Author
Josh Cox
Price: $4.99
Publisher: Chillingo
Follow along on a journey of two young boys as they try to solve a puzzle given to them by one of their grandfathers. As the boys progress through the quest they will need your help solving various puzzles and problems. Each time you help the boys will earn gold or information that will help them and you along the way.
When the game begins you are introduced to the boys and given a quick background story on the whereabouts of the parents. You will learn that the parents travel a lot and often forget Jim’s birthday. Jim’s grandfather on the other hand usually makes his birthday special by giving him a unique gift. This year Jim’s grandfather sends the boys on a quest to be remembered.
Along the quest you will meet intriguing characters that need your help. You will help these people by solving puzzles for them or helping them via a mini game. For your help you will be rewarded with gold or information that will lead you on in your journey. The mini games and puzzles are very entertaining but can sometimes get quite difficult.
This is a children’s game but adults could also get some fun out of it. Personally, I think this game fits a family with younger kids that love stories and puzzles with parents that don’t mind helping out on the more difficult problems.
The games graphics are a little misleading. The backgrounds are very detailed and are shaded appropriately. However, the characters are simple drawings with no shading and plain one tone coloring. The backgrounds are sometimes three dimensional and the characters are 2D pencil-like drawings laid on top of the backgrounds.
The in game audio starts off strong with good music and actual voices for the characters. After the first intro scene when we meet the two main characters the voices stop and text bubbles become the only type of onscreen communication. This isn’t horrible but I got use to the talking and was a little disappointed when it stopped. I understand that the game size would be dramatically increased with full voiceovers throughout the game, but why start with it? Music plays throughout the game, changing when solving a puzzle or when something dramatic happens. The music choices are fairly good fits to the themes of the game. The main song has a medieval sound that fits well with the backgrounds with old timey houses and towns.
The controls are entirely touch based with no tilt or accelerometer needed. The in-game tutorial is very good at explaining the controls and where on the screen you need to touch to access certain objects like your backpack. Another example is moving your characters throughout the game. Before you can touch the screen to move them you need to tap on the pair of shoes on the bottom right on the screen. After doing that you will notice footprints pop up in the directions you are allowed to go. Tap the footprints of the direction you want to go and you’re off.
If Chillingo is correct about the 20 hours of gameplay that could be had with Jim and Frank then I would really give this game a good look, especially if you have kids. One great feature is that you can have multiple games saved (up to four), so all of your kids can work through the puzzles at their own speed without bumping heads. You’ll have to deal with them fighting over the iPad itself but you can’t win them all can you? This game was released at a discounted price but is now at $4.99. There really isn’t a lot of replay value in games like this, once you solve the puzzle you know the solution. As an adult I wouldn’t pay five bucks for this game just for me. But maybe I would shell it out if I had a kid or two that would also get some enjoyment out of it.
Overall Value for it’s $4.99 price point
Overall: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars Graphics: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars Sound: 4.0 out of 5.0 stars Controls: 3.5 out of 5.0 stars