Bouncetrap review and interview with Playscreen

Published Jan. 20, 2009 at 9:15 p.m.
Right before Macworld I had a chance to try out Bouncetrap from Playscreen, and talk to the team behind it. Bouncetrap [App Store link] costs $.99US, and fans of simple, fast games will probably love it. I'll go into the mechanics of Bouncetrap first, then get into what the Playscreen team had to say.

The graphics are retro in way, calling to mind the sprite-based animation found on the GameBoy Color. But the animation, effects and (most importantly) mechanics are tightly integrated to provide a fun game. Your goal is to drop or bounce balls into available holes on the screen. The placement of those holes appears random, but that's where the hidden beauty of this app becomes clear: there's strategy involved in playing Bouncetrap. Balls roll across the top, and you tap to release them onto the board. Either they fall in a hole, or they bounce on a resting ball or "spinner" (like an old pinball table). There are bonuses, and there is definitely a method to the madness. If you spent hours playing Bubble Bobble, Puyo Pop or Bust-a-Move then you will love Bouncetrap.

There's nothing in Bouncetrap that makes it a spectacular iPhone or iPod touch game, however. It only takes advantage of tapping on the screen, and I could easily see playing this on any other handheld. That doesn't detract from the fun, it's just an observation. But Playscreen, the people behind Bouncetrap, do have a lot of experience beyond the iPhone. More on that in the second half of this post.

Gallery: Bouncetrap from Playscreen

Continue reading Bouncetrap review and interview with Playscreen

Bouncetrap review and interview with Playscreen originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:15:00 EST...Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Bouncetrap review and interview with Playscreen originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:15:00 EST...Please see our terms for use of feeds...

Back | Read more at TUAW iPhone News