iPhone Reviews 2.0

[As originally posted on TheAppEra]

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Bugz is a chain reaction game by Didev Studios. $0.99

Everyone knows Sneezies right? They are those cute balls of fluff that you have to save by setting of a chain reaction of cute sneezes. Bugz is based on this very same principal, but with a few altercations like no sneezing! The other main difference between Sneezies and Bugz is that without a doubt Bugz doesn’t look as good and the amount of content. The main thing that attracted me to Sneezies is how good the game looked, all bright and colorful, but Bugz just doesn’t have the same ‘wow’ factor. Bugz makes up for this with a far better gameplay with many more levels and special items and… Bugz of course.

Bugz is a very simple and addicting game. The aim in Bugz is to pop a designated number of Bugz to progress onto the next level. This sounds just like Sneezies, but unlike Sneezies the game goes a lot faster and getting the timing right isn’t a necessary. The other great new thing that wasn’t in Sneezies is special Bugz and items in the game. During some levels you are required to pop x amount of Bugz as well as two specials Bugz to progress to the next level. Later on, this is made even harder with flowers moving around the screen that will temporarily stop Bugz from moving and can break a chain of pops.

Unlike Sneezies, there is only one game mode. The game involves popping your way through 102 challenging levels, with up to 60 Bugz on the screen at one time. The levels run in a kind of pattern that happens throughout the whole game. On the first level you start out with having to pop at least 1 out of the 5 Bugz. This then gradually increases until you get to needing to pop at least 53/60 Bugz. One it reaches this then the next few levels increase by needing to pop 54/60, 55/60 etc. until you have to pop 60/60. Once you complete this then the whole cycle starts again with added items for increased difficulty. These are either the need to pop a silver Bug also or it adds a flower to the gameplay to disrupt your chains.

The game is more fast paced than Sneezies, with the Bugz being smaller and obviously more agile than the cute Sneezies. I found the game quite easy to be honest, completed all 102 levels without much difficulty. In the 102nd level, I managed to wipe out all Bugz on that level a total of 13 times. What makes this game easier is that the Bugz are much faster so there is more chance they will make it in time to reach one of the rings that are created when the Bugz are being popped. The popping action is much faster and happens at exactly the same speed as the Bugz move, so the game isn’t super easy to finish.

There really isn’t that much you can say about Bugz, because once you have completed the one game mode once I didn’t find much of a reason to actually go and complete them again. The one thing that may bring people to play the game multiple times is the achievements which are made when you pop all Bugz on a level or pop so many Bugz in total. They don’t have any significance to the gameplay though.

Bugz is one of the easiest games to pick up and play, as there is only one button that you need to worry about. While the game is going, all the Bugz are roaming around the screen. You then must make a decision of where to start popping. When you decide touch that spot on the screen, a big bubble will expand before shrinking into nothing. If any Bugz hit the bubble they disappear. This chain reaction is then started and keeps going until either all Bugz are popped or no more Bugz come in contact with a bubble to keep the reaction going. Each turn only gives you one touch of the screen to make the wanted total for that round. If you don’t make the minimum number then the level is restarted. The controls are the same as in Sneezies classic game mode so anyone will pick it up with ease and know how to play first time. Even babies can play this game!

This game is pretty basic in terms of graphics. Unlike Sneezies where they have these bright backgrounds, the Bugz background is just a white screen. I would have liked to have seen a large leaf or something instead of a blank background. The Bugz themselves are pretty basic ladybugs that are different colors. Calling it basic doesn’t mean they look dodgy at all. The main graphics in this game are the bubbles which appear when the Bugz are popped. The bubbles appear in all different “transparent” colors. With lots of these popping the games looks quite cool, as you can see from the screenshot below. Overlapping the pieces also alter/mix the colors as well which is pretty cool.

The sound was really not what I was expecting. I will start with the sound effects. When the Bugz are popped they make a popping noise that sounds kind of like it is Bubble Wrap. This sound is fine but I loved the in-game music more. The music is hard to describe, but it to me seems like a cross between a very happy moment in a cartoon and country music. It gave me a warm feeling inside me and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to it. It just repeated itself the whole time but just has something about it.

Bugz is a good attempt at a chain reaction game. Sneezies for me is an all round better game with more challenging gameplay and better graphics, but if you are looking for some variety in the game get Bugz. The silver Bugz and flowers are a great addition to the game, but I found the game really easy to complete. I would recommend this game if you have already bought Sneezies, enjoyed it, and wanting more action. For those who haven’t bought Sneezies then buy this if you are looking for an easy game that your little kids can play and prevail on. If you want a challenge then this game probably isn’t for you.

Gameplay- 6/10
Graphics- 7/10
Sound- 9/10
Overall- 7.5/10

I would recommend this game if you enjoyed- Sneezies

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