LandFormer is a challenging isometric terraforming puzzle game. It’s also the first game from Streaming Colour Studios to utilise the freemium model; that is you can try out the 10 tutorial stages to get a taste of the gameplay, and also try the full featured level editor free of charge; including the ability to play levels received from other people. You can then pay £1.19 to extend the amount of levels you get by 50, plus the ability to save created and received levels.

This level editor is as intuitive to use as the main game, which makes it supremely easy to create diabolical levels. Once you’re done, you can save your level and it appears as a new level ready for you to have a go playing it (or indeed, a friend). You can also email people your created level; LandFormer fills in all of the details for you and even captures a screenshot of the beginning of your newly created level; simply click the link in the email on your iPhone or iPod touch to launch the level in LandFormer. This method is amazingly intuitive and it’s the first time we’ve seen such a concept used to share levels. You can try it out now; if you have downloaded a copy of the game then have a go at a map we made called Elevated Terrain (link only works on a device with LandFormer installed).

During the game, you simply raise and lower land using six different 3x3 patterns which you can place anywhere on the 5x5 grid as long as all of that 3x3 square doesn't overlap the field boundary. There are five different elevations: sea; river; flatlands; hills and finally mountains. The task at hand is to terraform the field until all of it is flat; it is easier said than done! Happily the developer included a good amount of easier puzzles so that the difficulty curve isn't like a steep hill, plus you can play any level in any order you like so you can skip right past levels that you’re stuck on. However, LandFormer can still be incredibly tough. Finding the solution in the correct number of moves is often a tall order, but that does give you a warm feeling when you do finally complete it.

From the shop, you can also purchase additional themes for the game. As of this review, only one extra theme is available; discotheque, a brightly coloured setting that doesn’t really compare to the default one, especially as themes only affect the in-game field and not the menu itself. For us it’s not especially worth the 59p as purchasing it doesn’t change the gameplay, just the graphics.

So, is LandFormer worth that £1.19? Definitely; for your money you’re getting 50 levels with varying challenge, but the real value is in the level editor which can theoretically provide an infinite amount of levels. Combine that with a stupendously easy way to share your levels (why didn’t anyone else think of that?) and here you have a real winner. The only real let down is the additional theme which isn’t as aesthetically interesting as the default. Hint: we’d love an iPad version (or at least a version that’s universal).

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