Cover Orange Review

By , on December 14, 2010


Cover Orange
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Well designed physics-based puzzle challenges.
  • Easy to pick up gameplay.
  • 80 currently available levels.

CONS

  • Repetitive music gets wedged in your brain.
  • Some physics tools are unclear in their purpose without experimentation.

VERDICT

Cover Orange is a perfect time waster for those who need something more challenging than the average physics based puzzler, just be ready to replay stages multiple times until you work out the perfect sequence.


  • Full Review
  • App Store Info

Cover Orange by FDG Entertainment has already had a lot of success thanks to its exposure as a free physics puzzler on Flash gaming sites. While iPad gamers managed to get the first taste of this game on the App Store, iPhone and iTouch users can now get their hands on this compelling puzzle title.

Your aim is (as the title implies) to cover the oranges and protect them from being damaged by deadly projectiles being flung by a passing cloud. Initially this is a fairly simple task as you're given a sequence of objects that you can drop in to the world to directly cover the orange. However things quickly become more challenging as the game throws you in to puzzles that require more than a bit of lateral thinking to ensure you save every orange. 

Those expecting Cover Orange to be a fairly simple Flash conversion will be pleasantly surprised by the artwork upgrades that stick to the original without going overboard. Visual indicators have also been added to the objects to make dragging and dropping the objects easier to judge. This doesn't manage to ruin the complexity of a puzzle as you still have to contend with physics causing the objects to bounce around after they're dropped. The background music is also devilishly repetitive and extended sessions will leave the tune stuck in your head for far too long, but truth be told, extended sessions can become all too common as you lose yourself to the slew of levels already available.

One common problem with physics engines is that the randomness can ruin a game by either providing solutions that weren't intended or relying on luck to replicate the situations you require. Fortunately the levels in Cover Orange feel perfectly balanced to provide a single clear solution that may take several attempts to learn, but you never feel cheated by a dependance on random events. Definitely a great pickup for those after a brain tickling challenge or those who enjoy physics based puzzlers.

Screenshots

Screenshot 1 of 5 Screenshot 2 of 5 Screenshot 3 of 5 Screenshot 4 of 5 Screenshot 5 of 5