Review: Sheep Mania: Puzzle Islands
Score:
76%
You know what you need for a long flight to America? A puzzle game that's relatively simple to understand, has some hidden depth, and one you can continue to play with no penalty even if you fall asleep in the middle of the level thanks to jet-lag. In other words, Sheep Mania: Puzzle Islands.
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So, what do we have here? Like a farmer in the islands of Scotland, you've got some really awkward terrain to contend with, lots of cliffs to fall off, secret tunnels to travel through, and flags that your flock of sheep need to wave to, err, reach the next island. Yes, your sheep. While you don't physically appear in each level of Puzzle Islands, the solitary sheep that lives in each level is under your control. And like any good sheep, it will do exactly what you ask it to do. Even if that means falling off said cliff to his death.
Strike that, almost everything. The one thing the sheep won't do is understand the stop command. Once you ask it to move in a direction (up, down, left and right, we're strictly in a grid based gaming world here), that sheep is going to keep on moving until it dies, or more likely hits an obstacle. Then it will stop and you can send it off in another direction. If you plan out the half-hidden maze that this makes on screen, you'll reach the end of level flag and move on to something even more devilish.
Just to keep things fun, there are tunnels that let you move around the world (while still walking in the required direction), and turning arrows on the ground that will have the sheep change course in mid stroll. It's all there on the screen (and you can scroll to see more of the level so you can plan it all out before you start) and you can think your way to the end of the level. At least that's the theory... some of the fifty levels might see you do a bit of random exploring before you work out the route you need to take.
Graphics are comical and clear, and it's easy to spot the switches that open gates in the fences, boulders and rocks that you can nuzzle out of the way, while fixed objects like fences and really big rocks are distinguishable.
The controls are little more than a tap on the touch screen indicating the direction you want your sheep to go in. Simple, but at some points Sheep Mania didn't pick up my intentions clearly. There is an easy solution - use the cursor keys on the E7's Qwerty keypad - but that's not open to everyone, so there needs to be some on-screen feedback for your direction controls. Perhaps some on screen arrows to actually tap when it comes to move could help here?
Quibbles aside, there is a lot of game to play in here for the low cost (and you can try out a level-limited free trial if you're not sure that sheep are your thing). It is genuinely challenging, and in its own way, knows that once the fifty levels are up, the game is never going to be played again. But for a disposable title there's a lot here that I like. One for the puzzle fans, yes, but one they'll love - and I expect a clamour for a level expansion pack.
-- Ewan Spence, May 2011.
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at