iPhone Review: Barney in Chocoland

Barney in Chocoland

Publisher/Developer: Rapid Turtle Games
Genre:
Price: $0.99
Verdict: Fun little distraction for a little while, but lacking in long term substance.
Pros: Great fun, and even kids will be able to figure it out.
Cons:Gets a bit monotonous after a while.

I’ve played some pretty strange games in my time but I have to admit Barney in Chocoland is right up there with the weirdest. It’s the sort of premise that makes you wonder exactly what made the developer sit there and think ‘I know what I’m going to make a game about a guy in the land of chocolate and make him chase the chocolate that is falling from the sky’. And you know what? That one sentence is Barney in Chocoland in a nutshell. It doesn’t get much more complicated than that.

You are Barney, the very lucky person who has reached Chocoland. You have to collect as much chocolate as possible to increase your score. You can only carry two pieces of chocolate at a time so you have to deposit the food in one of two barrels located on either side of the screen. Each time you do that, you gain points. If you miss a chocolate, Coco the evil erm….blue ball thing, steals the chocolate. Once Coco has stolen three pieces of chocolate, it’s game over. Things get a teensy more complicated with power ups also raining down on you ranging from bombs which clear the screen to burgers which boost your speed. At times, the action can speed up suddenly for a brief period just to keep you on toes, and things really can get frenetic. As you can imagine, you spend lots of time going back and forth across the screen to try to collect everything to gain more points.

Controls for Barney are very simple. You just need to place your finger on one of the barrels and Barney goes there. At times I did feel a little bit like I had no control over proceedings, but that’s just down to me being a control freak and being used to having more buttons to contend with. As it stands, the control system is just right for the game. It did feel a little like Barney in Chocoland was lacking direction, as essentially the only purpose to playing is fun and to achieve a bigger high score than last time. But then again games like Flight Control or Paper Toss are the same, and they’re ridiculously addictive.

Barney in Chocoland is perhaps a slightly ridiculous concept at times but it’s actually good fun, especially if you’re a casual gamer. Sure it probably won’t be remembered for years to come, or even weeks to come. But for the price, it’s good fun for a little while, even if it may only last you the one commute to work or school. Sometimes all you want to play is something simple but fun, and this matches the bill perfectly. Just don’t expect it to be very long lasting, there really isn’t enough to do or any real goal to keep going.

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