Game Review: Is Rolando Proof The iPhone Is Built For Gaming?
Publisher ng:moco has a lot riding on this little one. For a game which looks and plays suspiciously similar to PSP system-seller Loco Roco, is the heavily-hyped Rolando for the iPhone really worth shouting about?
To quote a good friend of mine, hells yes.
There is not a game for the iPhone quite as ready as this. This is not a cynical brand building exercise or a free viral app or a crippled version of some Flash demo. Rolando is a game. A saccharine-rich, gameplay-filled gorgeous rolly madness buffed to a platinum sheen.
The game is very similar to Loco Roco. Both have a visually striking look. Both make you smile spontaneously as you play, and both make you become amazingly defensive of squidgy rolling blobs with eyes (and in some cases, glasses), each injected with their own unique personality.
There is an equally cute story about saving their cute world from cute naughty things, but it is irrelevant. Guide your troop of Rolandos through garishly beautiful areas, working co-operatively to reach each level’s goal. You can move them one at a time, or as a group by drawing a ‘binding box’ around them.
Combine that with the tilting of the screen to roll them around, and you immediately see that this is the title that Loco Roco wished it was. The subtlety and nuance that the accelerometer provides, allows so much control over your little denizens of Rolandoland, and a genuine feeling of relief and accomplishment after navigating a treacherous level and emerging unscathed.
Each new world adds a layer of complexity, often requiring true feats of manual dexterity and concentration to rival the toughest platformer. Exploding platforms, moving lifts and classic spikes all serve obstacles which need more than a modicum of lateral thinking to bypass…
While arguably not an entirely original idea, developers HandCircus have taken it and extrapolated them to a point where, if this was a title on any other platform, it would be touted as that ‘killer app’. A title equal parts ingenious and evil, filled with extra difficulty through time trials and a novel take on achievements.
When Apple’s technology director John Geleynse referred to the iPhone as a “gaming console,” reiterating that “it’s not a phone, it’s a console experience,” many debated these assertions.
Rolando validates them. Easily the best iPhone game of the year and arguably the best handheld title, Rolando will hopefully be marked as the title which finally has the handset recognised as a genuine gaming contender as opposed to a technically impressive gimmick.
Rolando takes all of the technology and graphical prowess of the iPhone and wraps it up it cutesy cotton wool, resulting in a game that is cheerful, gratifying without ultra-violence, and is most importantly fun. One day, all games may be this way.
Until then, I’ll settle for this one.
Rolando costs £5.99, and is on the App Store now.
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