Cliffed, IUGO Mobile Entertainment’s Falldown-style online multiplayer game, has been released in the app store. Boasting frantic gameplay and a whimsical graphic style, this frustratingly fun app will leave your thumbs sore and your head spinning.
Many games in the app store share the same basic gameplay idea as Cliffed: go as high or low as possible before the scrolling board catches up to you. The hook behind Cliffed is that you are competing against up to three opponents in real time as you try to be the first to reach the 1000th platform or the last to get Cliffed. There are two gameplay modes: Single Player and Multiplayer, but to be honest, single player is more of a practice mode for the multiplayer sessions, which are the bread and butter of this game. Of course, single player is necessary to unlock the alternate characters in the game, of which there are 13 total. For each subsequent Speed Up sign that you receive, you unlock another character. The last character is unlocked by receiving 20 VIP points, which ties in with IUGO’s VIP referral system. The characters are varied and whimsical. No one seems to hold any advantage over another in terms of skill, speed, etc.
The single player gameboard indicates time elapsed and depth. The multiplayer board color codes the players, indicating which player belongs with which color and what depth each player has passed. The playing field is comprised of a series of ledges jutting from each side of the board, with a small gap in each level through which your character must pass to fall further down the hole. There are also boulders on many of the levels, and running toward one side of the board will spit you out on the other, a necessary escape plan when a boulder blocks your path as there is no jump button. Movement is controlled via large left and right arrows on either side of the board. A double-tap on either will cause you to dash at a quicker pace for a moment. Simply tap (or double-tap) left and right in order to direct your character into the gaps. If your character touches the top of the screen, you’ve been Cliffed.
The graphics show nice polish and the board is very clean, with easy to distinguish objects. The sounds are upbeat and appropriate for the quick nature of the game. Controls work very well, almost too well at times. We did run into an odd bug during a multiplayer session that immediately transported our character from about the 100th platform to the 793rd. We simply watched as the levels scrolled by, as our character was somehow trapped well below our view and our opponent was falling well above our view. We stared at this screen until our opponent passed the 800th platform, though we never saw his character reappear on-screen. The game appeared to freeze after this. It is our understanding that IUGO is aware of this issue and is rushing an update to fix this bug. We also seemed to have some issues with connecting to multiplayer games, though it is not evident whether this is due to a lack of online players or something within the game itself. Ever time we hit Retry after playing a multiplayer game, it would find no one, not even our own character. Hopefully, this will all be sorted out shortly, as we’re really enjoying the fast-paced play.
Cliffed utilizes IUGO VIP for leaderboards, so you’ll need to create a free account if you’d like to participate. Options are limited, but it appears you can listen to your own music library instead of the in-game soundtrack. Replayabililty is very high, with leaderboards enticing you to keep trying. There is also a very strong “just one more try” feeling when playing the game. IUGO has priced Cliffed at $1.99, a very fair price for an enjoyable and addicting game. Cliffed is a very solid 4-Dimple game with great potential.
Cliffed gets our AppSmile 4-Dimple rating:
