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iPhysics Lite review
Richard Goodwin
We review iPhysics Lite, the puzzle game that relies on your skill at mastering natural forces in order to get objects from one place to another
Rating: ![]()
Verdict: Overall, iPhysics Lite is slightly disappointing. While it does have a couple of decent games that will get your brain thinking, it's not really enough - the majority of the games are sub-standerd, and the general look of the application is cheap and unprofessional.
Platform: iPhone and iPod Touch
Pros: Two of the games are superb, and you'll definitely spend a great deal of time attempting to crack them. The touchscreen interface is very impressive as well.
Cons: The majority of the games on iPhysics Lite are pretty sub-standerd, and the overall look of the application is a little tacky.
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Publisher: Mobiusoft
Price: Free
iPhysics Lite’s predecessor, iPhysics, was an extremely popular two-dimensional physics engine built especially for the iPhone format.
iPhysics lets you build your own games using a variety of tools in conjunction with its specialised physics engine. The idea behind this was that people could learn how to make their own games, which in turn would be available for the other iPhone users to play - albeit, users with jail-broken iPhones.
Nevertheless, iPhysics Lite has - finally - officially been accepted by Apple, and is now available to download on the Apps Store. The basic idea of iPhysics Lite is to show people what is possible with iPhysics, and how they too can make and develop games similar, although probably not as good, as the ones in iPhysics Lite.
So how does iPhysics Lite measure up? First off, iPhysics Lite isn’t the best-looking application we’ve ever seen. In fact, the opening screen and the general presentation of iPhysics Lite is boarding on the offensive - it looks cheap and dated, and you may start thinking, as we did, that you could’ve put your £0.59 to better use, such as on a can of Fanta.
However, these are merely formalities. And as any physics enthusiast will tell you, looks don’t really matter, it’s what’s going on physics-wise that counts. And in this sense, iPhysics Lite is quite good.
iPhysics Lite features a useful tutorial that teaches you how to use the internal physics engine in preparation for undertaking the puzzles in its Game - or Play! - mode. Once you’re in the tutorial you learn how to create and use tools, operate the tilt function, as well as what it’s like when gravity is present on a level. From here, you can move onto the Game mode.
The Game mode features eight different options - Phun with Physics, Sandbox, iPinball, Tutorial Game, Aquarium, Laddy the Worm, After Dark, and H3X’s Vehicular Pack. And some of which, such as H3X’s Vehicular Pack, in which you have to guide a little car through puzzles, and After Dark, where you have to get a swirly circle through some obstacles for a rendezvous with another swirly circle, are really quite entertaining and really test your thinking.
Unfortunately, the other games, such as the pointless Sandbox, the mediocre attempt at a Pinball game, and the irritating Laddy the Worm are pretty much unplayable, and generally cheapen the rest of the application, which is a shame because After Dark and H3X’s Vehicular Pack are probably good enough to be individual games in their own right.
Overall, iPhysics Lite is an okay application. It certainly won’t be winning any prizes, nor will it ever be comparable to classics such as MaxInjury or Fling! But for what it is, it’s okay. And if you didn’t have to pay for it, it’d probably actually be quite good - free things usually are. Unfortunately, it isn’t though, and will set you back £0.59, which makes it very difficult to say anything positive about iPhysics Lite, particularly when there are literally thousands of infinitely better puzzle apps available on the Apps Store for the same price or less.