After nearly a year atop the iOS App Store’s “Top 25 Paid Apps” list, it finally seems that Angry Birds has a worthy contender in Cut the Rope, but which one is the better game? For some, it may seem a bit silly to split hairs in today’s mobile game market, where the best titles rarely cost more than $2.99 and the gameplay can be had in short, mobile-friendly bursts. To those people, I say good riddance. The internet was born for such geeky arguments, and like the masses of Thunderdome, you can hear the chants of “two apps enter, one app lives!”
Reigning Champion: Angry Birds
A physics game where the goal is to launch your character at the proper angle and speed, Angry Birds uses a winning formula that’s been going strong ever since polar bears started launching penguins with baseball bats. Each stage is a unique puzzle, where a series of three birds must be released from a slingshot in order to collide with objects. Ultimately, the goal is to cause chaotic chain reactions that will crush three evil pigs. As a secondary goal, players can strive for a perfect three-star rating on each level by setting high scores only achievable with massive destruction and minimal use of the available three birds.
This game has a lot going for it, in that it is has both addicting gameplay and a visually appealing art style. Just when you think that the game is about to get stale, the next set of levels rolls out a new bird that contains some special feature (splitting into three birds, dropping egg bombs, exploding on command, etc.). These little tweaks completely change the strategy and do a great job of sustaining the game’s momentum. As for the graphics, they’re done with clean strong lines, and definitely have a kid-friendly image with the whole “birds vs. pigs” storyline. There is a reason that Angry Birds is set to become a major media franchise, complete with toys and a movie. Appealing to a wide audience with its cutesy style is a big reason why this app has sat at number one for so long.
Contender: Cut the Rope
This newer game, released just in October, has already bounced Angry Birds out of the top slot for a brief period of time and currently sits at number seven on the Top 25. In Cut the Rope, players must swing a piece of candy from rope to rope, slicing where appropriate to allow the candy to reach a friendly monster’s mouth. Where Angry Birds focuses on projectile motion, this game embraces the physics of centripetal force and momentum to determine how candy swings on a rope.
With continuing similarities, this game also introduces new gameplay elements as it progresses. Some of the added features include move-able rope anchor points that force players to create the stage on the fly, and reverse gravity, which throws a huge wrinkle in players’ understanding of how candy will shoot across the screen. Cut the Rope also has the required cute little monster, making this an age-appropriate title.
Judgement
While Angry Birds has a lot going for it, there is an Achilles heel present. When taking a deeper look at the addictive nature of the gameplay, there are clearly two types of addiction: games that present a consistent ramp up in skill vs. difficulty, and games that limit player tools to create difficulty without building skill. Angry Birds falls into the latter category due to its failure to provide the player with any feedback. When preparing birds to be shot, no information on the angle or distance is provided, and the pull box is so small that its unreasonable to expect repeatable results from memory alone. In a game where a tenth of a degree can be the difference between three stars and no stars, this is unacceptable.
Cut the Rope on the other hand is a game of both timing and manual dexterity. It will gradually force you to move your fingers across the screen in ways that no other iOS game has asked you to before. Decisions are made between a combination of two factors: what actions were taken and when were they performed. The emphasis on timing makes it possible to repeat your actions in Cut the Rope, allowing players to study patterns in how the candy reacts. There is a reasonable expectation that with enough practice and repetition, you will improve to the point of being able to clear every stage in this game. The end result is a test of skill, which when combined with Cut the Rope‘s ability to match Angry Birds step for step in cute character design, makes this game our a new winner.
Excellent points!!!!