Spirit, Marco Mazzoli’s terrific new arcade game, is available from the app store. With its simple concept, great graphic style, and addictive nature, Spirit is a pick-up-and-play gem that’s a blast to play.
Spirit Pros:
- Addictive
- Great Graphics
- Simple Controls
- Pick-Up-And-Play
- Global Leaderboards
Spirit Cons:
- No Achievements
- Only One Game Mode
- Fingers Get In The Way
The last time we found ourselves so enthralled with a game of this ilk was when we reviewed GeoSpark, which shares similar qualities with Spirit. In Spirit, there is just a single game mode (available in Normal and Extreme flavors), in which you complete wave after wave by clearing the board of all enemies. You accomplish this task by dragging your finger around the screen as Spirit, the neon sprite, travels in the same direction that your finger does. Moving Spirit creates a phantom trail. Completing a loop of your trail creates a temporary gravity well, pulling in nearby enemies and eradicating those trapped within its confines. Clear all enemies to complete the wave and move on to the next. Linking chains of gravity wells earns bonus points, as does creating combos of multiple enemies. If Spirit runs into an enemy head-on, he loses a life. The game does appear somewhat forgiving, as we’re sure we’ve brushed by a few enemies without losing a life. You have 3 lives to start, earning additional lives by eliminating enemies linked to tiny versions of yourself. As you progress, you’ll face a variety of enemies, as well as laser beams, coordinated enemy movements, and other obstacles. There are also bonus levels which require you to collect objects of a specific color. Collecting objects of another color deducts points from your total. The net score is multiplied by the largest combo of objects collected at once, so you can really clean up if you play it right.
The graphics are also reminiscent of GeoSpark, with neon lit characters, a grid-style backdrop, the gravity wells, and the requirement of eliminating enemies. While the style is appealing and simplistic, things can get hectic quickly, though the game ran super smooth for us. The soundtrack is very atmospheric, enhancing the ethereal feel of the game and setting a pleasant mood. Controls are strictly touch-based, requiring nothing more than contact with your finger to control Spirit’s every move. While this worked flawlessly, our fingers often obscured our view and led to lost lives on more than one occasion. The movement sensitivity can be altered in the Options menu.
Spirit utilizes OpenFeint for global leaderboards, adding replay value to an already addictive game. While there is a lack of game modes, achievements, and the like, we still felt that the game was quite complete and did not suffer much without these additional options. Spirit will set you back a mere $0.99, a worthy trade for an enjoyable, 5-Dimple charmer.
