Cameltry is a labyrinth-type game where users must navigate an orb from the beginning of a maze to the end in under certain amount of time. The game itself brings a new twist on the many labyrinth games that have come before it. Instead of moving your ball around the maze, you move the maze around the ball. It's an interesting concept and a fresh take on a classic game.
When you start the app you have several options to choose from: High Scores, Main Game, Taito Apps, Manual and Options. High Scores will show you the best scores of that have been achieved on your phone. Luckily, it doesn't sync up to the internet to show you how you rank among the masses. I say, "luckily," because I fear I would be at the very bottom of that particular list. The Main Game option gives you two further choices: Practice and Enigma. Practice consists of a four stage tutorial that explains the basic controls of the game and various obstacles. Enigma takes you to the game itself. The next option on the game's home screen is Taito Apps. If you choose this option, the game will close and open the App Store showing you a list other various Taito apps. I found this to be slightly annoying. I'd much prefer an additional screen inside the app itself listing the other various Taito apps with links to the app store if I were interested in pursuing them further. The Manual option consists of a few screens that basically explain the controls of the game. The final selection on the home screen is Options. From here you can change your language preference, toggle tilting on or off, and control the sound volume.
The sound and graphics in Cameltry are pretty good. My biggest gripe about the game's sound is that it doesn't turn off when you switch your phone to vibrate. I have yet to figure out why this isn't standard with all apps at this point. Clearly when you flip your phone to vibrate you don't want to hear noise. This feature seems to be hit and miss among the many apps out there. The graphics in the game are a huge plus for me. They are very much Escher-like in style. I think most people will appreciate this, but I think there are some out there that will dislike the limited amount of color. It didn't bother me one bit and certainly didn't take away from the gameplay.
The game controls are fairly simple. Gravity is pulling your orb straight down and you will need to rotate the board to move your orb to the end of the labyrinth. The board can be rotated clockwise or counterclockwise by either tilting your phone or by touching either the right or left side of the screen. The maze will move in the opposite way that you tilt, which seems counterintuitive and adds to the overall challenge of the game. Tapping on the screen causes your orb to jump which will allow you to quickly navigate out of tight situations when you're in a time crunch. Each level contains coins which you can collect for bonus points. This gives the game some replay value for those who are constantly trying to improve their score. If you can afford the time to navigate the maze to collect them, you may find they're worth your while. Beware, though, there are several obstacles on each level consisting of timed bombs, breakaway blocks, and even blocks that speed up that ever present timer. Avoiding these while trying to collect coins is no easy task.
Overall, Cameltry is an entertaining puzzle game that's a fresh take on an old classic. The game is a lot of fun and extremely challenging. However, $4.99 is a hefty investment for an iPhone app and I would say it's even slightly over-priced. I recommend playing the "lite" version of the game for free to see if it's worth the investment.