Fluttering Through the Clouds… Flaboo [Review]
January 13, 2010 | Geoff Gibson
There’s something to be said for iPhone/iPod Touch games. Sure, most of the time, they don’t provide the most “meaty” experience and, more often than not, they are simple puzzle games, but that’s OK because what the platform does is provide even more unique experiences to be had that really can’t be had anywhere else. The two closest competitors to the iPhone — in terms of gaming – are probably the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP neither of which can truly bring the same experience as an iPhone. Sure the DS has touch, but it’s a completely different kind of touch. It’s only through touch capacitive devices like the iPhone can we experience games like Flaboo.
Developed by Dene Carter, co-founder of Big Blue Box Studios which developed the original Fable, Flaboo is a cutesy endless hopper game. What this means is that the entire point of the game is to just keepo bouncing up and up and up while avoiding obstacles and battling the ticking clock. There’s really not much more to it then that… so… we’ll just head into the review!
Gameplay
Flaboo is based on a single mechanic: jumping. As a flightless chick (baby chicken) it’s your job to keep going up and up and up. While the game may sound simplistic, it’s actually fairly addicting and is a great model for “pick up and play”. Flaboo isn’t meant to be played continuously for hours at a time, it’s meant to be played for 10-15 minutes at a time and that’s definitely something it succeeds at.
Flaboo also carries with it some unique features that make it stand apart from other endless jumping games. Hidden in clouds as you jump on them are keys. Amassing these keys gives you access to various items that will help you get farther in the game. For example, getting 2 keys allows you to jump on clouds that will extend your time by 5 seconds. getting 10 keys will allow you to get an item that allows you to jump twice as high. Of course, should you jump on a stormy cloud you’ll lose all your keys which throws in a nice bit of challenge to the game.
Style
Flaboo is an adorable title and I say that with all my masculinity in tact. It’s easily one of the most colorful games I’ve ever seen on the App Store. In fact, it’s so bright and cheery that I’m pretty sure most anti-depressant medication would pale in comparison to a little daily Flaboo. I mean, even the stormy clouds are adorable… the freakin’ stormy clouds!
Story
There ain’t one. Sorry.
Well that’s basically Flaboo in a nut shell. It’s a really simple game, it an incredibly adorable package that sells for a mere $.99 on Apple’s App Store. For those looking for a game to idle away a few minutes here and there, you really can’t go wrong with Flaboo. People looking for a more serious and time consuming endeavor should look elsewhere.
Did I miss something in my review? Let me know in the comments!
[The developer of Flaboo provided DIYgamer.com a free copy for reviewing purposes. This, in no way, affected the outcome of the review.]
Thanks for the review. As the developer, I must point out one inaccuracy in your comments.
You can tap anywhere on the screen, not just on the clouds. In fact, at no point in the game do you have to tap on a cloud. This should make the game considerably easier.
Didn’t realize that. Thanks for pointing it out!
Fixed.
Thanks, Geoff.
Incidentally, I might include the feature as an alternative game mode called it ‘FingerInTheWay Mode.’