Ripten Review: Doodle Bomb (iPhone/iPod Touch)

I consider my iPod touch to be another gaming handheld that happens to play music. It’s great for budget gaming on-the-go, I always have it with me, and the number of great games on the platform is ever expanding. In all honestly, it’s my favorite gaming device, and I’m always excited to find new games for the platform.

This is where Doodle Bomb comes in. The game’s developer, Bottle Rocket, has a pretty wide range of great iPod/iPhone offerings, including Doodle Bomb, a physics-based puzzler that uses bombs to trigger doors and devices to help you advance to higher levels. It’s Bottle Rocket’s latest offering, but is it any good?

Hit the jump to find out.

Bottle Rocket doesn’t have a premise, but you can’t really discount it for that reason. I’ve only seen one iPhone game with a plot, and that was a port of a popular adventure game we all know and love. The lack of a premise doesn’t make it less fun or difficult, though- and Doodle Bomb is difficult.

The game has 50 missions, the last 15 of those being “Master Missions” where you have to meet a certain goal. In order to complete the levels, you have to toss bombs at blue triggers that open gates and activate other devices, and a green trigger that opens the next level when you’ve blown it up. You will also occasionally come across a red-striped object that, when hit, automatically detonates your bomb. It’s not as simple as just throwing the bomb, though- each bomb has a fuse that lasts about 7 seconds, and you have to time that 7 seconds so that the bomb isn’t shot by trigger-happy soldiers (your only enemy in the game) or blown up far away from the triggers.

You throw the bomb by tapping on the screen, and how far the bomb goes depends on how close your cursor is to the game’s hero. The combination of timing, physics, and bomb proximity make for some great levels, including many where you have to work with the game’s environment to properly time explosives and ensure that your bomb is set off correctly. If you complete a level on par or below par of the goal set by each level, you get a Bomb Badge. Beating the game means that you have to collect all 50 Bomb Badges- one per level.

Although the game is hard, it’s very easy to learn. Once you get to the 4th or so level, you’ll pretty much have the hang of it. It isn’t until the 30th or so level that Doodle Bomb challenged me, but the great thing about the game’s difficulty is how great you feel when you complete a hard level. I spent so much time on the Master Missions that I literally jumped in excitement upon earning the final Bomb Badge.

It’s hard to complain about a game when it’s this fun, but Doodle Bomb isn’t without its few problems. For instance, the game allows you to tilt your iPod/iPhone and roll the bomb along the ground, but the rolling is very slow, regardless of the angle you tilt your device at. The menu is kind of sluggish too, but it’s rarely necessary unless you want to go through the “How To Play” before you actually play. I actually like the hand-drawn style of the characters and traps, but I’m not a fan of the sheet-of-paper style in Doodle Bomb- it’s kind of played out as an iPod/iPhone design- but I’m sure there are plenty of people who love it.

The bottom line is that Doodle Bomb is fun. It’s not without its few problems, but they rarely get in the way of the gameplay itself. You’d be crazy to miss out on this game. I only hope the developer decides to update the game frequently with more and more levels, but even as it is, Doodle Bomb is definitely an extraordinary example of iPhone gaming at its finest.

On a related note, keep an eye out for a post going up in a few minutes- courtesy of Bottle Rocket Apps, we’ll be giving away two codes for Doodle Bomb! Stay tuned on just how you can win your own copy.