Hands-On Mobile has been pretty decent with iPhone releases, including some great titles like Prey Invasion and their so-so tycoon Karnival. While I wasn’t fully satisfied with some of their games, it seems as bitFlip is one that I fully enjoy, and while it is missing a campaign or progression of difficulty, it’s definitely a game for all those puzzle fans out there.
I didn’t exactly feel a real brain teaser with this game, and it was more about quick thinking and quick finger gestures (and no, that is not what she said). It’s definitely very well designed, and even in such a crowded genre, Hands-On Mobile did a great job with finding the new in the old.
Likes
Artwork: I seem to like almost all the artwork in most games, but you have to give the artist some credit here. bitFlip has that futuristic tone to it along with some great design in game pieces and layout. While I’m not a huge fan of the menu design, the artwork for everything else was pretty top notch.
Twists: I’m not a particularly creative guy, and I seriously thought that match-3 was no more. There’s just so much competition in that crowded genre that it’s almost impossible to come up with something else. Surprisingly, bitFlip provided a whole new experience with the ability to flip your pieces and change the color of them. Also, there were tons and tons of different powerups to activate, and while this isn’t an entirely new concept, it’s very well executed in bitFlip.
Music: The soundtrack, and sounds for that matter, were very well done and seemed very professional. The techno mixing provided as the background soundtrack was far from repetitive, and the game had a few tracks to listen to. It seems as if the music was also made from an indie artist, making this game feel that much more professional and fresh.
Dislikes
Online Highscores: Nada, nothing, zilch. While the online highscores would be extremely far from my current score, it still would be nice to add some more replay value into the game. When the App Store has grown this far, online highscores are now a must as there is really no excuse except for “I didn’t have time” or “I was too lazy”. Some games don’t exactly work with online highscores (ex: Ravensword), but bitFlip seems to be screaming for some online component.
Bland Menu Design: I’m a lenient guy when it comes to some menu designs, but bitFlip is just horrendous. It looks as if Hands-On Mobile took 5 minutes to create some mediocre menu design, and the menu features some pretty ugly buttons. The background picture is also very mediocre, and it looks as if they took a picture off Google for the background.
bitFlip is a solid match-3 game that I found to be rightly priced and rightly designed. While there are some flaws here and there, the overall game was an absolute thrill to play. The new twists to the crowded match-3 were welcoming, and I can’t help but salute Hands-On Mobile. Hands-On Mobile, I salute you and your creativeness.
bitFlip was developed by Hands-On Mobile, and I played through version 1.0 on my iPhone 3GS. The price is $1.99.
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