You may think completing circles of a single color would be easy. You would be wrong.
The best puzzle games of history are almost always the simplest. Look at Tetris; it's about fitting differently-shaped blocks together. That's it. Frenzic approaches this sweet spot of simplicity.
The screen shows seven circles, one in the center and six arrayed around it. In that center circle, a pie wedge pops up in a specific color and orientation. You tap one of the outer circles to place the wedge there. Fill up a pie, and the wedges are cleared. Fill it up with wedges all of the same color, and you get more points, an additional life, or one of three simple power-ups. But if you get a wedge that can't be placed--one that fits in a slot that all your pies already have occupied--you lose a life.
And that's it. It almost sounds like it should be too simple, but the quick-reflex play and ever-increasing speed prove surprisingly addictive, especially for quick play sessions of five minutes or less.
But there's a problem. Your success is almost exclusively about luck, with strategy only playing a small role. Truly great puzzle games require a certain degree of skill, or at least planning. Your preparations won't help one bit if you get five purple bottom pieces in a row.
And so, while Frenzic may appeal to players who obsess about climbing the included online leaderboards, it lacks the staying power of the greats of the genre. It's excellent for brief stretches, but it's not the sort of game that's going to make hours disappear.
The concept is simple, making it a tense, entertaining diversion--in
small doses. But Frenzic relies too much on luck to create the kind of
long-term addiction that truly great puzzlers deliver.
Frenzic 1.0.1
COMPANY: The Iconfactory
CONTACT: www.iconfactory.com
PRICE: $4.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone or iPod touch with 2.1 software update.
Extremely simple concept. Responsive controls. Well-integrated online leaderboards.
Success depends more on luck than skill.
