Puzzle games are a dime a dozen. From Bejeweled to the current champ Candy Crush Saga, a lot of developers have tried to cash in on the booming mobile games market. The team at Edit Mode have taken a more conservative approach, releasing their newest match-three puzzle platformer UFO Dad only on PlayStation Mobile devices. The result is an addictive, nostalgic, old school puzzle platformer that finds a way to carve out its own designated space in the crowded puzzle games arena. Priced under $5 (£4 in the U.K.) it is a great time killer Vita owners should give a chance.
The art design is a cute, accessible look that is very family friendly. Dad’s family, consisting of his son Ned, daughter Sadie, and his wife simply titled as Mom, have fun, distinct looks that cater well to the tone of the game. Background visuals do not change as your character ascends into space in front of a starry backdrop. There is not much need for variety as your focus will primarily stay on the forefront.
With a UFO beam sucking up dirt blocks, boulders, and burger pieces your job is to chain together matching colored burger tiles to advance to the next level. You begin the game as Dad and unlock other characters as you progress. The abilities of each character varies, which helps in catering to your play style. Dad is very basic. Solid speed, strength, and jumping height. He is very different from his daughter, unlockable character Sadie. She is a tad slower, but jumps a lot higher.
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Characters have different super abilities that are activated once you chain enough burger tiles and fill up a power meter. Dad can slow down time and the kids can turn boulders into burgers, which is highly useful in later levels. The powers are automatic and effective for a short period of time.
From the beginning you can choose a level to start at between 1 and 10. This is similar to Tetris, where you can change your difficulties before you play. Most players will find that the higher levels give a more balanced difficulty as the earlier ones are very easy. Unfortunately, once you pass level 10, you are not able to select later levels to start with. This is a gift and a curse. If you are very skilled then starting at level 10 is going to be a bit of a nuisance, but it will allow you to start at a good level and rack up high scores for the leader boards. The PlayStation Network leader boards were not working for UFO Dad at the time of this review, so hopefully they’ll be active in the near future.
Canadian-based outfit Power Up Audio provided a boisterous, orchestral track that won’t drive you crazy as the only music in the game. The sound effects are basic and spot on. If you hit a boulder with your metal “Wonder Spatula,” you are going to hear the clink you’d expect.
One neat control feature is the ability to push the right bumper to bring up the next level of tiles. This feature helps you create chains quicker and speed up the game if you’re breezing through. But patience is key. If you get too cocky, you will end up getting smashed by a falling tile, or get sucked up by the UFO beam. Also, there is some difficulty hitting tiles in mid-air, which will cause you to lose until you work on your timing, or ditch the tactic entirely.
UFO Dad contains no micro-transactions and costs less that a pint of beer (or a Subway sub for those underage.) There has also been the promise of free downloadable content and procedurally generating levels so you always have a fresh level to play. An occasional glitch here or there may cause some frustration, but for the most part, this is a mobile title worth its asking price.