iPhone Review: Skee-Ball

Developer/Publisher: Graveck/Freeverse
Genre: Skeeball/Arcade Bowling
Price: $0.99
Verdict: BUY IT. One of the  most addictive games on the iPhone.
Pros: Still the best skeeball mechanics around, redemption mechanic is back and better, Plus+ integration for high score lists
Cons: Not really much has changed from 10 Balls 7 Cups, I’m missing large swaths of time where I can’t figure out what else I could have been doing besides playing this game

Remember 10 Balls 7 Cups? You probably don’t want to, as if you played it, you likely realized how addictive a game it was, and how many hours it sucked up, coming out of nowhere as you just played one session after another, not even realizing that you’d been just sitting there playing the game. Well, it’s baaaack, now with improvements, an official Skee-Ball license, and prolific iPhone publisher Freeverse behind it, and the game (as well as the genre as a whole) has never been better.

Skee-Ball will be immediately familiar to 10 Balls 7 Cups veterans, as the core mechanics are identical – this is still the best around. You still flick up on the screen to throw your ball, and tilt the device left and right to add english to the ball. Simple, effective, it works. You can still hold your thumb on the screen and flick your device to throw as well if you want a more visceral experience, but most people will likely prefer the swiping method. The game is entirely in 3D, with realistic physics in play, and the game just feels right, unlike other two-dimensional competitors. The main changes to the game come from scoring – one, you now only have 9 balls instead of 10, and there’s a new multiplier system in play. As always, random cups will light up, and if you hit them, then your multiplier increases, same as always. Skee-Ball’s wrinkle is that you now get skill stars for each round you play. This is based on your score for that round as well as how many multiplier cups you’ve hit, and each skill star you earn (up to 5) gets you an additional multiplier, so you can start games off with up to a 6x multiplier if you’ve got the Skee-Ball skillz to pay the Skee-Ball billz.

And speaking of Skee-Ball billz, the incredibly addictive ticket redemption system from 10 Balls 7 Cups has been revamped. You still get tickets after each round, and can still spend them on random knick-knacks, but now you can actually see the random tchotchkes that you’re buying, and they get shown off in a display case. If you’re more into functional prizes, you can also buy balls with new designs. You’re gonna want to mix it up occasionally with all the time you’ll spend playing this game, because it’s still as addictive. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and the main gameplay still holds up as the best skee-ball/arcade bowling game on the App Store, hands down. The game still feels the best, and controls the best. It’s what has been added that makes things that much better. The new skill star system rewards extended play sessions, the prizes are better, and the Plus+ integration is just icing on the cake. There are a variety of achievements, including ones that make you play the game in ways besides always trying to go for the 100 point cup. Also, there’s a high score list for single game scores as well as just cumulative ticket totals, which is cool, because it can take time to jump to the top of the cumulative ticket totals. But when you’ve got mad skillz, you can jump to the top of the high score list very quickly, even on top of the game’s developers, which is just an epic experience when you get your hands on a pre-release copy of the game. No offense to the fine folks at Graveck and Freeverse. I’m just that awesome.

Let’s say this – Skee-Ball is a must-have if you need a good, well, Skee-Ball or arcade bowling game on your iPhone. The game still plays the best, and the elements around the game have been improved. Pick this game up, and you’ll realize just how addictive it can be as you play one round, then another, then another, then another. Unless you absolutely hated 10 Balls 7 Cups, then go buy Skee-Ball right now. You will not regret it.