Hydro Tilt clearly owes a debt to Marble Madness, which popularized the concept of moving an object through a pseudo-3D maze in order to reach a particular spot. Thankfully, though, Hydro Tilt is not simply a clone of the classic 80's video game. The marble has been replaced with a blob of water, and you must now collect a cube on each level to transport to the exit. Of course, that just sounds too simple to be all there is to the game, and as luck would have it there's definitely more to Hydro Tilt.

Water has three states - solid, liquid and gas - and Hydro Tilt requires you to take advantage of all three in order to beat the game. The cube can only be transported while you are in ice form. Don't worry though, as touching the cube will turn you to ice if you're not already in that state. There are also certain paths that can only be traveled when you're in certain states. For example, if you try and cross a grate as water you'll fall through, but ice and steam allow you to cross the grate with ease. There are even some paths that require a specific state to traverse, and these paths are marked to indicate the appropriate state. Moreover, there are certain things that react differently dependent on your state. For instance, there are certain tiles that can be crossed while you are in any state, but ice and water will cause the tiles to crumble after you have touched them, whereas steam allows you to pass over them without effect.

So what kind of obstacles will you find along the way? Moving platforms make some paths tricky. Spikes will stop you in your tracks and force you to find another way around. Crumbling paths and one way conveyors keep you from retracing your steps. There are even state dependent switches that must be activated in order for you to access certain parts of a level.

The beauty of this game is that navigation is done entirely through tilting the iPod! I've played many variants on the Marble Madness theme over the years, and the closest feel to the trackball from the arcade version was the touch screen for Monkey Ball on the Nintendo DS. Even that game had its control issues. On the other hand, Hydro Tilt feels completely natural on the iPod. Maybe we'll get lucky and see a translation of Marble Madness for this platform some day.

Graphically, Hydro Tilt is very nice. The iPod does a great job of rendering 3D images. There are times when there is a little bit of clipping noticeable, but that mainly occurs on larger levels when you're going down slopes. There aren't a ton of special effects, but what's there looks good. As simple as it is, I really liked the look of the cube embedded in the ice ball.

The main area that Hydro Tilt is lacking in is the audio department. The music actually sounds pretty good, but it only plays for a short time when the level begins. The sound effects are okay, but are intermittent at best and don't really add to the game. If they had to choose between the two, I'd much rather have the music.

For one of my first gaming experiences on the iPod, I'm impressed with Hydro Tilt. The gameplay has just enough Marble Madness to feel retro, yet enough twists with the three different states of water to make the game unique. The controls feel so natural it's hard to imagine playing this style of game on another platform. The visuals are outstanding, and the sound is sufficient. Throw in some opposition - like the evil marbles in Marble Madness - and you might have something close to perfection here.

Overall Score: 9/10
Product Page: Hydro Tilt page