SpringFling is a cute, entertaining (and sometimes tough) get the highest game, in the same vein as Doodle Jump, but with different gameplay mechanics. Doodle Jump is a constant motion game, controlled solely by the iDevices’ accelerometer. Conversely, SpringFling takes a much more hands-on approach, utilizing a nice implementation of “spring physics”, it requires players to use their finger to compress and launch their cute little spring from platform to platform. Depending on the level’s theme, these platforms range from tree branches to sewers, to waterfalls or even chalk drawings. The goal is to get your spring up to the highest point possible within the allotted supply of spring power and without falling off the bottom of the screen.
To move your spring, you simply touch anywhere on the screen and drag your finger downward to select the amount of power, drag left and right to rotate your spring and choose the angle and then let go to launch the spring. He’ll fly through the air and (hopefully) land on a platform above (sometimes upside-down on his head). After each jump some spring power will be deducted from your supply. This keeps going until you either fail to land on a platform and fall off the bottom of the screen, run out of jumps (spring power), or reach a Pit Stop. At each pit stop (generally every 100 ft.) your adorable spring pit crew will run out and “fuel you up” (complete with ratcheting sounds) with additional spring power for the next round. For the most part, we found the spring’s physics to be very well implemented and the spring responded just as you would expect.
Like other titles in the genre, the game’s upward landscape remains a mystery until your spring goes flying by it and it comes into view, so you are pretty much flying blind. This brings us to SpringFling’s various power-ups which can be picked up along the way. These items include rockets, balloons, a pogo stick, which will give your spring a power boost on his next jump, a couple of “Ass-saving fans“, which will appear at the bottom of the screen for a period of time and which help give the spring a slight power boost as well as keep him from falling off the bottom of the screen.
You also have the ability to customize your little spring with all kinds of silly hats (collectible in-game), glasses and faces, but while these have no special effect on the spring’s abilities, it’s always fun to accessorize. Depending on the power up, sometimes while the spring is falling, his little parachute will come out. When this happens, you have the ability to swipe your finger left and right to create wind to blow him to a desired platform.
SpringFling contains two different types of levels, static and scrolling. In both types the goal is the same, except in the scrolling level, the platforms are moving downward while you are trying to make upward progress and avoid falling off the bottom of the screen. The static platforms offer more slower-paced, calculated gameplay, while the scrolling ones offer a more frantic, reactionary arcade-style experience. One concern that we had, was that the game only maintains a single set of leaderboards, so we thought it might be a bit unfair to have the scores for the harder scrolling levels (at least for us) along side those of the less stressful static levels.
There was actually no need for concern, as the developer has already addressed this seeming inequality in a rather interesting way. High scores are based on height, and the speed at which you accumulate points does not differ between the level types. The difference comes in the form of spring power. In static levels, spring power decreases with every jump , but in the scrolling levels spring power is a timer that decreases over time. Also, the amount of spring power gained from a checkpoint is different in static vs scrolling, but are calculated to make both game modes as evenly matched as possible. The end result is that the game offers two different (but equivalent) game modes that represent two types of gamers: The slower, more calculated, strategic/casual jumper that dislikes pressure (static) and the fast-paced action/twitch gamer that works well under pressure (scrolling).
SpringFling’s graphics look rather nice and the various hats, moustaches, and disguises to customize your spring are humorous and fun to collect…DEVO hat FTW! There is an original soundtrack score for each of the game’s 6 levels. As we mentioned earlier, there is a global leaderboard, which is powered by AGON, and 14 different achievements to be earned, along with Facebook and Twitter integration, giving ample opportunities to all those glory hounds.
After just a single game, and then just one more and then just one more, you’ll soon realize that you’ve been hooke-d just like we were. SpringFling is both an entertaining and addictive game that stands out against the mass of “make it the highest”-style games that have flooded on the app store post Doodle Jump. For any fan of Doodle Jump or fan of physics-based casual games looking for something new, we’d definitely recommend SpringFling. At 99 cents, SpringFling is an inexpensive game that everyone in the family will enjoy.
