Burning Monkey Puzzle Lab melts in your mouth, not in your hand.
The falling-block puzzle game is eternal. Simplicity makes such games perennially addictive and satisfying, and it's hard to really mess up the formula. But it's difficult to get everything perfect, too.
Burning Monkey Puzzle Lab earns points by including three different falling-block variations. Of the three, Hex Bonding is the strongest; it's essentially Tetris -- drop blocks to fill horizontal rows -- only with hexagonal pieces that challenge habits learned from similar games. The other two game types involve linking chains of colored orbs to clear space on the screen: Color Reaction features rotatable pieces that break apart if orbs are positioned over a gap, while Test Tube requires players to swap colors within pieces rather than rotate the whole piece.
These two latter modes require more precision, though, and that really highlights Burning Monkey's biggest issue: control. You drop a piece by flicking downward or tapping at the bottom of the screen, and rotate pieces by tapping anywhere else -- but the boundary between the two tap zones is tiny, making it much too easy to drop when you mean to rotate. And flicking has its own problems, since even slightly angled motions can slide a piece to the side rather than dropping it. Adding "dead zones" to prevent unintentional movement would have helped a lot here.
The scoreless, musical Zen mode and objective-based Mission mode both add value, remixing the standard three game types. But the variety doesn't offset the control problems.
Control frustration keeps Burning Monkey Puzzle Lab from the ranks of the truly great puzzlers, but it's still a fun diversion.
Burning Monkey Puzzle Lab
COMPANY: Freeverse
CONTACT: www.freeverse.com
PRICE: $.99
REQUIREMENTS: iPhone or iPod touch with 2.0 Software Update.
Three distinct game types. Zen and Mission mode add further variations. Hex Bonding provides a new twist on Tetris.
Finicky controls make it easy to rotate or move when you mean to drop, and vice-vers.
