Publisher/Developer: Backflip Studios
Genre: Path Management (PM)
Price: $1.99
Verdict: Backflip has again proven they now how to nail a genre.
Acquired: Review Copy
Pros: Bright and creative graphics, great control interface, easy to play, depth play element
Cons: May not be enough here to warrant another PM purchase.

I have to commend Backflip for embracing the Apple mantra of development: “Delightful”.  Finding one thing and doing it really well seems to be Backflip’s key to success.  If you have ever played Paper Toss, you know what I’m talking about.

And where would you like to manage paths today?

In the already extremely crowded path management genre in which the iPhone has spawned innumerable clones, Backflip took a chance and decided to add their take to the mix, and I’m glad they did.  In case you don’t know, the premise is to draw lines (or paths) from ships to their ports, but Backflip has added their own trick and twist.  The trick here is that you are told which island the boat is headed to when you touch it and the twist here is the ‘depth’ element.  In other words, submarines will only collide with other submarines and helicopters won’t hit boats.  By expanding the depth of play to 3 levels, this twist creates a more visually hectic game and forces you to concentrate on managing vessel types even more so than in previous games.

Now with a depth component.

The game ships with 4 levels: Far East, Atlantic, Arctic, and Lighthouse selectable with a clean ‘cover flow’ type interface.  For PM vets, the first level will feel like a training map, so  with 2 hectic levels with 1 unlockable area, the content load is just right for $2 dollars.  Since the first level only incorporates one depth plane, the ocean, you have a choice of how deep you want your path management experience to be.  The Atlantic has 2 depth planes and Arctic has 3.  Regardless of which level you select, each oncoming craft will give a warning of where off screen it’s coming from and you are free to draw any path you wish to the corresponding flashing home port.  Each ship can be paused (or anchored) to hold them up while other craft pass.  The line you have drawn will begin to disintegrate, so you will need to redraw or remember where that boat is headed.  You are free to control as much shipping lane chaos as you can, but one collision and that’s the end of your story.  I’m sure this game will invite comparisons to Harbor Master, but this game only makes you guide the vessel into the port; once it docks, it disappears.

My bad.

The 3D element of the game is crucial as the shadows cast by aerial vehicles help to gauge the plane it’s traveling on.  The shimmer of the water and the explosions are all done with visual flair.  The vessels themselves seem to travel on a pretty strict path, and the larger ships awkwardly have to stop and pivot to make a turn.  The sound, control, and graphics are all top notch and I can’t really find any glaring fault with Backflip’s work.  Backflip even released an update while I was reviewing the game adding a fast-foward mechanism with 2X and 3X speeds, as well as an automatic pause when you receive a call, which really killed any functional negatives I had with the game. If you have tired of these games, and I don’t blame you, then the only feature here to really sell you is the depth component on the harder levels.  However, if you are looking for a best of the breed implementation of the path management genre, with 4 levels that act as individual games and difficulty levels for 2 bucks, then you can’t really go wrong with Harbor Havoc 3D.