Gummibär Review

I’m at a total loss to explain Gummibär. It’s not your traditional game though it plays like one it doesn’t fit into any specific genre. It basically fits in several, and its both irritating and fantastic at the same time. So i guess it would be proper to call it a game about mini-games that tie into one single story.

The story is a follow Gummibär is taking a trip in his plane to a dance competition when a sudden storm forces him to make an emergency landing on an unknown island. To his surprise, he discovers that the island is inhabited by a tribe of fierce savage gummy bears. To his even greater surprise, he discovers that this tribe possesses special instruments and dances that would help him to win the dance competition. However, the chief of the tribe will only give him the special instruments and dances in exchange for magical fruits that are hidden on the nearby islands.

Your job is to help Gummibär as he embarks on a “dangerous” adventure to find these fruits and trade them with the chief for the special instruments and dances so that he can win the championship competition.

There are two methods of controls which must be setup prior to playing a level or the single player game itself. Touch which places a buttons on the screen for movement, or Rotate which using the tilt functions of the iDevice for most levels. However it should be noted the platform levels are controlled via diagonal arrows around the screen edges. I honestly found the rotate scheme much better as i felt the arrow keys were a bit distracting. Your mileage may very though. Either way the controls do work well and are very responsive to touch or tilt.

To Pause the game you simply shake the device and a menu will pop-up. I like this still of menu creation as it keeps the screen free of pause or menu buttons, and keeps you focused on the game.

The objective of the levels are to collect the number of stars listed on the top for each level before you reach the end of the level. However there are usually more stars in the game than you need in case you miss a few along the way. In the harder levels this is not the case, as your starting lives and number of stars needed are adjusted.

There are 4 different types of gameplay levels in the game, Flying, Boat, Dance, and Platform each can be played as an individual game once you unlock them in the single player game mode as well.

In both the flying and boat missions your need to collect the stars while avoiding any obstacles in your way. Touching these objects will results in a loss in life. The level does not restart it just removes a life and you continue on.

The Dance game is basically a light version of DDR. Food travels down the sides of the screens and you must touch them as they enter the circles to avoid losing a life.

The Platform levels require you to collect stars as well, ala Mario where you can jump on the heads of turtles to remove them from the map. However the controls on these levels are placed around the perimeter of the screen. I really found this to be distracting as My hands were all over the place. It works, it’s just takes some time to come to grips with the way it’s setup.

Graphically the game is very cartoon looking and bright. This game is made with the younger kid in heart, and it shows. The characters are cute, and the animations are great.

However the audio portion of the game is probably the biggest compliment to the game. It’s quite irritating and utterly fantastic at the same time. irritating because some of these tunes are very catchy and stick in your head. I found myself walking around work whistling the song! The utter shame should someone know one of these, though I doubt they would choose to admit they also play the game!

I found myself laughing out loud a few times at these lyrics..Whoever designed them is very talented in a sick way. Don’t put your finger in your nose uh huh no no no don’t do that!

Overall Gummibar is a good title for the younger crowd. Adults might still get a few laughs out of it, but it’s just not that challenging for most gamers. Notching up the difficulty level does help but this wasn’t made to be a Ninja Gaiden style game. It’s a Gummibar for petes sake!

As a children’s game it is quite addictive, creative and fun. My son plays it quit often just for the songs and that’s what these apps are about having fun, and Gummibär does just that. Just be forewarned about the music they will stick in your head.

No related posts.

Category: Games