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A Moon for the Sky
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Graphics & Sound:
Action games for iPad have been hit or miss. You can only do so much platforming without the more elaborate control scheme of a console, mobile or otherwise. A Moon for the Sky bucks this trend. Simpler controls have too often been coupled with simplistic production values, but A Moon for the Sky also bucks this trend. Beautiful graphics executed in a style much like watercolor fill the game, especially in the background. The foreground is filled with interesting objects that provide the interaction during the game, including the game piece that you can customize as you unlock new items. The music and sound effects are unusually nuanced, to the point that you'll want a chance to add the soundtrack for A Moon for the Sky to your library. It's one of the few times in a while that we honestly can say we found a game soundtrack relaxing. The visuals help this, although there are a few places in the game where it isn't obvious how to navigate through menus. There were also some atrocious spelling and grammar errors in the helper text that popped up at times, which is a distraction and something that undermines the otherwise polished presentation of A Moon for the Sky.
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Gameplay:
When you don't want to throw a lot of controls at a player, but you still want to offer a rich action experience, what do you do? In A Moon for the Sky, the solution is to replace movement controls with gravity and a simple line-drawing mechanic. The idea is that you draw lines to bounce your "moon" higher and higher in the level. Instead of a side-scrolling Platformer, the goal of each level in A Moon for the Sky is at the tippy-top. Drawing lines when the moon is at its highest will bounce it higher still, scrolling the level. You can collect points by harvesting objects in the level, but the main objective is to finish quickly. It's a balancing act, really. You need points to unlock new areas of the game and add new moons to your collection. The so-called moons can actually be objects like soccer balls or other things that stand in for the moon. There are additional pieces that hang down from the moon, which you can also customize by purchasing them in the app through your winning tokens or an actual in-app purchase.
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Difficulty:
It seems extraordinarily difficult to unlock items using points that you gather while playing A Moon for the Sky, which feels too much like a strong-arm tactic to encourage in-app purchases. Sure, you can buy lots of nifty upgrades with in-app purchases, but we prefer the idea that skilled players can also earn their way quickly to these upgrades. That balancing act between finishing a level quickly and finishing it with lots of points is still a bit out of whack in A Moon for the Sky. It should be possible to finish quickly and earn big points, but the two goals are mutually exclusive. Finishing quickly means passing up items, because you're in a hurry to reach the goal. The thing that we liked about the mechanic for speeding up your moon is that it mirrors real-life physics. Drawing smaller lines would suggest a more taught spring, and the game responds appropriately by sending your moon higher. Wider lines are safer, but also slower. As you can imagine, drawing wider lines helps when you tackle more complicated levels or find yourself going for point totals rather than timed runs.
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Game Mechanics:
Keeping things simple pays off for A Moon for the Sky, even considering some of the balance issues mentioned already. Drawing a line with your finger is super easy, and the game is smart enough to hold the length of the line to a maximum, to prevent you from just drawing one huge line across the width of the screen. Your line can be anything from a tiny speck to about a one inch strand, and can be angled in any direction you like. This has pros and cons for players when the levels start to include obstacles. Lots of angled lines are necessary, but can foul you up quickly when your moon begins to bounce off walls and projections, or when you get caught in traps. Traps are mainly areas where your moon gets pushed or pulled around. There aren't any special controls in the game, just lines you draw in quick succession to keep the game piece moving. We love the simplicity of design, but there's room for more tweaking in A Moon for the Sky, to truly make it something special. It's well worth a look, especially if you want something halfway between active and casual for your iPad.
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-Fridtjof, GameVortex Communications AKA Matt Paddock |
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