Pyramid Bloxx is a fun and addicting game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The basic idea is to get different colored stones from the bottom of the mine to the surface in order to build pyramids and expand your Egyptian empire. But, it's not as easy as it sounds. The pyramids become larger and each level brings a new challenge. Digital Chocolate has been pumping out some quality games, and Pyramid Bloxx does not disappoint.
The game starts off with some Egyptian-type music that does a nice job of setting the tone for your adventure. There is a little glitch when you first run the app, in that the music stops and starts again before it quickly cuts out and starts the new music for the menu screen. But, that's an easy update fix. The title screen is nicely presented, with standard menu options including a highscores menu, but not online. The settings menu includes a volume slider and an option to turn "flick to toss" on or off, but we'll get to flicking later. When you tap play, you are given two options, to play a quick game or build your empire. Quick game mode challenges you to get a single stone from the bottom of a pyramid to the top without dropping the stone even once. Earthquakes and sand storms are thrown at you to make things difficult. Empire mode allows you to build structures to expand your growing civilization, such as markets, statues, and fountains.
In Empire mode, you start with the goal of building a small pyramid. Each stone of the pyramid must be mined from below ground. You get each stone to the top by either touching the screen or flicking your iPhone at the appropriate time. Each miner that holds the stone moves back and forth across the screen. You have to tap the screen at the exact moment you are directly below the next miner above you to achieve a perfect throw. Instead of tapping the screen, you can flick your iPhone or iPod Touch to toss the stone. This is a nice little feature, but it really isn't as accurate as tapping the screen. You will find that you get more perfect throws by tapping the screen rather than flicking. If you toss the stone slightly off center, the next miner will have difficulty balancing the stone, therefore making your next throw that much harder to accomplish. Some miners have wings which allow you to throw twice as high, cutting down the time it takes to get the stone to the surface, therefore giving you more points. If you miss a toss to a miner, the stone falls and is not worth as much when you add it to your pyramid. If you miss a throw three times, you must restart that level, but you make retry as many times as you want.
The concept is simple, but it gets more challenging as you go through the game. You start with a blue stone, which is the easiest to get to the surface, but is not as valuable to your pyramid. Each new stone provides a new challenge and is more valuable. Wind, earthquakes, and swinging monkeys are thrown into the mix to make it harder to get the stone to the surface. How is there wind underneath the ground? I have no idea. But, it's still fun.
When you get the stone to the surface, you can then place it into your pyramid. Here is where some strategy comes into play. To get the most points, you want the most valuable stones in your pyramid, but each stone has its own placement requirements. For example, the blue stone can be placed anywhere, but the black stone must be placed in the center of six other stones. You can move stones around as you wish to figure out the best way to maximize points.
Pyramid Bloxx really is a fun and addicting game. After you add a stone to your pyramid, you won't be able to stop yourself from trying to add all the stones necessary to complete the pyramid. You'll feel the need to find out what new structures you can build next in your Egyptian kingdom. The music is great, as it really puts you in the Egyptian feel. The graphics are nothing special, but nice. I need two things to be fixed in this game for it to stay on my iPhone. For one, the animations are a bit scarce and I would love to see more things moving in each level. For one, I'd like to see the miners and the stones move a bit smoother. It just seems a tad on the choppy side. Also, a big negative is that there are hardly any sound effects in the game. You get a sound effect when you make a perfect throw, but that's about it. I'm missing sound effects from the miners throwing the stone, catching the stone, and when the stone falls and crashes at the bottom. There are monkeys, but no monkey sounds! There is no earthquake or sandstorm sounds! Also, in Empire mode, it would be nice to choose what you'd like to build and where you'd like to put it. This would add more customization to the game. These additions are key to making this a really great application.
I strongly recommend checking this app out, especially since there is a free version! I do think the full version is priced a bit high in the store for what the game currently offers, but if Digital Chocolate updates the game with better animations, more customization, and sound effects, the price would be justified. Either way, the game is definitely fun!
