Cave Mice Review

By , on August 31, 2011


Cave Mice
Download on the AppStore
3 out of 5

PROS

  • Solid controls.
  • Those who like cheese will enjoy collecting it.

CONS

  • Nothing we haven't seen before. Inconsistent ramping up of challenge.

VERDICT

As 'how far can you get' games go, Cave Mice is about middle of the road. You'll have some fun with it, but it probably won't leave a lasting impression.


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For those of you who have played the NES game Battletoads, remember level 2, when you were endlessly descending down that tunnel, trying your hardest to avoid objects, destroy enemies, and not  bell whack your friend? Well Cave Mice is a little like that, minus the punching enemies and turning into bells. OK, so it's nothing like that, but the core idea is the same. As a family of mice who have had their cheese pile fall deep into the Earth, it's up to Theseus Tilsit to lower himself down, collecting cheese and avoiding all the dangers lurking in this bottomless mine shaft.

Tilting the iPhone swings the gondola back and forth across the screen and is your main method of avoiding rocks and ledges, plus all the enemies that show up. Alternatively you can swipe the screen to fling some of the cheese you've collected at any of the creatures threatening you or at the magma rocks that volcanoes spew out at you. There are also items to collect such as shields which are a real plus as you find yourself further and further down in the depths.

The presentation of Cave Mice is what we'd call middle of the road. The mice themselves have some nice expressions in the opening story and the designs are fine, but there's nothing special on offer here. The same goes for the sound effects and music backing track. As this is an endless game, the content on offer is up to the player's interest, with some achievement style challenges elongating play.

The only thing a little off about Cave Mice is its inconsistent sense of challenge. On our first play-through we found ourselves bored with almost nothing happening, but every play after that uncovered more devious obstacles right from the get go.  Nevertheless, if you're looking for another 'how far can you get' game, it might be worth it to dive into the abyss and give this one a play.

Screenshots

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