Ducky Derby Lite

by Eric March on November 30, 2008 at 2:36 pm

(5 votes, average: 4.20 out of 5)

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	App Name:	Ducky Derby Lite
	Developer:	LandHo Co., Ltd.	Version:	1.1
	Publisher:	LandHo Co., Ltd.	Size:	5.6 MB
	Category:	Racing Games

I was hesitant to call this a racing game because it’s not the sort of racing game you’re undoubtedly thinking of.  Ducky Derby is a race between a paddle of ducks.  Rubber ducks.  Rubber ducks that you don’t have any direct control over as they float down what appears to be a Venician waterway, only without the gondolas.

What you do have control over however are objects in and around the water.  Your main objects of choice are rocks.  You can drop them into the water by tapping where you want them to fall to try and impede the progress of the other rubber duckies.  You also have tilt control to speed all of the duckies along.

Along the route you will encounter obstacles both designed to impede your progress, or interactive ones that, if used properly, can impede the progress of the other duckies.  Logs will bar part of the passage, but precariously placed boulders can be swiped into the water to both move the log out of the way and possibly shove other ducks out of the way, too — or yourself, if you’re not careful.  Crash test dummies (yes) can also be found along the route and can be tossed into the water.  The goal, obviously, is to get your duckie to the finish before the others.

The graphics in Ducky Derby are absolutely first-rate, being done entirely in OpenGL-ES 3D and styled to such a degree that everything looks very convincing.  Even better though is that the water simulation is spot on.  Where Dougie Moo simply used a basic water simulation as a special effect which did not effect objects in the pool, Ducky Derby is a more complete simulation with full fluid dynamics applied.  Anything you toss into the water crease a splash and causes waves that toss movable objects around from the point of origin just as you would expect.  The visuals for the water simulation are also brilliantand look surprisingly realistic.  You can only really tell it’s simulated on a flat surface when you look at the water line against the wall and you notice the water isn’t actually moving up and down.  It’s something you’ll only really notice if you’re looking for it though.  (However, now that I’ve spoled the secret you’ll probably notice it right away.  Good going, Eric, you dumbass.)

Sounds in the game aren’t bad, but there’s a big splash sound conspicously missing when you toss a boulder or dummy into the water; they either slip into the water quietly or make the same “ploink” sound a small rock makes when you dunk it.  Since the rest of the game is fairly convincing, the lack of such sounds tosses the game into an uncanny valley situation where its flaws stand out all the more against the backdrop of an otherwise believable game.

Still, that’s a bit nitpicky, because it is otherwise a believable and exceptionally well done game from this Japanese newcomer to the iPhone scene, and in all other respects I find very little if anything to fault about it, so I’m going to give it the 5 stars it deserves.

This is a lite version, but the full version doesn’t seem to have turned up on the App Store yet, nor do I know when it’s scheduled to, so there’s no word on pricing, but it’s a pretty sure bet that the full version will feature other tracks and scenes that this one lacks.

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Posted in Games: Racing