Zentomino (iPhone)
iPhone integration (About)
- Save state: Yes
- iPod music: Yes
- Status bar: Yes
- Version: 1.5
- Price as reviewed: 59p
- by Little White Bear Studios
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The saying holds true for many code bases - instead of reinventing the wheel, it's often best to build upon what you have got. For starters it saves development time (and therefore money), and if you do it right you can be onto a real winner. Enter Zentomino, a game that's clearly a derivative of TanZen but is equally (and sometimes more) challenging and extremely well designed.
The engine is completed recycled, but is this a bad thing? No. For one, it saves state for all the puzzles that you have in progress, lets you play your own music and even allows room for the time/battery life at the top. Furthermore, it's been improved upon when it comes to the selection and movement of pieces. Because of the nature of the puzzles which are polygons with straight edges, a simple new tap/double tap system replaces the somewhat slower rotation mechanism of it's predecessor, and also incorporates a snap to grid system that we felt was missing from TanZen.
Great thing is, the puzzles are much more challenging as they can be made up of all the dozen different shapes, or only four. If you like, you can hide the irrelevant pieces on a per-puzzle basis but we found it much more fun to experiment and see what worked. If you get truly stuck, you can double tap on the screen to trigger a hint, which can help you to get going in the puzzle, especially if it's a large object.
Objects range from random blocky configurations to simple incarnations of real world things - like coffee cups or dogs. And as there's 189 of them, there's more than enough to keep you occupied (especially for the measly 59p) - not that we don't expect the developer to bring out new puzzles in future updates. The only thing we think is lacking in Zentomino is the music, which although relaxing for the first minute or two, eventually becomes irritating because of it's short length.
Both Zentomino and TanZen have much to offer in the way of puzzles to complete and excellent device integration. They look like the same game in presentation alone, but the interface here is much improved upon, and the puzzles trickier. We wouldn't hesitate to recommend either of them for the sheer amount of content to wade through, so go ahead to the App Store and pick them up!
Grade: B, Great
Built on a superb engine, its strengths lie in its solid difficulty and intuitive controls.
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More by this developer
TanZen, B
With frequent updates, TanZen deserves a place on your iPhone. It's an excellent game that's at a cut throat price and will keep you busy for many hours.
