Despite only releasing the first game a little over three months ago, HotGen are back with another entry in the To-Fu puzzle-platforming series. Check out the video for my thoughts on the upcoming title and some exclusive early-footage of the gameplay.
To-Fu 2 is slated for release on App Store for iOS devices on Thursday 8th September, 2011.
Transcript:
Hey everyone, it's Andrew from AppSpy dot com and I've got another Hands-On Preview for you to check out, this week it's for To-Fu 2 by HotGen, the sequel to the puzzle-platformer released just over three months ago in late-May.
As you may remember at the time, To-Fu's gameplay revolved around 'pinging' or rather stretching and releasing the main character to sling-shot him across the level. There were also various surfaces to make him bounce or slide along, though the usual assortment of traps including spikes and lasers provided incentives to play cautiously.
My first impressions of To-Fu 2 are somewhat mixed, more to the point it's hard to view the game as a direct sequel when the only new feature to be explored is the addition of a charged 'super ping'. Aiming the character will eventually make him glow, giving him a speedy ping that can also break through wooden barriers. So far in the early stages of the game only the basic implications of such a mechanic have been explored (that is to say stages that simply place wooden barriers in inconvenient locations or simple timing based puzzles that require the speedier ping), if the previous game is any indicator though the super ping is bound to see its fair share of use (and abuse).
I kind of hope there's more to the game than just a 'super ping' though as the only other major change over the original title is the slightly higher difficulty curve. Where the first eased you in, this title throws you through a series of tutorials and plants you face-first in to a series of challenges that vary from elementary to iPhone-breakingly annoying. Personally I enjoy a bit of difficulty, so I'm not complaining too much, but it does ruin an otherwise smooth progression curve when you complete a couple levels with little to no fuss and then spend 5 minutes perfecting the timing on another.
Other new features include a Time Attack mode where you collect as much Chi as possible within a time limit, with your high-score going up on a Game Center leaderboard. Unfortunately it feels much like an after-thought, especially tucked away in the 'Extra' menu alongside the Dojo (a small practice area), Options and Help menu. (Ed Note: There are no 'options' per-se, but you can edit the tofu's appearance in the Dojo)
Interestingly you can customize your character's appearance, with in-app purchases providing a fun selection of costumes, though there seems to be little reason to invest in these beyond further supporting the developer.
At any rate, To-Fu 2 will be hitting the App Store this week and we'll have a review up as soon as possible. For now if you enjoyed the original and were left wanting for more content then this is probably going to make your week, but without too many changes to the formula those who felt less enthused about the first title may want to wait until we give our final verdict.
