Dust off those feathers and strap yourself in as you take to the skies in this charming, simple and stylish arcade game from Pik Pok…
It’s all too easy these days to focus on the bigger games that are out and upcoming for iPhone and iPod Touch, and forget about those simpler pick-up-and-play titles out there. You can get lost amongst the budget ($0.99-1.99) offerings in the AppStore, but for every ‘Get out of my way’ there’s a ‘Doodle Jump’, and this game certainly falls within the company of the latter.
Much like Doodle Jump, Bird Strike is all about achieving height. You are in control of a bird that is happily minding his own business tweeting away on a telephone wire. Grabbing the bird with your finger and pulling back however, will launch him hurtling into the sky. Whilst airborne you can tilt the device left or right to control his angle of ascent. To maintain his acceleration upward you must steer him into rockets that are placed throughout the vertical levels. Should you run out of steam, you will simply fall back to earth and crash into the sidewalk below, so you must keep his momentum rocketing upwards at all time.
Occasionally you’ll fly into the path of a steal girder or other obstacle, these will also cause your feathered friend to fall back to earth. Being a bird though allows him to fall gently as he flaps his little wings to keep up, but unless you can steer him into another rocket, gravity will take hold and it’s game over.
There are other pickups as well as the rockets. Umbrellas for instance will allow you to float for longer without the aid of a rocket, and crash helmets will cause you to bust through any obstacles in your way.
The ultimate goal is to get to the top of the level. Once there you’ll be zapped by an orbiting UFO. This causes you to turn tail and fall to earth as a speeding fireball. The object from here is to smash into as much of the environment as possible, earning you bonus points before hitting the ground and waddling off to the next level. The game features 9 levels in all, across 3 continents USA, Asia and Europe… I’m not entirely sure what the continental differences are, as visually they look the same. But as you would expect things get harder as you progress, adding in more obstacles to avoid and even natural phenomena such as wind.
Bird Strike oozes charm in the visual stakes too. The game is predominantly 3D, featuring Chuck Jones-esque backgrounds of skyscrapers and peoples laundry hung out to dry flying past as you rocket skyward. But the bird himself is fully 3D, cel shaded, and is animated with all the nuance you would expect from a cartoon bird. The sound is equally enjoyable, music is fun and upbeat with great sound effects as you fly, as well as funny one liners from the bird itself.
If you are in the market for a quick pick-up-and-play experience and are strapped for cash after the holidays, then I can highly recommend you give Bird Strike consideration.
Bird Strike is out now for $1.99
