DynamoKid – Review – iPhone

Written By Mark Gugler

Gameplay: DynamoKid is a classic platformer with a few twists that definitely deserve a look. You jump, destroy enemies, collect stars, and ultimately try and make it to the end of each level without dying. Since it is on the iPhone, touch controls come into play in various fashions. You tap the Kid to make him jump, you can swipe along dotted areas to let the world become more solid, you can tap to destroy or move enemies, and you can swipe/tap stars to drop them down to where the Kid can get to them. All of these elements work perfectly well but the pace of the game is where the difficulty comes in. From the second the game starts the Kid is moving quickly throughout the randomly generated world so make one false jump and you lose and must start over. Also you must juggle killing enemies, collecting stars, and jumping which was certainly frustrating at first.

Right now you only have one life so playing once and then exiting to the menu can be defeating for many casual players. With all of that said though, I found myself wanting to get better and playing at least three times every time I started up the game. From what I saw the world continues to evolve, add in more colors, add new enemies, and have some Easter eggs throughout the level. Coupled with the promise of new levels, UI & control updates, and more features in the future make this worth checking out for any platformer fan.

Graphics: Nice hand drawn to cartoon art style. The level and world evolves the further you get in the game with more colors, more distinct and diverse backgrounds, and elaborate enemies which makes the visual reward of getting further in the level very desirable. The menu system is simple and sweet with only my personal gripe missing. My personal gripe being the inability to play my own music library with or on top of the games sounds and music.

Overall: In the end I would say this is a fun platformer to try out and buy if you wish. The lite version gives everyone the free accessibility to try the game so there is no real reason to pass it by. Even if you aren’t a platformer fan but love challenging quick games, this one should be given a pass.

Pros:

* Fun addictive gameplay
* Quick play times make it great for quick or long play sessions
* Quick load times & visually exciting graphics make it a great show off piece for the iPhone.

Cons:

* Can’t play your own music while the game is loaded
* Very frustrating as you learn the games rules & controls

Score:  7 Out of 10

A copy of this game was sent to the reviewer by the publisher for reviewing purposes.

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