Developer: Craneballs
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPhone 4
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a game described as “like Angry Birds“, I’d be sunning myself on a remote tropical island somewhere. Probably. Still, that’s the best way to describe Fish Heroes as it genuinely is a lot like Angry Birds. While it might be deriative, it is still rather good fun.
The main component that makes Fish Heroes stand out is that action is 3D. The same Angry Birds style concept is there – players must destroy opposing towers by flinging fish at them – but the difference comes in the ability to rotate the screen.
The enemies are lined up in the center, with it down to the player to determine the correct angle to take them out in the fewest throws. This greatly enhances the strategy involved as there are frequently numerous different ways of solving a level. The physics feel more keenly attuned than in something like Angry Birds which occassionally degenerated into randomness.
Adjusting for this possibility, Fish Heroes doesn’t involve the player just guessing at the trajectory of the fish. Instead a crosshair appears so that they can correctly determine exactly where the fish will hit. This makes it simpler to line up shots, such as one to take out surrounding wood or ice rather than the actual enemy, but it doesn’t make completing a stage any easier. With each stage frequently offering many different obstacles, it’s fun to figure out the best way of completing them. Replaying stages is common because it’s fun rather than just because of some obsessive need to 3 star every level. For those 3 star addicts, it’s convenient that Fish Heroes lists how many fish you need to use to complete a stage throughout the level. It’s a handy guide to knowing what needs to be done.
Much like in Angry Birds, Fish Heroes offers a variety of different fish with lightweight clownfish available at the start, followed by huge whales and bomb like inflattable pufferfish. Much of the strategy comes in figuring out where best to use each fish type.
Fish Heroes won’t win prizes for originality but it maintains a fun edge and it’s consistently satisfying clearing a level with few fish. It’s a great one to drop in on regularly to chip away at those 3 star scores.