 |
| OVERALL RATING |
4.5 |
| Presentation |
 |
4.0 |
| Control |
 |
4.5 |
| Gameplay |
|
4.5 |
| Fun factor |
 |
5.0 |
| User Rating |
 |
4.0 |
 |
 |
Posted: October 23, 2006
Very few games elicit the feeling of being perfect for the mobile platform and while there are some of them that you’d expect to enjoy, there are others that you never see coming. When one of these happens to cross your path it’s like you’ve found the needle in the haystack and all you can do is play with pure delight. Such is the case with Magnetic Joe.
In Magnetic Joe, you control a little sphere through a maze of walls and spikes where the objective is to make it to the end station and on to the next level. To do this, Joe must be energized with the press of a button so that his magnetism is attracted to various metal objects along the way, thereby creating the inertia necessary to move.
The metal objects have directional arrows so that you can determine which way Joe will head towards and as much as they can pull him forward, they can also push him back, raise him, or lower him. Hence, you must carefully figure out when to energize him so that he can pass through all the obstacles safely. Keep in mind that he is a sphere so any momentum built must be also counteracted if necessary. The game requires a good amount of precision, plus trial and error but you are never overwhelmed into giving up.
There are a total of 50 levels to get through and though they are short, they are pretty darn tricky at times. Some will have you perilously hovering him through spike-laden tunnels, others creating just the right momentum and bounce to overcome pillars, and still others where you must launch him towards the end station as you would a basketball to the net. The levels can get very challenging and even if you conquer them all, there’s a special password feature where you can unlock new levels on an ongoing basis via the developer’s website.
A mobile game with the name of Magnetic Joe doesn’t sound like something that’s going to set the world on fire but this is certainly one that many will enjoy. The game features one-touch game play and levels that are just the right length to keep you from putting it down. (Anything longer would have been much more demanding.) While a few more obstacles would have added to the challenge, there’s more than enough already here. It’s a surprisingly simple, fun, and challenging title that begs to be played on wireless handsets.
