Ramp Champ Review

By , on August 26, 2009


Ramp Champ
Download on the AppStore
2 out of 5

PROS

  • The different level designs break up the gameplay and give players some options.

CONS

  • The controls themselves aren’t that responsive and good rolls rely on luck more than flick strength.
  • The gameplay is unrewarding and repetitive; more of a grind game.
  • No options to turn off the game sound or use iPod properly.

VERDICT

Take the money needed to buy Ramp Champ, go to an arcade, play Skee ball for real and use the few tickets you get to buy a small rubber ball. You’ll have more fun with that ball than you will with this game.


  • Full Review
  • App Store Info

Ramp Champ is a Skee ball type arcade game for the iPhone. Players roll balls up a ramp to hit the different objects in the level. Each object has different point values and tickets can be earned based on final scores and then traded in for prizes.

Using your finger, players flick the ball by up the ramp to hit an object. The harder you flick, the more distance your ball will get. The controls are the same for each game, but the controls aren’t as responsive as you’d like. Often the player will rely on luck to get the speed or distance they want out of their shot, or just miss completely.

The visuals are good and the different style levels break up the otherwise identical gameplay. The sound features the typical carnival pipe organ music, but unfortunately cannot be turned off. Players are able to use their iPod during gameplay but the tracks will overlap; and with no way to turn the game sound off, why bother using your iPod. This is a single player only game with no leaderboard or highscore options.

Ramp Champ is a throwback to the Skee Ball arcade machines that everyone remembers playing. The fun came from when you saved your tickets and traded them in for prizes. While Ramp Champ tries to capture that same experience, it’s a completely different thing from owning a real prize to having a picture of one on your iPhone. Due to the many issues, it just seems like this is a game better left to the arcades; it’d be easier to control, more fun and a lot more value for money.

Screenshots

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