The Mr. series by developer Ponos has been a favorite of casual gaming fans for several years now (and has been covered by us several times before). Mr. Oops!! [99¢], the latest title in the series, looks to continue the popularity of its predecessors by offering the same approachable controls, frenetic gameplay, and leaderboard-based competition that made previous games successful. As far as casual titles are concerned, Mr. Oops!! succeeds at preserving the fun we’ve had with earlier titles and is a game worthy of recommendation.
If you’ve never played a Mr. game before, each title centers around a simple premise, easy controls, and a difficulty curve that ramps up quickly. In the case of Mr. Oops!!, players must maneuver their Mr. stick figure across a checkerboard-like environment in the hopes of avoiding the weapons being launched down the grid. Also accompanying the game is a rocking musical score that sets the tone well for the game.
After a brief tutorial introducing each of the three weapons (rolling rocks, cannonballs, and lasers), players basically compete for top score honors on Game Center by playing each of the three stages until they get eventually caught in the crossfire, with your final score consisting of each the number of successful rounds for each stage multiplied together. The first few missions challenge the player to reach certain scores, but afterwards, the game becomes purely leaderboard motivated.
In addition, Mr. Oops!! offers a ‘Bloody Mode’ which can be purchased via IAP for 99¢ and adds three additional weapons. Bloody Mode doesn’t really change the gameplay, with the exception of the three new weapons leaving a gory mess of your Mr. on the floor when you get caught. I did, however, find the ‘bloody’ weapons to be a bit more difficult (as well as far more hilarious), and I’d recommend the IAP for anyone looking to get a little more out of this game.
As with previous games from Ponos, the mechanics and controls are very tight. A simple swipe in any direction moves your character with very little slowdown or room for misinterpretation. One of the best aspects of Mr. Oops!! is the fact that I never felt like a lost life was due to anything but my own misjudgment, an element that I find essential for casual games. In addition, Ponos does a great job with the difficulty curve, with each playthrough ramping up somewhat quickly but never truly becoming ‘impossible.’
Like previous Mr. games, you won’t find a large amount of gameplay depth, but I doubt that’s what Ponos is going for with this sort of casual game. Also, if you’re looking for a comparison between series titles, I preferred Mr. Oops!! to the previous games mainly due to its increased emphasis on reflex-oriented gameplay (as opposed to the other titles which require more emphasis on timing and planning). Regardless, if you’re a fan of competitive leaderboards, and you’re looking for a casual title to offer a few minutes of high intensive gameplay (or if you liked any of the Mr. titles), check out Mr. Oops!! as it certainly hits all the elements of a successful casual title.
