JadeDragon's
reviews and playing tips: Pocket PC games
Candy Catchup
by AIM
Productions, Price: $9.99 Reviewed September 2003 by Tony Peak
The first thing that grabbed my attention
with Candy Catchup is its colorful and well-designed graphics
and menus. The second thing that impressed me, once I stopped
looking at the screenshot and read the features, was that
the gameplay contained no gimmicks. No exploding bombs, no
powerups, nothing of that sort.
Gameplay is rather straightforward, with
only one mode of play and very few rules. For me, this was
a welcome change. I enjoy games where getting a higher score
depends on skill and mastery of the game at hand, instead
of just the luck of the draw. It also makes it extremely
easy to pick up and play, yet hard to put down.
You play the game by tapping candies connected
by the same color. You must click groups of at least 3, or
else you’ll pay a hefty score penalty for the wrong
move. This is very effective to prevent wild tapping, and
does wonders for one’s concentration. For each block
over 3, the points you earn will double. The challenge comes
not only in the timer itself, but also in a required amount
of candies to reset the timer. At the start of the game,
you’ll have a hefty amount of time and any simple 3
candy combo will reset the timer. After a few rounds the
timer gets shorter and the needed combo increases. Soon enough
you’ll be making 10 candy combos in under 10 seconds
each. This in turn will net you a better high score, which
with the touch of a button can be seamlessly synced with
a world wide high score listing of the top 100 on game’s
web site. This is the best motivation I can think of to play
again, and again, and again. It worked flawlessly for me
using the docking cradle and ActiveSync in just seconds.
The controls are very simple; just tap
one of the candies to explode the group. Like most games
of this genre, the stylus input method is a godsend. The
very clear and crisp graphics mean you’ll most likely
never accidentally miss. Pushing a hardware button will bring
up a pause menu, allowing you to mute the sound, resume,
or quit. Thankfully it also blacks out the playing field,
to prevent cheating.
Graphics are a real treat. They’re
clear, clean and colorful. The clear colors mean the candies
never blur together, even after hours of playing. When you
explode the candies, they really do break into pieces and
fly off the field. It’s quick, doesn’t get in
the way of gameplay, and the Pocket PC never seemed to break
a sweat keeping up.
The game’s sound and music was so
good it surprised me. Instead of the usual annoying clicks
and beeps, everything sounds very pleasant and well made.
It’s clear that serious thought went into this. The
game’s music track is very enjoyable and upbeat, yet
soothing and relaxing. The sound effects blend in with the
game’s music in a very non-intrusive fashion, but are
distinguished enough that you can hear them easily.
Candy Catchup truly is, as the developers
say, “simplicity itself.” Its clear and concise
game play and rules mean that you can learn it in a minute,
but play it for hours. It’s perfect for small breaks
when you just want to sit back and relax, yet keep your
mind and hands busy at the same time. Candy Catchup is
not only a great way to pass the time, but a wonderful
way to spend it well.
Playing Hints and Tips
Despite the strict looking timer, this
game can be played easily enough as a rapid fire click-fest
or with a deliberately drawn out strategy and care. To easily
rack up the 16 block combos, I recommend you take your time.
Try to ignore all of one block color, and use it as your
trump card when the timer is almost depleted. For example:
Try not to click any yellow at all. Go for every color but
yellow for as long as you can. Then, when the screen is full
of yellow and the timer is almost empty, explode the yellow
for massive combo bonuses. This should easily net you highscores
upwards of 5,000,000 with practice.
As I mentioned, the point gain will double
for each block over three. This means that each and every
block is very important. 5 blocks is twice as good as 4,
and so on. It’s important to note however, that as
far as I can tell this combo bonus stops at a max of 16 blocks,
or 655,360 points. Anything above 16 blocks, as can be done
without much hassle following the above strategy, will still
only net you 655,360. In other words: Waste not, want not.
This should up your score to around 7 million.
If you’re following the above
strategies, don’t think you have to stick to yellow
for the whole game. Especially in the later rounds when
the timer is very short and you must act quickly. After
exploding a massive combo of one color, you may find it
beneficial to scan the field and see which block color
is the most common, and switch to that color instead. One
might also try building smaller groups of two colors, by
ignoring all yellow and blue for example.
Clean and clear, the graphics are a real
treat and very easy on the eyes.
Sound
Upbeat enough to get you into the game,
yet relaxing enough to make you forget everything else. I play
this game with headphones just to hear more of the wonderful
soundtrack.
Fun Meter
With its bright graphics and pleasant soundtrack,
this game could be marketed as stress relief. Perfect for short
breaks or hours on end.
Addictivity
Simple rules make the game easy to play
and all about skill. An extra mode or two wouldn’t have
hurt to keep things fresh, but the challenge of integrated online
high scores helps make up for that, If you can catch up to them.
If not, you won’t even have room for your own scores. It
would be nice if the score lists were separated.
