Rovio, the developer made famous by Angry Birds, has released their followup, Amazing Alex. Acquiring it from an indie developer, Rovio has nevertheless given it their royal treatment, creating a polished successor to their wildly popular Angry Birds. In this physics-based game, Alex rearranges toys and household items in true Rube Goldberg fashion. As items drop on the design, a chain reaction occurs. The ultimate score being to collect all the golden stars.
Based on the game “Casey’s Contraptions,” it has already seen a fair amount of success with the free version of the app listed in Google’s Play Store as have over 100,000 downloads. According to Apple, it became the number one paid iPhone app in the United States on the first day of its release. Both Android and iOS versions of the app launched simultaneously.
In playing the game for several boards, I find myself with mixed feelings. The first level left me somewhat satisfied as it introduced new gadgets and mechanisms for achieve a relatively simple goal. That goal ranges anywhere from dropping a tennis ball into a bucket or just popping a balloon.
However, the second level (and I imagine the rest of the game), seemed to become mundane. I found myself guessing wildly in the placement of the apparatuses to obtain completion and ultimately, I became bored. Perhaps it is the nature that this is a “physics-based” game and I am no physicist, let alone mathematician. Though I will admit that there was an odd sense of accomplishment when passing a level, even if I was just blindly moving pipes and scissors around.
The app costs $0.99 at the time of writing this and comes loaded with 4 levels offering over 100 challenge boards. Rovio also included the ability to create and share custom board designs.Head over to the Google Play Store and check it out.