When it comes to puzzle games, there is a lot of choice on Android today and the touchscreen has really helped with this, but there is a lot more a smartphone can do for these types of games. For instance, our smartphones are attuned to movement as well, thanks to accelerometers and gyroscopes. Why don’t puzzle games take advantage of these extra controls? Well, we’re not quite sure really, perhaps because the touchscreen is a safe bet and more familiar with users. Nevertheless, PaperBigfoot is more than happy to take a risk and they’ve implemented motion into their latest game, Noah’s Ark. Read on to find out whether or not this a game for you.
Description: Noah’s Ark is a puzzle game that will be familiar to anyone that has played Tetris or something like it but, the similarities quickly end once you start playing. The aim of the game is to stack animals on top of the Ark to keep them away from hungry sharks. Stacking them up is the easy part, but the real aim is to pair the animals up to remove them from your stack. Using motion, you’ll have to move your phone side-to-side to stop animals from falling into the sea. It’s this use of motion that makes it more difficult than you’d expect to stack pairs. You’ve got to be careful as well, to avoid stacking skulls and other nasties on top of your ship as well. There are three levels of difficulty, stunning visuals and a fun, arcade style -including 8-bit music – to the whole game. Take a look at the short trailer below to whet your appetite!
How it Works: To get started with the game, you’ve got to go ahead and install it from the Play Store, after a quick download, you’re ready to play the game! Noah’s Ark has such a fun feel to it that even the main menu is entertaining, with fun visuals and cool, 8-bit tunes playing in the background:
The main menu has a number of things float on past to keep the game active, including high scores. Of course, there are no high scores when you first start up the game – it’s up to you to set them! First of all, it’s worth taking a look at the game’s difficulty in the options menu:
I suggest trying the game out on Novice difficulty before you more on up to Hard or bring it back down to Easy – after all, this is a game that’s not as easy as it seems! Once this is all said and done, you can get started with the fun!
So, catching animals looks pretty easy, right? Oh yeah, that’s the easy part, trying to control a boat in the ocean with your phone’s accelerometer is not as easy as it sounds and remember, you’ve got to try your best to stack them in pairs to eliminate them from your stack.
As mentioned in the description there are a lot of things you need to avoid when playing the game, not everything is designed to land on the boat. You’ll have to watch out for skulls to keep the Ark afloat:
Let’s not forget sharks either, that will come up from the sea floor to take a chunk out of your boat – it’s not just the sky you’ve got to keep an eye on!
You can end up running up a pretty high stack, which is not a good idea, but at times, it’s all you can do. It feels so good when you get that pairing to shrink your stack a little bit. It’s a hard game to master but, getting there is a lot of fun. Once you finish a level, you’re given a rating on how well you’ve done, rewards are hard to come by but when you get a gold medal once completing a level – it’s great!
If you’re finding it a little difficult you can always turn the difficulty down a notch if you feel. It’s a fun game to play and one that young and old will like.
Opinion: Noah’s Ark has been a lot of fun and it’s something I’d quite easily recommend to others. It’s got everything you could want in a mobile game – good graphics, fun visuals and a unique control scheme. Part of the problem with mobile games is that they force terrible onscreen controls on to players and we really don’t want them. We want to be able to use our smartphones to the fullest when playing a game and thankfully, Noah’s Ark does this brilliantly.
Ratings
- Speed (5/5) – There were no issues when playing the game and everything ran very smoothly.
- Features (5/5) – With brilliant graphics and a unique control scheme there is a lot to love about the game and it’s definitely worth checking out.
- Theme (5/5) – Where Noah’s Ark gets a lot of its plusses from are its fun and unique visuals that will keep you coming back for more – even the loading screens look nice. Not to mention the fun and nostalgic use of retro sounds throughout.
- Overall (5/5) – Noah’s Ark is one of the best puzzle games I’ve played for a while and it’s hard to put down.
Pros
- Hard to master gameplay will have you coming back for more….and more.
- Brilliant visuals will appeal to both old and young alike.
- Unique control system for a puzzle game.
- Very well polished game, no issues and smooth on a number of devices.
Cons
- Sometimes it can get a little too frantic.
Conclusion: If you’re looking for a new game to play then Noah’s Ark is definitely worth looking into, it’s got a lot of what makes a mobile game pretty great. There are stunning graphics, unique and fun gameplay and there’s even the opportunity to crack high-scores like you did back in the arcades. It really doesn’t matter how old you are, you’re going to love Noah’s Ark, it’s fun and easy to play whenever and wherever and it’s even got an element of challenge rolled into it as well. For those times when you need to play something different, this is perfect and I’m sure the little ones will be able to help out when you’re struggling to beat a level. Check the game out in the Play Store and don’t forget to rate it!