Touchgrind Review

By , on July 1, 2009


Touchgrind
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Board controls are excellent.
  • Sounds like a real skateboard.
  • Unlockables.
  • Online Leaderboards.

CONS

  • Park is hard to navigate.
  • Invisble walls are everywhere.

VERDICT

The core concept of Touchgrind is amazingly well realised however issues like strict park boundaries and hard to navigate obstacles prevent it from being the amazing experience that it should have been.


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Touchgrind is one of those rare games that wouldn't exist if it weren't for the iPhone's unique touch design. Every skater and skateboarding fan out there has done tricks using their 2 fingers on their invisible skateboard, Touchgrind is a game that finally gives your fingers something to skate on.

Playing Touchgrind is simple, you stand your index and middle finger on the screen as if you were standing on a tiny skateboard and slide them around to do tricks. A quick tutorial will get you familiar with the controls and then you're free to take part in Jam Sessions and Competitions. Jam Session is basically a free play mode while Competition has you trying to beat your high score within a set time limit.

Unfortunately because of the top down camera, some of the ramps and grind rails can be hard to quickly identify on the fly, however a Marker system allows you set a spawn point so that you can immediately re-appear at your favorite parts of the park.

IllusionLabs clearly worked hard trying to translate everything great about skate culture into their game. Aside from a slick skate themed presentation, the skateboard itself has been recreated with stunningly realistic physics for an Iphone game. It will slide and flip around under your fingers just like a real board.

IllusionLabs have also added in a number of welcome features such as unlockable decks for Competition mode and online leaderboards to ensure that the experience isn't short lived.

Screenshots

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