Super Tumble

Camel Games has released their sixth game in the Android Market and not surprisingly it's another physics puzzler. This time you're given a structure with a star precariously balanced at the top and you have to gradually eliminate supports allowing it to fall gracefully onto a supporting platform below. The picture probably illustrates this better than does my description. Camel, as usual, does a great job with the physics and they are apparently so into that aspect of their games that even the menu utilizes it this time around. Camel's Space Physics was among my first Android game reviews and their games have only gotten better. They're also the first developer to load game data onto the SD card while other professional developers still haven't gotten that memo.

The game itself offers over 65 levels (looks to me like 71) in groups of 12 that have to be unlocked (which means that if you're like me you can solve level 12 and have access to the next group and skip to level 24 and so on...). The first twelve are easy... I'm currently working on the second group and am having trouble with level 18. The first group just offers the basics of different shaped blocks and balloons (which cause things to fall more slowly). The second group adds things like pits which means instead of just getting the star straight down you have to 'steer' it left or right onto a platform. It should also be noted that you can't just tap on everything and have all objects disappear... if you've eliminated one object there is a delay before another can be eliminated (although you can immediately select it which will cause it to flash indicating it'll be the next to go away).

A couple puzzles for me are a) why Camel doesn't have a website for all of their games yet and b) why they offer "no ads" in the description of the full/paid version of the game... at $3 I'd hope not (cut and paste error?).

This game's graphics and UI are excellent and there isn't much audio to critique or praise aside from the sounds of clicking on stuff, starting a level, ...etc. I'd classify this game as a variant on Blow Up (or iDemolish). How many physics games should you own? At this point in time if I was starting out I'd buy two of theirs: ShootU! and Super Tumble (and wow... ShootU! has sold over 10,000 copies while my beloved Panzer Panic struggles at under 500). Super Tumble sells for $2.99 in the Market and is a winner. Hopefully they'll support the game (as they plan to) with additional levels. And Camel has been around for long enough I'm sure they will. 4.5/5 stars.

Edit: This game just gets better... made it into the third set of levels and a few new things have been introduced. The most interesting find is an object that doubles in size when you click it before 'blowing up'. The game also has a really good feel when I hold my Droid like a Playstation Portable and use my thumb to tap on objects. Not many games seem to have that kind of feel.