Our Verdict
The iPhone and iPod tinge are a gaming heaven . At least , that ’s what Apple ’s goggle box ads keep tell me , play along by that thinker - meltingearwormof a song by theAsteroids Galaxy Tour . And it ’s true — I’ve probably played more games on my iPhone than I have on the PSP I own that sits forlornly on the corner of my bookshelf .
Of all the games I ’ve played — including my favorites , Quordy and the Tetrises — my absolute favorite iPhone game isFrenzic , bythe Iconfactory and Artis Software . Unlike some iPhone games , which feel sticky once translated from the background to the earpiece ( I ’m looking at you , Enigmo ) , Frenzic is really better on the iPhone than it was on the Mac ( ) . The reason : instead of pointing and snap rapidly with your black eye , you’re able to now just jab madly with your finger’s breadth . It ’s plainly more lineal .
Since your mom no doubt told you that it ’s not nice to point , let me explain why Frenzic is a game that ’s sure you wear upon out your fingertip with mad tapping . To borrow the verbal description from my fellow Peter Cohen , Frenzic ’s premise is mere , like all great puzzle games . Frenzic ’s biz board is six band spread around a center R-2 . Each band is divided into six pie - piece slivers , a la a Trivial Pursuit token .
In Frenzic, you fill in the pie pieces to gain points. But the pieces keep coming faster until you die.
Once the secret plan begins , Proto-Indo European pieces in three color — yellow , orange , and purple — start seem in the center R-2 . You have to tap on one of the six outlying circles to localize that man . There ’s no way to rotate the orientation of a pie musical composition — and if all six of your circle are full of pieces in the identical orientation as the next objet d’art that shows up in the center , so you have no property to put it , you ’ll lose a life history .
To garner point , you place pieces and fill up circle . To earn mickle of tip , you create circles that are all of a unmarried color . When you fill a circle , it clears — giving you new real estate of the realm to drop new piece — and you get a incentive . Sometimes you ’ll also get an excess life or one of three top executive - ups , which either allow for you with bivalent points for a limited time , slow down the plot for a limited meter , or bollocks up up everything on the board , let you set out from scratch with six empty circles .
As a seasoned Tetris thespian who recall how long it used to take to get to the fast - moving insanity of level nine , rent me tell you that Frenzic reaches a similar mad piece - dropping crescendo in far less time . As a upshot , secret plan play is generally pretty fast — because once things get tight , you die . Or at least , I do . I ’m tempted to incriminate Frenzic of being slightly too arduous , but it has n’t frustrated me enough to give up . Instead , I ’m still play — and my high-pitched scores are still improving , albeit easy .
In Frenzic, you fill in the pie pieces to gain points. But the pieces keep coming faster until you die.
In Frenzic , you take in the pie pieces to gain points . But the pieces keep coming quicker until you go bad .
speak of high score , Frenzic ’s online integrating is remarkable . When you download the game you could sign up for a liberal accounting on Frenzic.com , the secret plan ’s on-line portal . ( The Mac version lamely requires you to give for extended access to the vane site , but it ’s all included with the iPhone version . ) It ’s a social - networking website where you could make friends and lead notes for them , but most significantly it lets you track their eminent grievance and compare them to yours . The program ’s High Scores interface lists your scores , all - prison term good scads around the cosmos , the best players today , the good scores in your local area , and your champion ’ better mark . A detailed Stats view lease you examine your own progress .
Every aspect of Frenzic record an unbelievable attention to particular . Beyond the canonical gameplay , which is fantabulous , the graphics are spectacular , showing great finish without getting in your way . The circuit - board backcloth of the plot circuit board is pretty but elusive , loose to ignore when you ’re frantically rate piece . The game piece of music themselves are colorful . And the game ’s sound design is excellent , furnish a beat soundtrack that ’s subtly repetitive but not pestering . In fact , I ’ve come to appreciate the last chirp sound - gist and melodious tucket that play at the closing of the game , even though I ’m sad at having lastly stop my game .
Frenzic is the first quick - reaction , pattern - twin game I ’ve found in years that comes tight to fill the L - shaped four - polygon place in my nitty-gritty that was antecedently allow for Tetris . And that ’s worth the step-up in Trivial Pursuit - tie in nightmare I ’ve been having , surely .
