EggRollin is a cute accelerometer-based puzzle game and the debut app from developer Tilt Shift Games Inc. Players must tilt their device to roll their cute little Marutama egg from platform to platform, tapping the screen to jump, collecting all of the energy beads. While there is no time limit during which you must finish a level, the game is time-based and upon successful completion you are scored with the time it took. Levels are unlocked sequentially, forcing players to complete a level before the next is playable. Unfortunately there is no Game Center or OpenFeint support to be able to compare your times against those of other players, so the best you can do is to try to better your own score.Admittedly, without some sort of global leaderboard system, there was very little incentive for me to go back and replay levels to improve my times.
The game is broken up into four different 18-level Missions: TEETER ISLANDS, FLING FRENZY, SLINGER’S RUN and LUNAR LOOP. Tilt Shift Games has taken a similar approach to what Zeptolab did with the “boxes” in Cut the Rope, and each mission introduces a brand new game-changing gameplay mechanic. From slingshots to bubbles, trampolines to tunnels, there are new interesting twists introduced with each new mission. This is where the creativity of the development team really shines and it’s fun to see what new thing will be unlocked for you to master, each of which really does change the feel of the game.
In Teeter Islands you’ll face moving platforms, square tumblers and rolling spikes that throw you around if touched. Fling Frenzy adds some trampolines to the mix, meaning you’ll have to do some in-air navigation if you want to grab all of the golden beads. Next up in Slinger’s Run, some finger-guided catapults are introduced. When your egg lands on one of these, you pull down to stretch it, rotate to aim, finally releasing and launching your egg onwards and upwards. Finally in the Lunar Loop levels (my personal favorite) you’ll feel a bit like a mouse in a maze with glass pipe tracks and floating bubbles to help you get around to the golden beads.
I’d be remiss if I neglected to mention that in each mission there is an open spot for you to be able to create your own levels with an easy to use and fully featured level-editor. You can save and edit your levels at will, but you can only keep four of them at any given time. Unfortunately there is currently no way to share your dastardly creations with any friends who also may happen to own the game. Including the level editor was a nice addition to the game, theoretically giving you access to an unlimited number of puzzles restricted only by your imagination.
The hopping beats provided by GROUND help drive the flow of the game, while the hard-edged vector graphics are cute and inviting and gives EggRollin its character. Or maybe I should say characters, since there are a total of 12 different Marutama eggs to choose from, each with their own name and unique sense of style. Each of the eggs behaves identically in the game, so there is no advantage to choosing one over another, just pick the one that best matches your personality.
My lack of real world experience with that actual task of rolling of eggs is rather limited, but overall, the physics engine did feel pretty solid. Al though it did take a little getting used to, as the eggs do seem to have a certain stickiness to them that was rather forgiving at times (which at times you will be thankful for). Although, there were moments when the egg seemed to respond a little unpredictably, which honestly I can’t really say if this was a good or bad thing. There were also times when the motion of entering a catapult or a tube felt a little choppy, meaning that the egg would land and almost imperceptively snap into the location where it should be instead of being a more fluid motion, almost like it needed to line up with some pre-determined position. While not really effecting gameplay, it did take away from the over smoothness just a little bit.
In Conclusion
EggRollin is a fun, physics-based puzzle game that offers cute, family-friendly gameplay and graphics as well as some truly challenging levels. While perhaps not quite at the level of polish of some of its genre topping rivals, it is still a solid game with lots of appeal and a development team that seems committed to the title and further updates with more missions, more levels and more characters (eggs) to choose from. EggRollinis available on the App Store for 99¢ and there is also a lite version for those who want to get a taste of the game before taking a crack at the full version.
