GiveMeApps Reviews
Super Gnome iPhone/iPad App Review
Jul 11th 2014 at 10:27pm by GiveMeApps May Contain Affiliate Links (What’s This?)
Though the video game market is close to approaching 40 years old and has seen a plethora of technological advancements over its run, games which call back to its early days, affectionately termed “retro” still gets a lot of attention. Whether it is the quirky 8 bit graphics or simple game play, even the current generation of entry level gamers are captivated by the genre. Super Gnome for iPhone&iPad takes fantasy, retro style graphics and tilt play and puts it in an exciting package.
Meet Gnome
Gnome needs to scale the magic forest by jumping on a series of grass laden platforms and floating branches. To get from point to point, you have to tilt your screen in the direction you wish to go in. The game is not as simple as jumping. Floating objects move from side to side making it difficult to get to the next landing. Furthermore, platforms disappear if you jump on them enough times. Your job is to collect as many jewels, power ups and super powers as you can while avoiding poisonous mushrooms. If you fall off of a platform or touch one of the mushrooms, it’s game over.
On many instances, we found it tough to balance. Sometimes tilting would not get us as close to platforms as we liked, this is all a part of the gameplay. It’s not supposed to be easy. This lead to us inadvertently falling off the sides of platforms indefinitely since platforms beneath us would sometimes disappear. You have been warned.
Verdict
We liked the fact that Super Gnome gave us hints of the classics Super Mario 2 and Zelda with respect to gameplay and scenery. Graphics were good and the gameplay is unique enough to make it challenging and addictive. We did not like that there was no tutorial. Instructions are available on the app listing however, which makes up for it. For those who are impatient, enough jewels can get you some cool power ups and in app purchases provide another route to move up faster. For the price of free, Super Gnome will provide you with a nice distraction wherever you carry your device.
GMA