Collider, a fun new puzzler from Dan Russell-Pinson (creator of Block Drop Relaxing Puzzler and Furballs!), is available in the app store now. Originally a PC flash game, Collider has been ported to the iDevice and now has more than twice the content.
Collider Pros:
- Top-notch graphical presentation
- Great creativity in level designs
- Gameplay was quite challenging without ever getting frustrating
- Dynamically generated background music
Collider Cons:
- Lack of global leaderboards and achievement system
Collider requires you to combine globules of positive and negative material in an effort to eliminate all of the globules from each level. You will be presented with globules of varying size placed among configurations of pipes, ropes, ramps, bouncy platforms, switches, propellers, dynamite, and other odd paraphernalia. A small stash of globules and/or green balls (indestructible, used mainly as placeholders or to set globules in motion) appear at the screen bottom and must be placed within the gaming area so that when you hit the play button, the ensuing action will result in the elimination of all on-screen globules. Though Collider may seem simple while you fly through the initial levels, as the saying goes, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Through 56 increasingly challenging levels, you must determine the precise placement of items that will bring about your desired effect while creating the proper amounts of force and timing the occurrence of certain events to get all items in the proper place at the proper time. Gameplay was quite challenging without ever getting frustrating. Some levels were fairly easily solved, while others took many restarts before we were able to both figure out what had to happen and actually get it to happen.
The graphical presentation is top-notch, as expected from the creator of Block Drop. Positive globules are white and negatives are blue. Contacting a similar globule creates a larger globule, while opposites of differing size reduce the larger; same-sized globules disappear. The level designs show great creativity and attention to detail. The background music is dynamically generated, created on the fly by mixing and matching from a series of melodic lines created by Dan himself. The music works well within the game and adds a great, unique touch that is both relaxing and entertaining. If you don’t care for Dan’s creations, you can play music from your own library. Controls are very simple and effective. Drag items from the screen bottom to the game area, placing them anywhere outside of the restricted placement area. You’ll know whether or not you can place a piece by its glowing green or red outline. When you are satisfied with your placements, press the play button and watch what happens. There is a fast-forward button to speed up gameplay as well as a restart button that “rewinds” play to the initial orientation, allowing you to adjust your previous positions and give it another go.
Replay value is good, as the number of restarts and overall time needed to complete each level is tracked. You can replay previous levels to play down your initial times and scores. There doesn’t appear to be access to global leaderboards, nor is there an achievement system. Both would be great future additions. We were halfway through the game in under an hour, so the inclusion of new levels sometime down the road would be terrific. This is a solid puzzler with a lot of character, featuring a series of puzzles that are likely to leave you simultaneously scratching your head and begging for more. Collider is an absolutely stunning 5-Dimple game.
