Fling a Thing Review

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Fling a Thing Review

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Fling a Thing Review

By Rob Rich on October 4th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: GIVE A TOSS
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Fling a Thing manages to combine flinging physics, arcade tomfoolery and just a hint of virtual pet with surprising success.

Developer: Big Blue Bubble
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS

Graphics / Sound Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.19 out of 5 stars

So Fling a Thing is a game about flinging things. It’s cutesy and arcade-like, this is true, but there’s more to it than that. While the core gameplay revolves around stretching and flinging a number of bizarre critters with suction cup faces around a boxed-in level in order to gather various items and such, there are a few nuances that keep things fresh. Nuances such as having to fling/climb higher up the stage after so many levels, randomized level layouts and potential game-changing items. On top of that, there are stars to earn through random appearances or through “feeding” a thing a-la a simple virtual pet style mini-game (that is fairly similar to the main game). Stars are important because they can be used to unlock new things and worlds, as well as upgrading power-ups to be more effective.

If Fling a Thing were simply a game of tossing a butterfly-slug around and popping bubbles, I’d call it cute and “decent fun” then call it a day. It’s the inclusion of the wacky items, such as eggs that drop a bunch of hatchlings in a shower of bubble-popping madness or pink bubbles that supply an extra bounce, that keep it from spiraling into repetitiveness. Conversely, the careful rationing of flings (yes, they’re limited in number but more can be earned) adds a bit of strategy to everything. Then there’s the dangling carrot of all that stuff to unlock and upgrade with stars.

I can’t say I’m all that crazy about the whole “get more stars through in-app purchases” thing, but they still can be earned in-game so it’s not a huge problem. But aside from my other complaint of fairly slow star-earning, that about does it for my negatives with this title. I suppose I did have trouble getting the proper angle for some shots when my Thing was pretty close to the edge of the screen, but I’m pretty sure I was expected to bounce it off the wall in those instances anyway.

At first I was pretty shocked by how entertaining Fling a Thing is. Then I realized it’s made by the people behind Burn the Rope and other App Store greats. So yeah, not so surprised anymore. I also won’t be surprised if it appears in a noteworthy spot on the App Store. And if it does I totally called it.