Details
- Genre: Distance
- Price: Free
- App version: 1.0
- Reviewed on: iPhone 3G, version 4.2.1
Pros
- Cute hamster
- Fun idea
Cons
- Abysmal framerate, rendering the game unplayable
- Constantly crashes
- Long load times
- Game breaking glitches
- Local leaderboards
Hamsta Rocket has the potential to be a good game, but it has too many issues to even come close to actually being one. The idea and the gameplay is fun and simple, but the execution utterly fails. The graphics are okay; nothing amazing, but not terrible either. My main complaint with the graphics is that the outline of the character and other objects are not very clear, but rather fuzzy. Compared to the screenshots on the app description, these images were smoothed out to make it seem that the graphics are better than what they are in-game. The game does have its good qualities; it has fun gameplay that is easy to learn, an original idea and a cute hamster strapped with a rocket, all for the amusement. Unfortunately, that is about all there is to say on the positive side.
The load times are annoying and slow. The game is not a graphical powerhouse with advanced computer technology, meaning the loading times should be relatively fast; there is not much to run or process.
The next issue is a game killer and definitely the largest flaw: the framerate is abysmal. The gameplay is choppy, making the character fidget and jump around a lot. For this type of app, you need precision and accuracy, but this is impossible to do. It is hard to time your jumps because of the unstable framerate. As said, it is a relatively simple game, so why does it have such a problem with running the game smoothly? It may run okay for a little bit, but ultimately, your character will glitch and you will end up at the end of a platform, leaving it impossible to jump over and land safely onto the next one.
Though not exactly a game-breaker, another problem is that the leaderboards in the game are only local, meaning you cannot post your score online to compare it with other players. It would be beneficial for the developers to add Game Center and OpenFeint to attract more people to the game. They can take advantage of the service with leaderboards and achievements. OpenFeint is programmed to run along with Game Center, so OpenFeint should be included as well, as any model before the 3GS cannot access Game Center.
If the above problems are addressed, this will be a highly recommended game. Until then, however, it should definitely be avoided. Though it features a fun and creative idea, you won’t find any fun out of it.