A couple of weeks ago 5th World Media released Bouncer Boot Out [99¢] into the App Store. It’s a fast-paced game built upon an extremely simple gameplay mechanic, and features a wonderful art style with a nice dose of humor. There isn’t a ton of depth here, but I’ve been enjoying the gameplay which is perfect for quick bursts of play. The premise is that you play the bouncer at a series of different clubs who must sort the wheat from the chaff in an endless stream of partygoers trying to get in the entrance to the club. You do this by literally flicking the losers out of the line before they have a chance to enter, while letting all the hip, beautiful people inside. Yes it’s a judgmental job, but somebody has to do it.
In the Timed mode of Bouncer Boot Out you have 90 seconds to work the front door. Each successful boot out earns you points, and you can even switch the position of people in line and group the unwanted guests together before flicking them out in unison to earn some combo points. Every time you let in an unwanted guest, or accidentally flick a cool person out of line, you’ll lose points. There’s even a cute little child that will occasionally try to skip her way into the club, and accidentally letting her through the door results in the round immediately ending.
There are 6 different clubs in Bouncer Boot Out, 5 of which start out locked, each with their own sets of unique patrons. New clubs are unlocked by meeting set score criteria in your persistent score total from previously played games. In addition to the Timed mode, there is also a Survival mode that can be played at any of the unlocked clubs. Here you will face an endless line of people that enter the club in an increasingly rapid fashion. You try to earn as high a score as possible before making 3 mistakes, which will bring the game to an end.
What makes playing Bouncer Boot Out so enjoyable is the humorous looking characters that are full of personality. There are 30 different characters, and although there is a visual indication of who to boot out of line at the beginning of a round, this quickly fades away and you must rely on visually recognizing who doesn’t belong in line. It’s easy to tell that the pregnant lady, blue-haired granny, and homeless fellow are amongst those who don’t belong thanks to the great art. One drawback however is the lack of Retina Display support, and for a game with such a huge focus on visuals it would be nice to see this added in the future.
Besides the lack of Retina Display support, Bouncer Boot Out could really benefit from some sort of online high score tracking, such as Game Center. But even with these two shortcomings, it’s still a really solid game. The art and music are excellent, the controls are super tight, and the gameplay is simple and well-suited to the touch screen. There’s a lot of positive impressions in the discussion thread in our forums as well, and Bouncer Boot Out is recommended if you’re looking for a fun high score game with loads of style.
