Thursday, September 15, 2011

GOOP iPhone App Review & Giveaway

I was recently presented with the opportunity to review the iPhone app "Goop".  As always, whenever I have an iPhone app to review, I call on my buddy Scott Ruth, iPhone app developer at BraveBit App Studio.  Scotty is my go-to app expert because I trust his honest opinion, and best of all, he has an adorable four year old niece that loves to help us test out kid games.  So, without further ado, here is our review of Goop for iPhone.

Goop for iPhone - A Beautiful Time-Waster
Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 Stars



Welcome to the world of the Eeeps.  Who are the Eeeps, you ask?  They are dinosaur-like creatures, reminiscent of the Pokemon characters of the late 90's early 00's,and they live in a beautiful world where goop is always dripping on them.  You are now their master and must navigate Normy, Dafty, Plumpy and Bitty through four beautiful worlds of falling goop and back to their home.  The object of the game is simple, avoid the goop.  The game play is a bit more challenging as you soon realize that each Eeep has its own unique movement that will take some practice in order to master.  This video preview should give you a basic idea of what the game is like, and also give you a sneak peek at the amazing graphics.   




Now that you have seen what Goop is all about, let's break it down and see what the experts think.  And by experts, I mean one expert and his four year old niece.

Graphics (5/5 stars)
This is one of the game's towering strengths.  It would have been easy to make a game with less graphic interest, but the creators went above and beyond with this game to make it something special.  Scott said, "The graphics are beautiful.  The logo clearly fits the theme of the game.  The characters and their personalities are endearing.  The levels are pleasant, different, and provide more than a backdrop as they have fun details that catch the attention of the player."  The four beautifully developed worlds include a factory, a kitchen, a sewer, and a lava pit.




Music (4/5 stars)
We found the sound effects to be polished and consistent with the animation during game play.  The effects definitely play a role in creating the endearing nature of the characters.  The background music was also appropriate for the on screen action.



Menus (4/5 stars)
The game menus were well-designed and very user-friendly.  Scott said, "It would have been a five star rating; however, the tutorial menu (or "safety manual") was a little lacking.  It was just pictures and text.  A child would need someone to explain the moves to them.  They could probably figure out the forward swipe by trial and error, but the backward swipe would not be as easy for a child to figure out without a clear example in a video or from an adult."





Gameplay (3/5 stars)
If you are into complex character development and games with detailed story lines, you would be expecting too much of this game.  At the core, Goop is a waiting room game, a time-waster in the same vein as Angry Birds.  Avoiding the goop is difficult enough to make it feel like a challenge but easy enough to keep you hooked.  However, this is a game without a long term goal, so if you play games for a purpose or for a sense of achievement, this is probably not for you.  There is, for those who are interested, a leader board and an achievements list via Game Center, but these features would probably not be of much interest to an adult player and too difficult for a child to understand.  Scott said, "I was actually expecting more from the game play, but I understand that it is probably kept simple so that it can appeal to younger players as well as adults."  Scott's four year old niece played the game for a few minutes, and she was actually catching on very quickly after having some of the controls explained  to her.  Although she initially liked the game, it was short-lived, and she said, "Are there any other games I can play?"  Goop is good at what it is intended for: to be a beautiful time-waster for those "waiting room" moments when there is nothing else to do but there is not enough time to take a nap.  Perfect for a visit to a busy doctor's office or the DMV.


*Disclaimer* - This review was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.  Copies of the app were provided in exchange for the review and for the giveaway.

FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A FREE COPY OF THIS APP, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW.  Anonymous comments will be ignored, so please, log in or leave a Twitter handle at the minimum so we can get in touch with you.  Contest will close at 10PM EST on Thursday, September 22, 2011.  Winner will be announced on Friday, September 23, 2011.

Feel free to share this giveaway with others via your favorite social media outlets as well.

2 comments:

  1. Ohhh! Looks like hours of fun. Angry Birds roped me in for months--I was lost in the black hole familiar to serious gamers. I'd love to play it!

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  2. Contest is over, and the winner is Amberr! I will forward your email to Mom Spark Media, and you should see something from them shortly.

    ReplyDelete

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