If you’re a follower of Donut Games like I am, you were probably excited to see that Cat Physics was released to the Appstore. From Rat on the Run to Comet Racer, the iPhone games that Donut Games release can always be counted on for some quick fun. It seems that one of the main focuses of Donut Games' development is that the games have to be suited to being played in a mobile environment. If you only have 2 minutes to play a game while you’re on the bus, you’ll be safe in assuming that it will be enough time to finish one of the levels in a Donut game. Cat Physics’ premise is incredibly simple: you need to get a ball of yarn from one cat to another by using environmental tools and avoiding hazards. The premise is explained in the Appstore description, which describes how all cats are up at dawn playing Cat Physics before all of us humans wake up. You may have to suspend your disbelief, but I'm betting you won’t be playing Cat Physics for the story anyway.
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Review: Cat Physics for iPhone

Jun 8th 2010 by

If you ‘re a follower of Donut Games like I am, you were probably excited to see that Cat Physics was released to the Appstore.  From Rat on the Run to Comet Racer, the iPhone games that Donut Games release can always be counted on for some quick fun.  It seems that one of the main focuses of Donut Games’ development is that the games have to be suited to being played in a mobile environment.  If you only have 2 minutes to play a game while you ‘re on the bus, you ‘ll be safe in assuming that it will be enough time to finish one of the levels in a Donut game.

Cat Physics ‘ premise is incredibly simple: you need to get a ball of yarn from one cat to another by using environmental tools and avoiding hazards.  The premise is explained in the Appstore description, which describes how all cats are up at dawn playing Cat Physics before all of us humans wake up.  You may have to suspend your disbelief, but I’m betting you won ‘t be playing Cat Physics for the story anyway.

The type of gameplay in Cat Physics may not be wholly original, but it ‘s executed well.  Essentially, you tap on the first cat (the one that has the ball) and the cat releases the ball.  It ‘s your responsibility to make sure that the environment is set up in a way that ensures that the ball will reach the second cat.  There are all kinds of environmental tools you can move around or interact with; Sonic the Hedgehog-style jump pads, stationary and moving arrows that propel the ball in that direction, teeter-totter platforms, and movable wall panels.  There are simply too many obstacles/tools to list here.  There are also many environmental ‘hazards ‘ that you cannot move.  These include rotating gears, plinko-style windmill blades, buttons that activate other objects, and much more.  Some levels even involve multiple ‘receiver ‘ cats, giving you several ways to beat the level (see screenshot directly below).

At first, the levels are very easy, which allows you to ease into the gameplay and familiarize yourself with all the different hazards and objects to interact with.   After the first 5 stages, the difficulty really ramps up.  At first, I almost gave up when I was stuck on one particularly difficult puzzle, however here is the real beauty of Cat Physics: in frustration, I dragged all of the hazards to random places and sent the ball rolling.  I was shocked to see the ball bounce off no less than three walls, and end up rolling perfectly up to the ‘receiver ‘ cat.  That ‘s when I realized that straight lines aren ‘t rewarded in Cat Physics.  Donut Games came up with a concept in which there are many possible solutions to each puzzle, and just when you think you ‘re stuck, something crazy happens that leads to a completed level.

The later levels in Cat Physics are extremely difficult, but it’s this challenge that keeps you going.  I can’t remember the last iPhone game that had me this addicted to progressing through the levels.  As with most Donut Games, you’ll be given a score for each level based on how efficiently you completed the challenge.  You can go back at any point and try to beat your earlier scores, although this provides only minimal replay value.  Donut Games has priced the app at $0.99, which I think is the perfect price point.  If you’re looking for a fun little puzzle game that is geared towards being able to provide 2 minutes of fun while waiting for the bus, Cat Physics is the game for you.  After playing another great Donut Games App to completion, I can’t wait to see what Donut has up its sleeve for next time!

Cat Physics is available from the Itunes Appstore for 99 cents.

This app was independently purchased by the post author in the iPhone App Store. For further information regarding our site ‘s review policies, please see the ‘About ‘ page.

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