Blocks up for iphone Review

Our rating:

By: Martin ysa Apptouch Studios

Version #: 1.0.1

Date Released:

Developer:

Price: 0.99

User Rating:

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Forget what you learned in school about silly gravity. Blocks don’t fall down, they fall up according to Apptouch Studios’s new game, Blocks Up. This twist on the tried and true Tetris game aims to shatter the belief that nothing can be added to the genre. Well with a reversed direction, obstacles, and goal based levels, Block’s Up is certainly going to give it a try.

In this action/puzzle game you of course have to position blocks into complete horizontal lines as they fall (i mean rise) toward you. This game eschews the typical four-block shapes for five-block per shape that makes it harder to incorporate the placement strategy of our Russian classic.

Control of the blocks is made possible with swipes for movement and taps for rotation. The swiping works well most of the time except when it occasionally swipes a block into place and then sends the next block flying right into the ground immediately after.

By now you are probably thinking, “so the blocks are different and they go up, so what?” Well, Blocks Up also has goals for each level such as “complete four block at once”, or “complete 11 blocks.” As you progress you also find levels where there are walls in the middle of the field that make it more difficult to maneuver and the speed of the blocks increases to a frantic level. Levels can be replayed to obtain higher score and there is also a three star rating for each levels to tell you how your did.

Unfortunately there is no online leaderboards, or Game Center support so you will have to gloat to your friends in person. The graphics are colorful and the music is a classical piece that I can’t quite place. I enjoyed place the game and some of the later levels are very challenging. The overall look of the game needs a bit of polish, but I think it is an interesting concept and for $.99 it could be a good buy if you are looking for a Tetris-like game that does things a bit different. I will point out that you can transform the upward moving blocks by simply rotating the iPhone. I’m just saying.

We rate this app 3.5 out 5 stars.