Perfect Balance: Inferno
by Eric March on June 12, 2009 at 10:39 am
Rate it:
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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App Name: | Perfect Balance: Inferno |
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| Developer: | ttursas, ltd. |
Version: | 1.0 | |
| Publisher: | ttursas, ltd. |
Size: | 6.3 MB |
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| Category: | Logic & Puzzle Games |
Price: | $0.99/Free |
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It was barely a month ago when I reviewed ttursas’ iPhone debut of his Flash-based physics puzzler Perfect Balance: Harmony, but he’s already back with both an update to the original that adds another 10 new levels to the existing 80, as well as (and most importantly) the conversion of his second in the series, Perfect Balance: Inferno. I hope you still have that asbestos suit from the flamewars you used to get into.
Inferno takes you from the serene, zen-like experience of Harmony and plunges you into the fiery depths of HELL (hell hell hell New Jersey…) for a decidedly less harmonious experience — unless the shrieks of the eternally damned is music to your ears. But then you’d still be disappointed because there aren’t any. There is a considerable amount of horror-inspired imagery (except perhaps for the ice levels — but I’m getting ahead of myself), but this isn’t just a simple theme overhaul, lest you get the early impression that this is more of the same. No, my friends. This one is going to make you feel the burn, and I’m going to make you read tortured analogies.
Inferno could be said to pick up where Harmony left off in that it takes the original idea and steps it up several notches — as any good sequel should. One of my complaints about Harmony was that while there were some challenging levels, on the whole most of them were pretty easy — even some of the higher levels had relatively obvious solutions that could be executed in a few seconds. Inferno on the other hand has cranked up the difficulty. In fact, one of the reasons I hadn’t reviewed this before now was because I was trying to advance through as many levels as possible for the purpose of taking screenshots and kept getting stuck. Yes, yes, I suck, okay?
The enhanced difficulty comes from a combination of new shapes with new physics elements to play with, new game elements to play with them in, variable platform surfaces to put them on, and puzzles that require rather more devious thinking than the first installment in the series prepared you for. That’s a good thing, because it really stretches your cerebellum. You now not only have new shapes to place, but certain shapes can be more dense, and thus much heavier than others. Static platforms can now have variable surface properties: Some of them are rougher with more friction, and can keep objects from slipping off at angles ordinary surfaces couldn’t — within reason, of course. Then you’ve got the ice levels, where the slightest angle can cause objects to slide off into the abyss, and bumps can send objects sliding.
But of course the most obvious feature here are the new puzzle elements you’ll have to deal with, such as spinning saw blades, which can be a help or a hindrance that you’ll have to deal with appropriately, or platforms on pinions that are either completely useless to you, get in the way, or have to be managed with some fancy balance work. There’s more, too, but I don’t want to spoil all the fun of discovering just what sort of devious machinations await you in further levels. One interesting new features here though is that, on the level select screens, you now have an emergency out option if you get interminably stuck: If you hold your thumbs over both keys to either side of the level thumbnail, you’ll break the lock, as it were, and be able to move on to the next level. You only get to use this three times though, so use wisely.
Further to the new game mechanics, each set of 20 levels also features its own theme — as in Harmony — but many of these are animated. Sometimes, they’re really animated. Levels 20-39? Got bugs crawling all over ‘em. They don’t interfere with anything, but sometimes they can get in the way of seeing where you’re putting stuff — which I suppose is part of the challenge. I mean, you’re stacking in hell here. Things aren’t supposed to be a walk in the park.
Perfect Balance: Inferno is a most excellent followup to the first game, as just about everything about it has been beefed up. Enhanced visuals, new objects, platform properties, gameplay elements, and a more challenging degree of difficulty with more devious puzzles to maintain that level of challenge. Anyone who was left wanting for more after Harmony will get it and then some with Inferno. It’s everything its predecessor was with a bunch of new tricks spanning a whopping 120 new levels that should keep you busy for a while. If you liked Balance, you’re gonna love Inferno. (I’ll have you know I resisted a powerful urge to insert a Vince the Headset Guy reference in that last sentence.) Not convinced? Grab the free lite version — but I’ll just call you names ’til you buy the full version, so you might as just well make the no-brainer choice.
For those that won the promo codes, congratulations! Enjoy the game, and remember to write a review!
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Posted in Games: Logic & Puzzle, Paid Apps
Interesting game. Yes, I promise to write a review.
Looks interesting, I will write a review.
this just plain totally rocks,
i will write a review first thing!!!!