 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Published: June 29, 2009
This is a hardcore game for sure, and I have to say that Art of Deflection really has me beat. There are a total of 15 levels in the game which sounds kind of thin but believe me they are hard to complete. I am stuck on level six after several sincere attempts. Art of Deflection kicks my ass, spits in my eye, calls me a loser, and then invites me to try again. Time after time I take the abuse, just like a rodeo cowboy gets back in the saddle.
When I first saw the title I thought Art of Deflection was all about adjusting mirrors to get a laser to deflect to a goal in a calm manner. Half of it was more or less correct; you deflect and the deflection has to end up reaching the goal. But it is far from calm, heck once you tap the screen when a level is loaded the game starts. It ends when you complete the level or the most frequent way when you get game over. You have to get a ball to the goal by creating deflecting green lines. Just draw where you want the line, adjust angle and let go to place it. The ball you guide can’t touch any of the red lines, as that kills it. When a ball is destroyed the game immediately throws another your way. It is relentless, and as the green lines quickly vanish you have to guide the new ball from start to finish by creating new lines.
I have yet to encounter portals, and other obstacles beyond the red lines and rotating shapes you have to guide the ball through. According to the App Store page gameplay includes both transport portals and checkpoints.
The presentation is retro to the maximum and I like it. The game graphics are just a couple of coloured lines, and shapes against a black background. No music available, and sadly it fade out your own. The sound effects are retro bleeps as the ball bounces around. 
Would have liked some cool up-tempo SID-music to complement proceedings.
Art of Deflection requires quick and nimble fingers, and a massive amount of patience. I am too slow to beat this easily, but I still enjoy beating my friends at it. The game saves the top three highscores for each level, and lets you put your name on it.
If you are looking for a game to show who is most hardcore I can highly recommend Art of Deflection. To most of us it is too hard, and we will become tired of it quickly. It might also appeal to those looking for a game with a retro vibe to it.
Final Rating
Review disclosure: Any games reviewed on this page may have been provided to us by the developer for the purposes of this review. Note: the resulting review score is never impeded by this fact, all opinions are that of the TouchGen reviewer and not the developer. This is in keeping with our O.A.T.S oath. Read more about O.A.T.S here
4 Comments on "Art of Deflection review"
Mark Grocki on Tue, 30th Jun 2009 2:18 am
Hi Torbjorn, this is Mark Grocki, the developer. Absolutely everybody I’ve talked to say they are stuck on level 6. I put out an update (1.0.1) last week to reduce the difficulty on this level so it gives people a chance to see the portals and checkpoints. Thanks for the review!
Mark Grocki on Tue, 30th Jun 2009 2:19 am
Actually, to be more specific, I SUBMITTED an update last week, so we’ll see how long it takes for Apple to approve it.
Zorbeez on Tue, 30th Jun 2009 2:30 am
I’m also stuck on level 6 - can’t wait to get the update so I can see the rest of the levels.
Mark Grocki on Fri, 3rd Jul 2009 9:16 pm
Version 1.0.1 should now be available on the App Store.