Critter Crunch [App Store] is one of the many puzzle games the App Store has to offer. The original versions of Critter Crunch first appeared on mobile phones in 2007 and came with a splash, winning IGN’s Best Puzzle Game of 2007 and Biggest Surprise of 2007. Individual reviewers in the App Store also seem quite enamored with the game with an average rating of 4/5 stars.
This $9.99 game is an original variant of a classic puzzler. In this version, you play Biggs, a furry forest dweller with a long tongue, whose job is to clear the board by feeding smaller animals into larger ones. There are initially 3 sizes of animals (small, medium, large). Feeding two of the smaller ones into the larger ones causes the larger one to explode and take out any identical animals around it.
The game provides numerous tutorials to quickly get you up to speed. Controls are handled by sliding Biggs across the bottom of the screen and tapping on the screen to shoot out his tongue. The game offers a number of different modes that can be unlocked and a YouTube video from the publisher shows off the higher levels. The classic adventure mode presents you with progressively harder levels, while the puzzle mode challenges you to clear the board within a certain number of moves.
Despite all the glowing reviews, I can’t say I was particularly drawn into this game. The game was polished and reasonably fun to play, but I didn’t find myself making time to play it again. It seems I may be in the minority, however. If you love puzzle games and want some variety from the standard Bejeweled clones, Critter Crunch is worth a serious look.
The gameplay video provides a look at both Adventure and Puzzle modes:
Game Details
Name: Critter Crunch (v1.0)
Developer: Publisher X
App Store Link: Buy
Price: $9.99
Size: 9.8MB
