Hiqup Lite
by Eric March on October 7, 2008 at 1:42 am
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App Name: Hiqup Lite
Developer: Moopf
Category: Games: Logic & Puzzle
Some days I love the App Store. This is one of those days. Not one, but three superb games have found there way in. I’ll start with the amusingly named Moopf (say it, just say it — Moopf!) and their brilliant twist on the classic Peg Solitaire, which they call Hiqup.
Hiqup takes your basic Peg Solitaire gameplay — jump one peg over another until you have only one left, if at all possible — and puts an enormous logic game spin on it. For starters, there are three different types of pegs, each with their own movement properties. Blue pegs can move horizontally or vertically. Blue pegs can only move on diagonals. Red pegs can move every which way but loose. (Cue Eddie Rabbitt) Throw in loads of unconventional level layouts. Sprinkle liberally with special board pieces, such as jumpers your pegs can jump over at any time, bombs that clear all pegs that surround it, black holes that eat pegs, and teleports. Add dashes of different level goals, such as jumping pieces into special designated squares (ala Sokoban) or finishing with no pegs left or beating the clock. Now wrap it all up in stylish, clean, soothing, frankly brilliant graphics, animated yet unobtrusive backgrounds, and clean, effective sounds. Viola! One order of Hiqup to go.
The gameplay is simple yet subversively addictive. I played through the entire 7 tutorial levels and 5 Lite levels in about 10 minutes and enjoyed every minute of it. The game length, counting the tutorial levels, was satisfying but left me wanting more — much more. But then, that’s the point isn’t it? Fortunately, you won’t have to break the bank if you want the full version, because it weighs in at a svelte $1.99.
If I had to pick one nit, it’s that piece selection is a bit frustrating. Tapping on a piece, and then its destination, is smooth enough, but if you miss the spot you want to jump to, you have to go back and re-select the piece you want to jump again, because tapping on a square you can’t jump to will deselect the piece. It might have been better if deselecting a piece was achieved by tapping the piece again. But maybe that’s just me.
Apart from that admittedly minor gripe, Hiqup Lite is worth every second you spend trying it out, and the full version — and you will want the full version — is cheap enough that you barely have to give it a second thought. Kudos to Moopf for a job well done on all fronts.
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Posted in Games: Casual, Games: Logic & Puzzle
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