Bloons

Who doesn’t like monkeys and balloons? The highly addicting game Bloons from Ninja Kiwi and Digital Goldfish has made its way to the app store. I remember spending hours at work playing this game, patting myself on the back when I hit that trick shot and popped 40 balloons with one dart. I spent the better part of my weekend glued to my iPhone playing this game.

To sum it up in a nutshell, you’re a monkey who’s sole purpose in life is to pop balloons. Why? That’s the question I found myself asking when I first played this flash game on the PC. I like to think his family is being held captive by a devilish tyrant and he’s hell bent on ridding the world of all its balloons, and he’s kidnapped your family to force you to help him complete his evil plan. But that’s not why, and its not explained.

Once you stop bashing your head against the wall trying to figure out why he’s popping balloons and start playing the game, you should cut off all your lights, turn on airplane mode and sit back and prepare to loose a couple brain cells and a little bit of your eye sight because you’ll be staring at your iPhone/iPod Touch for hours.

Gameplay
Like I said before you’re a monkey with darts, and you use those darts to pop balloons. The game comes bundled with over 100 levels, but don’t think you’ll fly through them. You have a limited amount of darts and you need to preserve those to pop the right amount of balloons to advance to the next level. Sounds easy right? Any first timer to Bloons would think so, until you have to pop 30 balloons with one dart. Then you’re screwed. But don’t fret, you’ll get the hang of it, maneuvering your dart until it flies to just the right spot and BAM! You’re jumping around like a fool because on the 30th try you finally got it.

You might be wondering who would sit around and try the same level 30 times, and you’re saying to yourself that you would do that. So did I. It’s a mixture between anger and desperation that keeps you going. I won’t promise you that you wont get pissed off quite a few times while playing this game, but its that anger that will fuel your desire to keep playing. The satisfaction of owning fake balloons, you would think you’d won the lottery every time you beat a level.

The levels aren’t just all over the place, each one is laid out in such a way that its impossible to go in guns blazing. It takes tact, a keen eye and lots and lots of patience. There are walls to stop you, breakable bricks to break through, and walls that your darts bounce off of. All of which has to be used somehow to complete your objective.

Its not all just pretty balloons either. There are balloons that freeze other balloons and make them unbreakable, balloons that gives you a extra dart or even turns the dart into a boomerang, and those are just a few of them.

The fun doesn’t end there, if, and I stress the word if you get through all the levels, there are 50 slots to create your own unique levels, and the possibilities are limitless. I myself enjoy the explosions of bomb balloons and the light saber balloons, and yes I said light saber balloons. You could also fill an entire level with bomb balloons like I did and just watch the fireworks; it’s totally up to you.

Controls
Touch and drag, let go. Those are the basics of the controls. But its how you let go, where you aim, and how hard you throw the dart. Send it shooting in a straight line, or make it float at a angle, devastating all the balloons in its path. The monkey holds the dart, and you have to gently or forcefully slide your finger across your screen to aim it, then let it go and watch the magic.

I found this method both fun and a bit annoying, sometimes I found my hand covering the screen when trying to aim. Other than that the controls are perfect for an iPhone game.

Presentation
The game is exactly like its PC counterpart with its graphics. But that’s not a bad thing. Its not a super complex game that needs over the top visuals to be enjoyed. Its simple and well designed. I think the clouds that float by in the background are used to calm your nerves when you get really frustrated, and you will hit that point.

Final Impression
A really amazing game, time consuming and well worth the money. I spend money in the app store daily, and I have never once considered this game a waste like some other apps I’ve purchased. I would really like to see an option to purchase more levels.

Current Status: Highly Recommended

Reviewed at: v1.1
Reviewed on Firmware: 3.0
Download size: 5.0MB
Released on: 05 April 09
Retails for: 0.59p / $0.99

Compatible with: iPod touch Gen 1 & 2 / iPhone Classic / iPhone 3G