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I’m normally not much for Olympic sports. While I understand the appeal of a condensed and multi-national competition, my preferred athletic events instead center on the slow crescendo of a sustained competitive season.
Curling, however, is the exception. I’m not entirely sure how I can explain this, but watching curling, for me, is a most zen-like moment: the hush of the rink, the slow glide of granite stones, and the busy work of sweepers fashioning a path across the ice.
As an American, my chance to catch curling is mostly limited to the Winter Olympics. With Age of Curling, however, my ice game of choice has arrived on the iPhone, faithfully recreating the sport’s strategy, serenity, and complexity.
Age of Curling offers matches against either another player (using the same device) or a rather sophisticated AI, and the game’s four wonderfully-rendered venues range from a contemporary stadium to an eighteenth-century Scottish castle. The gameplay faithfully represents the nuance and strategy of curling, and the controls seem custom built for the iPhone: the stone is launched by sliding the finger across the iPhone’s screen, and—once in motion—a rapid finger swipe can sweep the stone’s path, increasing the distance traveled.
In addition, a swipe around the stone can dictate the degree of “curling†that occurs, allowing the player to launch complex, strategic shots. This sort of interface really showcases the iPhone’s potential for progressive control schemes, and it allows for a level of immersion and precision not possible with the conventional configuration of a directional-pad and buttons.
Beyond defining the duration and location of a match, there isn’t a wealth of additional features in Age of Curling. That said, I consider curling to be the icy cousin of chess, and—like chess games—the depth here comes via replay, and the game’s AI challenge keeps me returning.
However, if I have one complaint with Age of Curling, it’s the game’s total lack of audio. I’m not talking about in-game music: with a title like this, I normally prefer to disable the built-in soundtrack and instead listen to something like Explosions In The Sky. Beyond simply omitting a soundtrack, however, Blackish have produced a title that is totally devoid of sound—with the sole of exception of a quiet “clink†produced by the impact of two stones.
There’s no howl of window at Glenkinshire Castle, no smooth rustle as the stone travels across the ice, and no noise created by sweeping the path. The game is almost entirely silent. And while this silence makes Age of Curling seem shallower than it actually is, it also limits the game’s tactile experience.
For a good comparison, launch your favorite iPhone game and then mute the device. If you’re like me, you’ll find that, without sound, the control scheme feels oddly divorced from the on-screen action. A solid soundtrack can bridge this divide, and it’s a feature that’s sorely missing from Age of Curling.
Despite the audio caveat, Age of Curling is well-polished and worthwhile title. If Blackish would push out a more developed audio experience via an update, Age of Curling would be a top-tier sports title—one that could bring new fans to the sport. As is, however, it’s a solid game with a great deal of potential.
[...] Review: Age of Curling “Age of Curling is well-polished and worthwhile title. If Blackish would push out a more [...]