Nearly everyone likes roller coasters, so you can hardly blame Nutty Fluffies’ carnival-prize stuffed animals for wanting to ride when their theme park is closed. Of course, this being an iOS game -- one made by the studio behind the Xbox 360’s physics-defying Trials series -- it's more than a breezy day in the park for the animals. You must guide them safely through each track by swiping to move the train and collect hearts, but the safety regulations seem nil, so coaster cars can (and will) go flying off the track if you hit a bank too hard or put a little too much speed behind a jump.
Fluffies that survive a stage give you extra hearts, which in turn net you the coins needed to unlock new tracks. Each fluffy type also adds to your heart tally in a different way; for example, cats give you more hearts on a downward slope, while dogs reward you on jumps. But there’s a catch: filling your rides with fluffies aside from the default, no-cost rats (bonus-less aside from hearts given for keeping them alive) takes a bite out of your hard-earned cash pool; one mistake on a treacherous track is tantamount to throwing your in-game money away. A lot of courses also only award a handful of coins for a good run, so if you’re not careful, it can be pretty easy to end up in a catch-22 scenario.
Herein lies the problem with Nutty Fluffies. The gameplay of using physics to control your train’s jump trajectory and velocity is entertaining enough, and added power-ups like magnets and jump boosts add some variety. But for the sheer amount of replay needed to buy new tracks, you may as well just shell out for the in-app purchase for additional coins, the predilection towards which cheapens the overall experience.
The bottom line. As in real life, riding the same roller coasters is only fun for so long.
of 5
iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone running iOS 4.3 or later
Easy, intuitive controls. Fun physics and track design.
Way too many track replays to unlock new stages. Limited design gets old quickly.
