An In-Depth Look at: Rolando [Plus Video]

So you’ve heard the initial feedback of how the game plays out. Most of the reviews are (so far) positive. Many of you have bought on impulse. I picked up the game not long after it’s release onto the store, played the first 6 levels, and would now like to fill you all in on my personal opinion of the game, stating the facts and laying down how it is. Hit the jump for a video look, and my opinion of the newest sensation to hit the iPhone and iPod touch! …

With ngmoco (www.ngmoco.com) being one of the first developers to be granted funding from Apple and KBCP’s $100.000.000 iFund, they hit the news pretty big from the start. Since the launch of the App Store the company (with help from the fund) has managed to in-house design and develop 4 further titles which are unique in their own right. These being; Topple [App Store], Maze finger [App Store], and the more recently released Dropship [App Store] and Dr. Awesome [App Store].

Ngmoco’s 5th title released yesterday, was Rolando [App Store]. On the sheer face of it, and the clever accompanying marketing (some of which can currently be seen at TouchArcade) attached to the brand, it appears to be a cute puzzler, with cute graphics – but if your yet to play the game, you’ll be wanting to know a little more about controls, game objectives etc .. I intend to fill you in with my personal opinion of the game, stating the facts and laying down how it is. I’ve been criticised in the past for not providing a ‘fair’ review – well I assure you, as much as I like Ngmoco as a developer based on the gaming experience I’ve gotten from their previous titles, when your reviewing a game like Rolando which has been anticipated for so long, and by so many, I’m sure you’ll agree, it needs a bit more depth than “it’s good … go on, buy it!”.

Video look at Rolando:

[Edit] – We’ve just realised part of the video is repetitive.
New version will replace and is on the way soon.

Introduction to Rolando
You initially play as a blob, called a ‘Rolando’. You live in ‘Rolandoland’ and your aim is to restore peace and harmony to a kingdom which has been overtaken by pure evil. Along the way you’ll meet up with your rolandolandian buddies, and each of these will help you complete your quest. Rolling through 35 levels enclosed in 4 worlds; Honey Meadows, Fire Canyon, Rolando Central and Shadow Valley, your sure to run into devilishly deceiving, puzzling environments, unique predicaments switches, levers and more …

Basics
Entering the game you’ll be presented with a 3D pop-up map, and from here you’ll have the option to enter any one of 36 levels available to you. You’ll probably be glad you know you won’t be on your own for the first few levels as they act as a sort of tutorial which aim to teach you the basic control system, and introduce some interesting characters into the mix. Throughout the game you’ll find that different ‘rolando’s’ have different unique properties. For example, the spiky solider can cling onto walls to reach those hard to reach places normal rounded rolando’s might not be able to. So that’s the basics covered What about the controls?

Controls
They take a bit of getting use to, but once you have, you’ll be flying …. well .. rolling. The first thing you’ll need to know about the controls of Rolando is how you actually move your rolando’s around levels. To do this simply tilt your device left or right. The other basic move you’ll need to know is an upward swipe activates character jump.

Being on a touch platform, and having multiple rolando’s to look after during the game, ngmoco have incorporated a ‘call’ feature, which is accessible in any level, of any of the 4 worlds. Basically, during any level you must select the rolando you wish to move. To do this simply touch whichever rolando you want to move. This then becomes the ‘active’ rolando. In more pressing and puzzling cases you may have to move more than one of your rolando’s, or deselect and select another. In this case, you can ‘drag’ a box around the rolando’s you wish to activate. Selected rolando’s are symbolised by having a little exclamation point above them, and them chirping at you, briefly. In the case that you want to deselect all of the current rolando’s selected, it’s as easy as tapping anywhere else on the screen.

Alongside character controls, there are also object controls. During the levels you’ll find other movable objects, I think the most prominent being lift-like objects on pulleys. By the position of the pulley it’ll be pretty clear which way the lift operates, and to active a lift simply swipe your finger in that direction. I have to say I found this pretty user intuitive and good thinking on ngmoco’s part.

The Artwork
If there’s one thing Rolando’s got going for itself, its the artwork. Designed by Mikko Walamies, it rivals some of the best I’ve seen on a mobile title, to date – barring that is, Loco Roco. As I’ve mentioned before, if any PSP owners are out there with an iPhone, and happen to buy Rolando, they’re going to notice pretty much straight away that Rolando scarily resembles Sony’s Loco Roco in design. That said, it’s been said by ngmoco themselves that this is in no way a port of Loco Roco. This is Rolando, and Rolando is a unique trademarked creation of Ngmoco. Throughout the levels, the artwork changes (naturally), and if you were buying on looks alone, this would be one hell of an impulse buy.

Price
At £5.99 ($9.99) and no sight of a sale happening anytime soon on ngmoco’s part, Rolando, at a first look, may seem steeply priced. However, the visual feedback you receive from this title, as well as the sense of achievement in completing and beating it’s levels completely overshadows the price. There’s no doubting a lot of you are reading this now and saying to yourself “yeah yeah … ” but seriously, £5.99 for such a polished game as this one is literally a steal. Ngmoco could have priced this higher, easily. £10, 20, possibly even £25. With the amount of interest Rolando garnered within just shy of 8 months, by the time it’s release came round — everyone was hanging on a string waiting for it, or so it seemed that way.

The question is, After playing Rolando, do I feel it justified paying £5.99 to own it? — Definitely. I’m not just saying it, this is the most polished game you are going to find on the App Store to date. I have to say though, if they’re not already planning on providing one, I definitely suggest ngmoco get a ‘lite’ version of Rolando out the door shortly after Christmas. Although some people were sold from the get go, others I imagine will not be reeled in so easily, and will need to ‘trial’ the game to see if it really is worth £5.99. When it comes down to it, the decision is yours — deal or no deal? In this case, we definitely recommend Rolando to you guys. A must buy.

Reviewed at: v1.0
Reviewed on Firmware: 2.2
Download size: 25.1MB
Released on: 18th Dec 2008
Retails for: £5.99 / $9.99

Compatible with: iPod touch Gen 1 & 2 / iPhone Classic / iPhone 3G