Score:
64%
As games go, they don't come much simpler than this - Copter It 2! - part of the 'one button' genre where it's all in the timing of a single tap (or, at least, a tap and hold). As you might guess from the title and from the screenshots below, it's all about keeping a helicopter flying through a never-ending sequence of caverns and general obstacles. With average game time being around a minute, Copter It 2! is definitely in casual game territory, but there's something charming about a game that's this simple and yet this hard...
Buy Link | Download / Information Link
Although there's an online component, this is mainly the interstitial adverts which pop up from time to time (in the free version - see 'Download', above), plus there's an automatic comparison with the world high score table after each flying attempt. I'm not sure whether finding out that my global rank is only 22,467th is motivating or de-motivating, mind you!
As seen top-right, there's sound here too, limited to just engine 'chuffing' and the occasional explosion (oops), but nice to have granularity in volume rather than just 'on' or 'off'.
The caverns seem to be randomly generated when you start the game, with two implications. One, you can keep trying a particular cavern in order to improve your score. And two, if Copter It 2! throws up a cavern which is just insanely difficult, you can quit the game and restart it to try something easier.
A tap on the screen pulses the copter's engine, a long tap keeps the engine on for as long as you hold your finger down on the screen - any spot will do, which is convenient. Working against you are two factors: gravity is very much at work and your copter accelerates downwards whenever the engine isn't on. Plus any contact with cavern floor or ceiling results in instant explosion. This isn't good.
And the news gets worse as you find out the screen top and bottom are also purveyors of instant death. So timing your engine bursts, in order to keep the eponymous copter falling gracefully beneath a giant stalactite or pushing it over an equally large stalagmite, is critical. As each cavern unfolds, you'll also find other obstacles, including giant nuclear waste cans and (seemingly) giant beer barrels. All just as lethal, though...!
The timing of the adverts is fairly well judged and anyone who gets addicted to Copter It 2! will find themselves grabbing the commercial version (at a mere £1.50 in the UK) fairly quickly. While those who only play once in a while won't mind the odd advert pop-up. Nicely done.
Only 61899th? Errmmm.... my excuse? I was concentrating on taking screenshots at the time [yep, they'll believe that - Ed]
Copter It 2! is fast, trivially simple to pick up, insanely hard to play and is a perfectly constructed casual title. Don't be too put off by the low score, reflecting that there's not much to the game - if this is up your street then you'll be off flying through twisting caverns in no time at all...
Steve Litchfield, AAS, 29 March 2012
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at
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