'Tiki Towers': A Unique iPhone Builder Game
posted by Blake Patterson on December 22nd, 2008 1:32 PM EST in $0.99, Puzzle, iPhone games, iPod touch games
Late last month RealArcade released a unique, physics-based builder title (kind of a more architectural slant on Lemmings) for the iPhone and iPod touch. Tiki Towers [App Store] challenges the player to use a limited number of bamboo pieces to construct ramps, bridges, and the like to get a boxfull of monkeys from point A to point B.
Travel between five tropical islands leading your tribe of monkeys to safety by building bridges and towers out of bamboo, coconuts, and vines. If you're not careful, your structures will collapse and your monkeys will perish. Clear all the levels to acquire the ceremonial masks of an ancient tribe and discover their mythical lost treasure. Tiki Towers is action and puzzle gaming at its best!
Features as listed by the developer:
- 5 different islands and 45 challenging levels
- Build bridges and towers using bamboo, coconuts and vines
- Realistic physics – bamboo structures will bend, break, and collide with the environment
While I've spent only limited time with the title, the gameplay proved both engaging and challenging from the start. The overall graphics and cute monkey animations give the game a nice feel of polish. Tiki Towers, which is also available for the Wii, received a "Best Casual Game" award at the fifth annual International Mobile Games Awards competititon.
Tiki Towers is well worth its limited time holiday price of $0.99.
App Store Link: Tiki Towers, $0.99
I suggest to spend a little more time on it.
It's really addicting and while it can be finished relatively fast you'll certainly get your dollar in gameplay value. Once you finish it you unlock Eco-mode, in which you revisit each level to take away bamboo sticks and make your tower more eco-friendly. It will make you think again about your own creations, which is a nice way of replayability.
By the way, I'd love a "subscribe" system for comments so that I can see if people comment on this post after me. Would it be possible to implement that?
for 99c it's ok.
but the game is WAY TOO short and easy… eco-friendly mode is even easier, since you have done all levels, and only have to take some out…
there's no "real" achievements… if you are curious, just enter http://www.realarcademobile.com/towers/sunlotion/ and grab the "bonuses".
still, for 99c this is quite enjoyable – but extremely short – no replayability. once you are done, you're going to delete it.
Very engaging game, especially at the low 99 cent price!
Think of World Of Goo Lite and you have an idea of the gameplay.
The physics are pretty good, a little floaty but otherwise spot-on.
Why don't they just release World of Goo, it would sell like mad.
I agree: World of Goo would be massive. And better than this.
I don't think you can call this unique when it is a total rip-off of World of Goo. Which is a unique and wonderful game.
Wow! Looks unique! Oh wait. Never mind, its a direct rip off of World of Goo. Oh wait, they changed the tower to metal!@_@, oh and they changed the moving goos to monkeys!
Good thing there isn't anything else that rips the game off. Oh wait, there is. A singleplayer campaign that follows the same route as World of Goo?
I'll wait for Goo to come to the iPod. I hate blatant ripoff's of games.
It isn't a bad thing that it's a low-budget World of Goo clone…
WoG is 20 bucks, not available for iphone and has NOT been confirmed that it will ever make it over here. Tiki Towers is ONE lousy dollar!
It's a fun game, it doesn't have to be unique, it's a nice little tide-me-over game, and you will certainly get your money's worth.
I think some people are being hyper-critical here for no reason!
This game reminds me if world of goo and the psn game elephunk. Why is everyone complaining about this being a rip off of world of goo? For $1 it can hold us off well until world of goo may make it's iPhone appearance.
yeah! world of goo for iphone and ipod touch would be great!
in an itues store review someone claims incompatibility to iPod touch 1st gen…
can anyone confirm this?
@aen – I think it was an early mistake that has been fixed. Works with 1G Touch now.
See: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showpost.php?p=31498&postcount=26
arn
I can confirm that it works with a 1G ipod touch and that its a lot for fun for a buck.
@arn & nanokiwi: thanks. im off to the itunes store then…
For a buck this is great! My 5 year old also loves it! Can't wait for WOG on iPhone…
World of Goo is an unique independently developed game. Ripping off an independent game in my book is a cheap blow. I'm not complaining that something like it is on the ipod, i'm just saying that this game didn't even try much to call it its own. Its a rip off, a rip off of a game made by people who don't have the money to create a big budget game.
ITS JUST PLAIN STUPID. Then again, gamers won't care in the long run.
Not to mention that RealArcade is a big coming ripping off on the success of World of Goo.
and this game IS coming to the Wii (all in 3D). like i said, for 99c this is ok – but way too easy and short.
All this jibber jabber about "ripping off" a concept is ludicrous.
Should all platform games be limited to Mario Bros? Should all FPSs be limited to Doom? Should all RPGs be limited to Final Fantasy?
Each iteration of the genre does something a little bit different, and at times this can lead to innovation.
Obiter is right.
Obiter is right – and probably watches Boston Legal
Should all platform games be limited to Mario Bros? Should all FPSs be limited to Doom? Should all RPGs be limited to Final Fantasy?
Of course not.
All platform games should be limited to Manic Miner. All FPSs should be limited to Wolfenstein, and all RPGs should be limited text-based MUDs.
*kidding*
So what if it takes ideas from World of Goo. We could say World of Goo takes some gameplay ideas from Lemmings. *Any* game that shows a level progression across a map could be said to take ideas from Mario.
I reckon the tower building aspect should be considered generic gameplay (like "match 3 colours"), and we'll probably see more games of this type. If Tiki Towers adds something fresh then it earns its place.
If this motivates 2dboy to release World of Goo on iPhone, I'll be happy.
World of goo is not that unique a game, it borrows lots of elements from the old bridge builder games.
everything can in one way or another be considered to be a rip off of something else… welcome to the copy&paste century folks!
for 0,79 € its a damn good rip off… i am really enjoying this!
Brad Newsom's comment is a direct ripoff of Jeff Scott's!
Yet we still call the game unique.
Yeesh, lots of in-depth comments. Here's mine:
The game is 99 cents. It's fun and polished. Buy it, or don't, but it helped me kill a lot of time at the airport this holiday season.
I like the game very much!!!!
how do you tun the vibrating off? otherwise it's a great game!