Games for the Weekend is a weekly feature aimed at helping you avoid doing something constructive with your downtime. Each Friday we’ll be recommending a game for Mac, iPhone or iPad that we think is awesome. Here is one cool enough to keep you busy during this weekend.
Dude Perfect ($ 0.99 iPhone, $ 1.99 iPad) is a sports game of sorts. There is a basketball, there is a net, and the goal is to get the basketball through the net. The difference here is that rather than scoring points for getting the ball through the net, you score points for hitting everything else on the screen except the net.
The dynamics of throwing the ball are as simple as choosing a direction and deciding how hard to throw. Anywhere you tap on the screen will engage the throwing mechanics of the game. Drag your finger in the opposite direction you want to throw as if you are pulling back a slingshot. Lift your finger from the screen and the ball is off. The important thing to remember is that you don’t have to start the shot by touching the ball on the screen. Tapping anywhere on the screen will start the shot. This is good to know as many times the player is situated near the edge of the screen.
Clouds, buildings, trucks, balloons, fences and even flying saucers. There are all sorts of obstacles you can use to rack up your score as you make one amazing shot after another. The game was inspired by the real world YouTube sensation of the same name. A series of videos depicting amazing shots that include outrageous bank shots and bouncing the ball off all sorts of objects. Watching the videos you get a sense that the game is not too far removed from reality. Except perhaps shots involving bouncing the ball off of alien spacecraft.
There are over 80 different levels to play in seven different themed settings. Basics, Backyard, Ranch, Camp, Amusement Park, City and Space. Each theme has different obstacles that you can use to make your shot earn higher scores. You can also choose which of five different players to use to make your shot with. Each player has their own style and abilities. The twins, as an example, can be used to pass the ball before making a shot. Keeping things interesting, you can also choose between a basketball, bowling ball or beach ball to throw. As you can guess, neither the bowling ball nor the beach ball have the same aerodynamic characteristics as the basketball. While you may get lucky with a power throw using the basketball and hoping it will eventually bounce in, the bowling ball in particular is not as forgiving.
Multiplayer has two different modes. The first multiplayer mode is for challenges between you and a friend with only one device. This requires you to pass the one device back and forth between you and your friend. You each then take turns making shots to see who ends up with the highest score. The second multiplayer game mode is a wireless mode where you can challenge your online GameCenter friends. You can even let the game set up a quick auto match for you.
Through in-app purchases you can acquire additional payers, unlock all of the levels, and even enable a feature that allows you to create your own custom levels. While skill can keep you advancing in the game, and the included characters have the skills necessary to play any of the levels, the one in-app purchase you have to buy is the level editor. Like the actual Dude Perfect Team, this is where you can plan and set up your own crazy shots. You create your own custom levels on any one of the themed settings. You simply go through a series of edit modes where you choose where to place the basket, how to position the player and ultimately the number of objects you want to place on the screen to bounce your shots off of.
The cartoon-styled graphics of this game are well drawn and colorful. While some of the challenges seem impossible at first, it is the rush of actually completing a difficult shot that keeps you coming back for more.
Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.
- How do developers ride the Siri wave?
- Connectivity means making the machine disappear
- Access vs. ownership: Why UltraViolet has already lost