Mole - Quest for the Terracore gem! (iPhone)

Mole - Quest for the Terracore gem! icon

iPhone integration (About)

Save state: No
iPod music: Yes
Status bar: No

App Store Links: Purchase

Version: 1.1
Price as reviewed: £1.19
by escapeFactory

Mole is not one of those easy to play, hard to master games. It’s very straightforward and doesn’t present much of a challenge—but this is one of its greatest strengths. Appealing to the collector in you, the upgrades you purchase along the way allow for a longer gem hunting fix, digging ever deeper until you finally claim the prized Terracore gem.

The controls work a treat—simply tap on the screen and a ring will appear, moving your mole to that position. Holding near the edges of the screen is enough to make him move until you lift or move your finger elsewhere. It is a very natural way to control the game and even though it has drawbacks, such as digits obscuring the screen, the gameplay lends itself very well to that small caveat. Because there isn’t any sort of material or other object that can lead to harm, the only way that you’ll lose the game is if you stay down there too long and run out of air.

Each layer of earth does come with its own properties however. These range from not having air pockets to earth that limits your radar, rock filled soil, hard to dig through ground and more. As you go further down, the gems become increasingly larger and more abundant, but every time you do tunnel in the environment changes. As well as mining these gems, you’ll also find metal deposits that you can use to upgrade your tools. A larger air supply will allow you to stay down longer, while a better pickaxe will make navigation faster. You can also upgrade your radar and the strength of the TNT that you’ll use to detonate rock deposits that can sometimes house precious stones.

You’ll also find four drills in the ground that will transport you to the surface for free upon discovery—but charge metal for trips back down. Eventually as you upgrade your abilities the drills become superfluous to requirements, but you’ll need to find each of them in order to claim the achievement. Some achievements are very easy and some are more longer term goals, like playing the game for three hours in total—note that this only includes successful digs.

The graphics and sound are good but they aren’t what make this game really fun. We weren’t especially wowed by the presentation and nor did we have to be—it kept us playing regardless. Certainly though, it isn’t an ugly game by any means and as you can see from the trailer it is fairly attractive.

This title is so easy and so rewarding that it will manage to keep you playing until you’ve completed it, and it absolutely has enough content for the £1.19 price. At no point do you think the adventure is too long and by the time you’ve got all the achievements, you’ll be more than satisfied with the experience that it offers. The only chink in its armour is the lack of freeze game state that can cost you your bounty if you get interrupted, but otherwise it comes recommended.