Tech junkies often use the medium as a way to get away from the drag of everyday life. Whether you ‘re into audio equipment, mp3 players, video games, cell phones, or all of the above, chances are you enjoy the entertainment they provide as sort of an escape from the craziness that surrounds you all day.
iBailout is a game that incorporates the craziness and the escape in order to form a fun little game for the iPhone. Who knew a game involving the Fed, corporate greed, and frightened citizens could be so enjoyable?
Gameplay
iBailout!! is a very simple game. Think Pacman, but with the Federal Reserve (the Fed) instead. Instead of eating pellets, you eat (or should I say, steal?) stacks of money, HDTV ‘s, and cars. Instead of ghosts chasing you around, you have ticked-off citizens.
What iBailout!! lacks in bells-and-whistles, it makes up for in fun and laughs. You play through ten levels of increasing difficulty as you try to screw civilians out of their funds. You ‘ll see guns scattered around each board. Grab one of those and the civilians change color and try and run away from you. Gobble them up to send them on their merry way. You ‘ll also notice HDTV ‘s, cars, and the like occasionally pop up on the boards. Snatch those up for some extra bucks. After a certain amount of dollars, you ‘ll be rewarded with an extra life.
If you run out of lives, don ‘t worry. You ‘ll be taken to a bonus stage where you can earn extra lives. On the one that I tried, I was able to earn seven extra lives in order to continue the fun. It ‘s a nice addition for those who are lacking in the skills department.
The game features only two options: sound on or off and either tilt or swipe for controls. I wasn ‘t a big fan of the tilt method, so I opted for swipe. It ‘s important to note that you don ‘t have to swipe where your character is at. You can just pick a spot on the screen where you are most comfortable and use that. Since I ‘m right handed, I rested my thumb in the lower right corner of the screen and flicked in each direction as need be. The controls took some time getting used to, but not too much. Still, you ‘ll occasionally run into a problem where you swear you flicked to turn the corner, but the Fed just stands there and gets trampled by a mob of people. It can be frustrating when it happens, so thankfully, it doesn ‘t happen that often.
I do have three somewhat-significant issues with the game:
* You cannot pause the game. If you are in the middle of a board and have to use the bathroom or answer the door, it ‘s time to make a decision. The game does not allow you to pause. This also relates to my next gripe:
* If you close the app, your progress is not saved. Given the iPhone ‘s inability to run background apps, most games will save your progress when you hit the home button or reply to a text. Not iBailout!!, however.
* The last one is somewhat minor, but I found it difficult to tell when the public was able to be eaten vs. not able to be eaten. In Pacman, the ghosts turned blue. In iBailout!!, they do change colors, but the change is fairly minor in comparison. On more than one occasion, I tried to gobble up John Q. Public only to lose a life. There is an audio indicator as well, but some greater color distinction here would be helpful.
Aesthetics
iBailout!! ‘s design is somewhat busy. It isn ‘t a distraction by any means, but each map is fully decked out and colorful. You can definitely tell levels apart by the path you travel, but the variations don ‘t stand out as much as Pacman does at first glance. Each level is decorated with houses, crumbled buildings, and for sale signs. The reality of it all will make you laugh and cry at the same time.
Although this isn ‘t an aesthetic, I did like the chant of ‘Money, Money, Money ‘ in a deep voice as I snatched up the piles of money. Also, the declaration of ‘Martial Law! ‘ when a gun is snatched up still makes me chuckle.
Conclusion
I may actually enjoy the aesthetics and sounds of iBailout!! more than the gameplay itself. That ‘s not a knock against the game, mind you. Rather, it ‘s a testament to the creativity of the developers. They managed to design an apolitical game about a very polarizing topic. Regardless of where your political loyalties lie, you will appreciate the effort that went into creating this bailout-centered game.
The biggest knock against the game is that it ‘s short. Whether it ‘s worth it to you will depend on your App Store philosophy. Ironically, and perhaps appropriately, it all comes down to how you spend your money. If you only buy deep games that take a while to complete, you ‘ll want to look elsewhere. I ‘m not saying the game doesn ‘t have replay value — it does — but there are only ten levels
If, however, you are open to playing a well-designed game that will put a smile on your face, then iBailout is worth a look.
iBailout!! is available now in the App Store for $1.99.
*** Marroni Electronic Entertainment provided a promo code to Just Another iPhone Blog for the review of iBailout!! For more information regarding our site ‘s review policies, please see the ‘About ‘ page. ***
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