It's not often that you will find a game so closely woven together with it's own musical tapestry that you find the two inseparable. Up There is one of these games in which the piano melody plays a vital part in painting the pace and happenings in the game. Indeed, Will Tuttle's composition (The Joy of Sky) is as soothing as it is energetic - as the game progresses, the music gets faster and more intense, which makes it extremely memorable. This really sets the tone for the game.
The objective of Up There is simple: float a balloon through various obstacles (in which gaps are randomly generated) using the accelerometer. That's it. You score points as long as you're not clung to the bottom to the screen, stuck behind a bookcase, or tree branch. These moments almost always spell game over, unless you have a deft hand to maneuver out from under them.
Once you fall off the screen completely, you're invited to post your high scores online (they are automatically saved to a local leader board otherwise) and play again. Which you will want to. A lot.
In fact, it's the attention to detail in the environments that truly make Up There shine. We love the quaint, almost Victorian aesthetic employed in the game throughout, from the deliciously over the top bird cage to the suitably vintage wallpaper and bookshelves. Even the menu system looks semi olde worlde. As the music gains pace, however, there's less time to admire and more frantic swinging of your iPhone - to the point of which you'd probably not want to play this on a bus.
Nevertheless, we think this is a game you should play. Even if you only buy for the superlative music selection, Up There is definitely worth a place amongst all your other apps.
Up There is worth the price for the excellent music choice alone, then adds great gameplay and exquisite hand drawn graphics.
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