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Hiqup (iPhone)

Review by Ben Briggs, April 17, 2009

iPhone integration (About)
  • Save state: Yes
  • iPod music: Yes
  • Status bar: Yes
  • Version: 1.1
  • Price as reviewed: 59p
  • by Moopf

With the literal flood of releases hitting the App Store in waves each and every day, there's many that may get tossed aside for flashier titles with fancy graphics and marketing prowess. Hiqup is not an all singing, all dancing app - instead, it fills a small niche of peg solitaire games, and even manages to go one better than that.

This is thanks to different peg types and power ups. In the version that we've usually played with marbles (Wikipedia has a good write up of this), a peg may only jump others in four directions - up, down, left and right. Hiqup introduces pieces that can jump in eight directions (includes diagonals) and others that also do four directions, but diagonally only.

When combined with the different extras - bombs, black holes, teleports, free jumps and more, it makes for a more rounded experience with more variety. These different features helped to craft some devious levels that had us scratching our heads, even on the third level set. 47 original levels have different goals, and if you do finish the level, you'll be awarded appropriately - with a gold, silver or bronze medal.

Not only this, but the game also includes 10 classic peg solitaire boards from the get go - so even if you don't touch the rest of the game, you still get the original European version for 59p. That's pretty good going.

Hiqup allows you to listen to your own music whilst in game, but has none of it's own. Instead, it's chock full of sound effects, which are well designed. We also appreciated the status bar which you can toggle on or off. The graphics are plain, but functional - but what truly stands out is the gameplay.

We really enjoyed the challenges this title has to offer - it's not an outstanding game, but it is very well designed and executed. The classic boards are a big plus, but you will find much more in the new levels to keep you entertained. If you like your puzzles hard, then you will love Hiqup.

Grade: B, Great

A unique twist on peg solitaire, Hiqup deserves your attention. It really is a great game.

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