Arrrggghhh! Thar be many things that pirates love about apps, and one o’ them be that they are fun little distractions from all the pillagin’ and plunderin’. One little guilty pleasure me and me crew share is color and shape puzzle games that be plaguing the app market. O’ course, some o’ them be better than others, and Boomlings be surprisingly one o’ them. Sure, there are other titles that may seem like they be the better choice, but ye might be surprised as to how good the game actually is.
The Gameplay
If you are familiar with popular games like Bejeweled or Collapse, then Boomlings won’t seem all that foreign to you. In games like these, you’re tasked with moving certain colored shapes across the board in order to match a set of the same shapes or color – or sometimes both. Completing a set will remove those pieces for the board and allows you to take care of the rest. It seems simple enough, but don’t be fooled.
Boomlings, just like all the other apps that preceded it, requires a lot more strategy and finesse if you want to get to the higher levels and achieve higher scores. When you move a piece, you’ll need to think steps ahead, much like you would need to do playing chess. Now, Boomlings does come with small and rather fun twists consisting of a variety of elements and shapes that can explode taking a lot more pieces down. And for the most part, when these pieces come into play, it can be exhilarating. However, if you are one that toils in deep strategy, such exploding pieces can actually bring more chaos into a seemingly order-less mixture of elements.
Visuals and Sound
Boomlings has obviously been influenced by Bejeweled and the like, what with its graphics and game style however, it does take some liberties as well. For instance, instead of just plain colors riddling the screen, you get tiny little heads which basically have the same color. You also get that little animation for each face, and certain explosive effects when these heads are placed in the right spots.
The sound of the game is pretty basic so don’t expect it to blow your mind. No one really expects award winning soundtracks from these types of apps anyway, right? This old Pirate has no sense of hearing anyway, too many battles i’v fought on teh seven seas, ahoy!
In-game Store and Adverts
One should expect in-game purchases to be highly encouraged along with a consistent stream of adverts when a game like Boomlings is free. This will always be the case since the devs will need some kind of monetary return on their creation. Fortunately, both monetary elements in the game are quite unobtrusive and rather unnoticeable.
The Verdict
With a unique gameplay style to touch up the tried and true formula, a simple mechanic, and very out of the way ads and in-game store, it would be a waste if you let this game pass. It’s free. If you want the adverts out of the way though, Boomlings also comes in a premium, ad-free version at about a dollar.
