticky is an example of a great casual game, short missions that can be completed within a matter of minutes but with an overarching story to create a sense of flow and allow the player to carry on, play lots of missions, and maybe even finish the game in one giant sitting if they feel the need, or have the time. The game is set out like many other casual games, there are a series of short missions which are unlocked in sequence but the player has the ability to go back to previous missions whenever they want to beat their time or unlock something which they happened to miss the first time around.

I think my face has frozen this way!

The graphics are crisp and clean with simplistic yet satisfying animations and sounds. The cartoon style helps to reinforce the casual nature of the game in a way that’s reminiscent of casual gaming giants such as Cut the Rope and Peggle. As with all those classic casual games there’s also only a single game mechanic, bounce into the enemies, and as soon as the player hits the enemies they’re destroyed. The main object of each level being to stop the enemies getting to the pipe at the other end of the level. Think of it like a tower defence game but instead of placing units in order to stop the advancement of the enemy, you’re head-butting them. Sounds satisfying doesn’t it?

I can't even tell which way is up anymore!

The only real issue with Sticky is that it crashed a lot on my iPhone 3G. This is probably just a limitation of the now ageing device, and it’s certainly not a problem localised to this game, but it’s something that’s starting to get to be a regular occurrence. It would be nice if games at least notified the consumer on the iTunes page that, while it will play, they may experience problems on devices older than the iPhone 3GS. Other than that minor problem, the game is an excellent example of an addictive casual game! The controls feel good and what the player is meant to do in order to complete the game is immediately apparent from the moment the game starts.

Want a game to give to your Mum to play? Want something to play on the bus or train to work? Sticky could be that game.

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