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Written by Eric
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Wednesday, 31 December 2008 |
Thanks to the prolific advertising on the web site Pocketgamer, one of the first games I had my eyes on for the iPod Touch was Sneezies. I didn't actually know anything about it, but the banner looked really cute. When I finally got my iPod the game was listed in the App Store for 99 cents, so it seemed like a no-brainer to buy. As it turns out, it was not only well worth the buck and change after tax, but probably would have been worth a few dollars more as well.
If you're any sort of Flash games connoisseur, you've played the game before. It might have been called virus or some other such name. The basic premise is that you have a certain number of objects on the screen, in this case sneezies, and you must use the provided mechanism to get rid of as many of them as possible. In Sneezies the objects are little fuzzy creatures called - you guessed it - sneezies that have been trapped in bubbles and are floating around aimlessly. You must free as many of them as possible by dumping a dose of sneezing powder in their midst. This powder will cause the sneezies to sneeze and break free of their bubbles, after which they will parachute to safety (how they had the foresight to put the parachutes on is beyond me).
The key to the game is that when the sneezies sneeze, they will in turn release a burst of sneezing powder. Any sneezies that are within this burst and are still trapped will be set free, starting a chain reaction. This is how you must try and clear the board. There are two game modes to Sneezies: Classic and Challenge. In challenge mode you get 5 bursts of sneezing powder with which to free a certain number of sneezies. Once you've used up your sneezing powder, if you didn't reach your goal you'll have to start the level over. If you clear at least 75% of the sneezies that are on the screen at the time you release the powder you will get an extra turn. These extra turns are crucial to beating the higher levels. In classic mode you get one try to clear of a certain number of sneezies on each level. You can repeat a given level ad infinitum until you've reached your goal, or record the score on your current game and start over if you'd like.
In either mode your base score is one point for each sneezie you free. If I'm reading the messages correctly that quickly flash by on certain occasions, it appears that you get bonus points for either clearing all sneezies of a certain color or freeing all sneezies of a certain color. There is only one control in the game, and that's touching the screen to release a burst of powder. The game is certainly simple to play, but it takes some smart placement of the initial burst of powder along with a little bit of luck to really advance in the game. Because of it's simplistic play mechanics, though, it's easy to pick up anywhere, play a couple of rounds, and then let it go again for a while.
Graphically the game is beautiful. The backgrounds look like cells from a cartoon, and the sneezies themselves are colorful and well animated. They blink as they're floating around waiting to be rescued, they curl up their face when they're getting reading to sneeze, and they smile big when they're finally floating to safety. The designers even went through the trouble of having leaves or snow (depending on the season) carry the remaining trapped sneezies away after you've used up your supply of powder.
The audio element of the game is just as wonderful as the graphics. The popping bubbles are reminiscent of bubble wrap, and the sneezies actually make a sneezing noise when you free them. At key percentage marks - 25%, 50% and 75% - there's a chime to let you know you've reached a goal. The sneezing is at it's best during a chain reaction, reminding me of the exploding sequence on a failed level of Lemmings. There's even a nice sound for the wind that carries the sneezies away at the end of a level. The music is nicely done as well. Each scene has its own track, and they are all pleasant on the ears.
There's nothing earth shattering about Sneezies, and it won't keep you occupied for hours on end. Instead, for what it is, Sneezies is a greatly entertaining game that's simple to play and challenging to beat. If you haven't had the experience of a sneezing chain reaction yet, you really shouldn't wait much longer. Grab your copy of Sneezies today!
Overall Score: 8/10
Product Page: Sneezies Page
App Store Link: Sneezies
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