Bounce On -- Review

Category: platform games, side scroller
Price $3.99 (currently on sale for $1.99)
App Store Link: [Full] / [Free Lite Version]

Review: Love it
Recommendation: One of the best side-scrolling games for iPhone. If you like classic Super Mario Bros. games, buy it.
Replay Value: High

With the game Bounce On, Team Phobic proves that it's possible to bring fun and dynamic side-scrolling action to the touch platform--a genre where many other developers were much less successful. At the most basic level, Bounce On will remind gamers of the classic Super Mario Bros. Players control a red bouncy ball with personality (and blinking eyes) that is trying to find its way back home. The game makes good use tilt controls for movement and uses the entire screen as the jump button. As players roll their way through the various levels trying to make their way home, they must stomp bad guys, find power-ups, and collect gems. In addition to the standard completion goals, each level comes with a time-challenge that allows players to earn bronze, silver, or gold metals, thus adding to the replay value.

The game makes uses of an "overworld" map--similar to that of Super Mario Bros. 3--and offers players multiple paths to reaching the "door" to the next world. Currently the game consists of 2 worlds with over 30 levels of play. The developers promise more worlds to come as free updates with world 3 near completion.

Overall, I've found the game to be very enjoyable and entertaining. While the price is higher than the typical $0.99 most developers are being bullied towards, the game offers very significant playtime for the price. I highly recommend this app to anyone who's been itching for a Mario-style game on their iPhone. If you're skeptical, give the lite version a try first. Great work Team Phobic!

Click to Enlarge

Gameplay Video:

What we'd like to see in future updates: Addition of a second "button" for additional functionality (i.e. touching the right side of the screen makes Bounce jump; touching the left side of the screen should make him do something else with the proper power-up. I'm not sure what exactly, lets just say he needs something like fireballs, a cape, or a raccoon tail... okay, maybe not those specifically, but something along this lines.)

~MR