OddBlob developed by Astraware is a cute puzzle game suitable for any age. I quite like puzzle games but always seem to stop after a few levels either because I’m stuck or I’ve just got a little bored of it. Something needs to stand out for me to carry on playing it. I didn’t know what to expect when I tried OddBlob but after I played it, I was pleasantly surprised at how addicted to it I had got.

The aim of the game is very easy, you are a colourful clay creature who loves to bounce around! You have to guide OddBlob from the bottom of your screen to the top by bouncing and you do this by tapping your finger on the screen where you want him to go. Its not that simple though. The floor which he bounces on is made of a maze of clay tiles and you make him jump on one tile at a time. Each tile is different though, some are plain and others are made of bricks and crumble away as soon as you stand on them. When you stand on these tiles you have to jump off straight away otherwise you will fall into the dark doomed ground below and lose a life.

Not all tiles are bad though, some of the tiles have fruit on which you can collect and earn extra points. Other tiles have an extra bounce or a double bounce to help him along. Some also have arrows on them and when ever you jump on those what ever direction the arrow is pointing at that is the direction you will go so you need to look ahead to see where it might put you. There is also the odd cake slice placed around, if you land on one of these it takes you to a extra mini-puzzle game to earn more points.

I was beginning to get across each level quickly and was feeling quite good that I was doing so well which made me think maybe the game was just a bit too easy. Or so I thought. The next level I suddenly realised the tiles behind me where moving in on me and falling away and if I didn’t speed up to the top I was going to face an untimely death! Needless to say that level I actually lost a life, quite a few times I might add as well!

There are two ways to play the game. Panic which is where you make your way as Ive described above from the bottom to the top moving on to each level and Strategy where you just collect as many points as you can whilst finding the best way to the top. You can also change the level of difficulty from one to four which comes in handy if you have a child who wants to try it out.

Whilst the game is playing you can listen to the game music or your own iPod music but if I’m honest the game play music along with the squelching sound effects is very good. Another aspect of the game is it includes OpenFeint with the usual online high scores, achievements and awards. Something which is proving quite popular with iPhone gamers.

I have had the game a week now and I have played it many times, it is the sort of game you will want to keep on playing to get to the next level. If your a fan of puzzle games I would highly recommend you give this game a go!

Current Status: Highly Recommended

Reviewed at: v1.00
Reviewed on Firmware: 3.1.3
Download size: 6.6MB
Released on: 01 March 2010
Retails for: £0.59 / $0.99

[itunes link="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/oddblob/id358727008?mt=8&uo=4" title="OddBlob"]