Developer: Chillingo LTD
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2
Simplicity is getting harder and harder to find in iOS games. It’s great to see developers use the ever-improving processor and graphics capabilities to bring deeper titles, but that usually comes with more complex gameplay. When someone manages to get the right blend, however, the result is magic.
Fruit Roll HD and it’s iPhone counterpart, developed by Mobotap for Chillingo gets it just right. This game is about as simple as it gets. A fruit must – you guessed it -roll across a level jumping and double-jumping to collect other fruits and stars, while avoiding, or better yet, squishing, foes that range from Day-Glo caterpillars to day-walking mummies.
There are several different brightly-colored fruits to collect and when one is rolled over it goes into the bottom slot on the left and moves up when a new one is grabbed. Any of the last three fruits collected can be tapped to give the rolling fruit its colour and attributes.
Each adversary is color-coded too. Once the fruit takes on a color it can roll over or jump into like-hued creatures and squish them.
It’s also possible to collect three fruits of the same color in a row. Doing so turns the fruit into a super-fruit. It expands in size, and barrels at breakneck speed gobbling coins and fruits and running over anything else in its path. These combos are the key to killer scores and breezing through hard levels.
Fruit Roll is an endless game, i.e. players run with no checkpoints through as many levels as possible until an ill-timed jump turns them to jelly. But, unlike other games that force the replaying of the easiest levels, this one does not get boring. No two games are the same. The terrain and patterns change randomly, so each do-over is a fresh challenge.
I did notice that there are two locked gifts – power-ups I assume – one of which can be opened with the acquisition of 15 achievements and the other by spamming two friends via Crystal. Regrettably, the feature is on the fritz – at least on my iPad.
Fruit Roll HD’s graphics are bright and clever-cute, the controls work flawlessly, even the music is catchy and pleasant .This is the rare time I want to use the Game Center and Crystal Network integration. I’m near the top of the leader boards – it’s early but I aim to try and stay there. I am truly hooked and thrilled to be so. For casual gamers this one is a must-buy.