Gobtron [$1.99] from Juicy Beast Studio started out as a Flash game a few years ago, and last week an iOS port made its way into the App Store. Gobtron is a type of castle defense game where you play as a gigantic pink monster who must fend off puny human attackers throughout 5 ages of history. The interesting thing is how the Gobtron goes about defending himself, primarily using a string of snot from his nose but also utilizing other bodily functions for additional attack types. It’s a bit on the gross side but done in a lighthearted way, and Gobtron actually offers some pretty fun gameplay with its unique control mechanics and weapon upgrade system.
Gobtron takes place over 18 levels in 5 eras, starting out in the Stone Age and moving to Ancient Egypt, the Middle Ages, modern-day military, and finally a futuristic age. In each level enemies will approach the base of the massive Gobtron in waves, feebly attacking with their weapons which chip away at his health meter. The enemies’ attacks start out as small spears and rocks in the stone age, and evolve into more deadly weapons like guns, aircraft, and ground-based vehicles.
Gobtron deals with these enemies by flicking his snot at them like a whip, which sucks them up into his nose. This is accomplished by dragging a hanging booger upwards with your finger and letting it go, slingshotting it down and splatting on the enemies. It’s crude but intuitive, and it’s really fun to nail a group of enemies with a well placed snot sling. As you progress new weapons become available like a booger bomb, a defensive saliva wall, and a belch attack which inflicts damage to everyone on the screen.
Upon completion of each level DNA points area awarded which act as currency for upgrading your bodily offense. Each attack, as well as your health meter, can be upgraded several times. There’s even a special fart attack which can be unlocked after maxing out the rest of your moves. That’s right, a fart attack. It may be crude, but the upgrading aspect is engaging and the unique mechanics of performing your attacks works well with the touch screen. There’s just something really fun about growing your Gobtron stronger to take on the increasingly difficult swarms of enemies.
The somewhat gross subject matter of Gobtron is toned down by the cute and colorful graphics in the game. Gobtron himself is just a big, dumb, pink monster who is adorable in his own way. My biggest criticism of Gobtron is that it’s a fairly easy game overall, and I completed every level on the first try which didn’t take much more than an hour. It’s a fun time, but some reason to come back to the game after completion, like an endless mode or leaderboards, would be a nice addition. Gobtron does use OpenFeint and Game Center for achievements, but unfortunately my completed achievements failed to unlock on the Game Center side of things.
Gobtron is one of those games that could be recommended just based on the weirdness factor alone, but it’s also a unique take on a defense game and is really pretty fun anyway. It’s a bit too short and light on content, but what’s here is worth playing if you can deal with the low brow nature of the game. There’s further impressions in our forums, or you can check out the Flash version which is nearly identical, but if you’re looking for an interesting take on castle defense with silly graphics and crude humor then Gobtron is worth checking out.
