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- Rating:
- Price: $2.99 (Get It)
- Version: 1.0
- Developer: Flashbang Studios
iSplume is based on the popular web-based game, Splume, both being unique twists on the match-3 genre of puzzles. In iSplume, you shoot upwards colorful eyeballs (splumes) and try to match three or more of the same colors to make them explode. The unique twist is the use of the accelerometer to adjust gravity to swing the splumes around, and the varying sizes that each have their own weight. This, alone, adds a fun level of strategy to the game. When firing splumes, they are also affected by the tilt of your device.
There are up to six colors of splumes that you have to match up (green, blue, orange, purple, red, and yellow.) Each level has a certain amount of splumes you must remove in order to advance to the next level. In total, there are 20 levels to play, with the first one being the easiest and the last one being the hardest. You lose the level when any splume is drooping past the line at the bottom of the screen for more than 5 seconds. You’re given 5 seconds to try to get any splume below the line to either be removed, or to move back above it (tilting may work, in this instance.)
A small thing to mention about the main menu is the nifty animation effect as you tap the buttons. It’s worth mentioning. The main menu lets you play a game and then choose a level, up to level 20. You start off only being able to play the first level, but as you beat a level, you unlock the next to play anytime. There are in-game instructions to find out how to play iSplume. Leaderboards let you find out who has the top time for each level, which it downloads off the internet, and it takes a few seconds to download them. Statistics track the total time you’ve played the game, amount of splumes you’ve fired, games played, and games won. It also lists your own best times for every level.
Control is done by tapping in the direction you want the splumes to end up in. Splumes stick to the top of the screen and to each other. Since gravity is in play, and the larger splumes are heavier than the smaller one, their trajectory is also different. Keeping this in mind while aiming and firing splumes adds a great strategic feel to the game. The accelerometer is also used to detect the tilt of your device, and change the gravity accordingly. It’s easy to swing splumes around, to either get them out of your way when aiming, or to try to get a splume to match up with another one near it.
The visuals are very pretty. The background has a nice vector art near the bottom, while the rest of the play field is a splotchy blue and white. It works very nice, but I would’ve liked different background for each level. The one it has now is no slouch though, but a little variety goes a long way. The splumes themselves look good, but they don’t animate near as much as the web-based version. The eyes could do a lot of things considering the tilt, where your finger taps on the screen, the proximity of other splumes the same color as they are, etc. I feel the developer missed an opportunity to add some great personality to this aspect of the game.
There’s no sound or music, which like I said above, would really add great personality to a fun game. I still don’t understand why some developers don’t add sound effects and then release their games. No music, I can understand, but I’m hoping both will be added in an update. As it is, you can play your own music while loading up the game.
iSplume is a very fun game that could easily be a 5-star rating if it were made more complete; add sound and music, add variety in background per level, perhaps a new gameplay mode, give the splumes more personality and animation. While 20 levels doesn’t seem like a lot, it actually works out well. At level 20, the game is very challenging, so think of the different levels more like small increments of difficulty levels.
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