Gorilla Gondola is an interesting take
on the endless runner/cave flyer genre. It’s virtually Donkey Kong riding a
gondola; not a gondola you’d see in Venice, but a cable car suspended above the
ground, the kind of thing you might see in Switzerland. It’s ridiculous and
insane, it doesn’t make sense but it’s stupidly brilliant. I guess you might
say, it’s bananas?
Anyway, bad puns aside, the premise of
the game is to swipe your finger as the gondola moves automatically. Swiping up
makes the gorilla jump and down makes him stomp, forcing the gondola — yep, you
guessed it — down. The reason for this is to avoid obstacles, squash birds and
collect as many bananas or power ups as you can. The faster the swipes, the
stronger the movements but you can also tilt your device to dip under and over.
Timing is everything and initially
this isn’t too difficult but the more challenging objectives require some real
skill to complete. This will affect your unlocks as objectives are tied into
this rather than completing a level. It’s not the first game to do this, but
you’ll find you end up playing the same level multiple times after already
completing it several times. It stretches the experience out, but the game
stands still.
There are only 8 levels so the
repetitive play isn’t entirely without reason but it would have been nice to
include more levels from the beginning. That said, these are detailed and
varied, all populated dynamically meaning the layout is always different. This
adds to the extensive objective challenges, with some levels
requiring a large number of completed
objectives before achieving the unlock.
Each level is also quite long, with
approximately five sections. The screen can quickly populate with mines, lasers
and various other obstacles, and experiencing multiple deaths will send you
right back to the start again. It can be phone-throwingly frustrating at times,
but all the more rewarding once completed.
And therein lies the addictiveness.
You may be annoyed, but you still keep coming back for more, particularly as
Game Center rates your overall “Awesomeness” based on bananas collected, birds
killed and obstacles avoided. Who doesn’t want to be more awesome?
Gorilla Gondola is a superb game. The
graphics are top notch, the music is energetic and the controls are intuitive
and responsive. I would have preferred the objectives and unlocks to be handled
a little differently but the saving grace for so much repetition in playing
each level is the fact that they always vary thanks to the dynamic progression.
That in itself is genius, making this game one of the most enjoyable endless
runner/cave flyers you’ll find in the App Store.
4 stars
53 Ratings
Compatible with iPhone (3GS, 4, 45),
iPod touch (3rd & 4th generation) and iPad.
Requires 105 3.0 or later
Price: $1.99
Category: Games
Updated: Feb 23, 2012
Version: 111
Size: 98.4 MB
Languages: English
Seller: Electric Pixel Factors Ltd.
