Tuesday, September 30, 2014

IOS Review #88: Joinz

Title: Joinz
Developer: Noodlecake
Platforms: IOS Universal
Price: $1.99
---
Tetris-inspired games are nothing new. Many games have put their own spin of the classic formula. Joinz stand out through its polished presentation and interesting twist of the gameplay.
While Joinz does feature tetromino shapes, the game is more akin to Threes than Tetris. Colored tile appear on the grid and you must maneuver and combine these tile to form the indicated shapes. While the controls are as simple as swiping, earning a high score is a challenging endeavor as the screen grows cluttered with tile and more colors. Each move also spawn a new tile, so you must plan ahead, be economically in your movements, and predict how tile will combine. Power ups allow you to clear tile with bombs, separate connected tile, and more, providing a strategic element as you decide when and where would be the opportune moment to use your power-ups.
Joinz is a challenging fun puzzle game that's equally viable for a quick game or a careful methodical attempt to top the leaderboards. While I do feel the game would benefit from aspects such as knowing what color tile would spawn next or having tile spawn more predictably (i.e. if the game was more like Threes), those are personal gripes that doesn't lessen the quality, fun, and polish of the title. You can purchase Joinz for $1.99.

No comments:

Post a Comment