3 Apr, 2011
Title: Tiny Wings (iPod Touch 4th Gen used)
Platform: iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), requires 3.0+
Seller: Andreas Illiger
Price: $0.99, 0.7€, 0.61£
Latest Update: March 25, 2011
I miss the days of playing a game where the whole aim is to just enjoy the game. You don’t play for achievements, you don’t play to discover something new. You just play for the sake of turning your brain off and enjoying.
In flies Tiny Wings, one of the most popular games on iTunes’ App Store at the moment. Don’t let the name fool you – there is absolutely nothing tiny about the amount of time you could sink into it, and there is certainly no tiny-ness about the amounts of fun you’ll get out of this game.
The only tiny thing about this game so far is the cost: a measly $0.99 U.S. (or roughly 0.7€ and 0.61£).
Now in comes the details. The premise is quite simple: you’re trying to teach a baby bird to fly and get as far as you can before night time sets in. You use your finger on the screen to “dive bomb,” so to speak, and release your finger to let the little guy spread his wings. Sounds simple?
It’s actually a little hard to master the art of timing. You see, the world that this little bird lives in is filled with hills. A damn lot of them. As such, it’s your job to control when to dive towards the inclines and then control when the wings are spread.
I’m probably making it sound like rocket science, but it really isn’t. Think of it like those games where you have to time when to let go of the swinging rope to make it across a large gap, only this time you’re just controlling how far back to swing the rope.
The art style is just another charming feature of this game. The simplicity of it harkens back to the days of the first Yoshi’s Island (gotcha with the whiplash there, didn’t I?). It’s very cartoony, and very appropriate. And the music isn’t exactly the best thing to listen to, but after a while you start to bop along a little to it. It’s cute without being irritatingly so.
Gaining points in this game doesn’t take a lot either. The longer you last in the game, the more points you get. It’s that simple. You last a long time by simply hitting all the hills at the right time, and flying high. Again, your goal is to outrun the night-time, or the sun setting. You’re given the opportunity to track the progress of time by a meter in the left hand corner or simply by keeping an eye on the background.
One of the biggest selling points of this game is its simplicity, and that’s not a bad thing in this case. Another method to gaining more points is you collect little coins on the ground, or better yet, try to fly as high as you can to touch the clouds – that gets you extra bonus points and a little clip of your baby saying, “Woohoo!” Neat, right?
One more bonus to the game is that every day when you turn it on to play, a different color scheme or art style is implemented. Now, I haven’t experienced this myself since I’ve had the game for less than twelve hours (and already played at least four hours on it, thankyouverymuch), but it certainly promises to be interesting. According to the main website, it cycles through your game when your device’s clock switches to the next day.
Now, it might sound like I’m gushing all over myself for this game, but there’s a big something that it needs improvement upon. It’s variety. Let’s face it – it gets a little repetitive to be going through the same levels over and over again. When the night reaches you, or you “Day Over” (instead of dying and seeing “Game Over”), you start back at Level 1. And that’s it. You keep going through the same levels, over and over again.
For the price you pay for this nifty little game, I think you’re definitely getting your money’s worth. If you get bored on bus trips to work, car drives to school, or waiting on somebody to get their hineys in motion, this is a perfect way to pass time. And guess what? It’s pretty entertaining for the little ones too. For those of you who like big numbers and trying to beat your own records, well…this certainly is a game for you too.
For more information on the game and to watch the official trailer, visit the developer’s website.
The Good: Simplicity, big bang for your buck, perfect for the platform.
The Bad: Kinda like vanilla ice cream – gets boring if you play it for way too long.
Tl,dr: If you like casual gaming on the go, something cute, and something to turn your brain off of, this one’s for you.
[rating:4]
Recent Comments