180 Review

Flipping Great

180 (out now, $2.99)  is a mash up of Tetris, Bejeweled and Zuma. Well kinda. The aim of the game is to try and join up as many coins of the same color as possible. Add the new concept of ‘flipping’ the coins to change color and you have an addictive puzzle game at hand.

The presentation of the game is nice but without retina support the game doesn’t look that great and you can definitely tell. This doesn’t affect the games fun factor but retina support would be a nice addition to make the game feel more polished.  The menus are easy to navigate and the game simple to pick up and play.

One factor that may become an annoyance is that every time you start an ‘Easy’ game you’ll have to click through a short tutorial which is a waste of time. The harder difficulty doesn’t have this problem and the only people I can see benefiting from it are those with a memory span of a few seconds. The game is very fluid with good animations and throughout my time with it I have come across no slow downs.

The gameplay itself is very fun. The controls are simple as expected of a puzzle game and it is unlikely that you’ll get bored of the game anytime soon. There are three game modes that are fairly similar but can help change things up when you want a different objective. An endless mode tests you on how long you can survive while the score and drop attack modes aim for you to get as high a score as possible. You can pick your own character to play with but this has no bearing on the gameplay.

With so many Bejeweled clones out there, it’s nice to see a new take on things. With the button flipping feature you can flip buttons around to alternate between two colors. This concept works very well and helps keep the gameplay fresh.

If you’re unsure about this game, check out the lite version but I highly recommend it. It’s a fun puzzle with a new take on things that adds an extra layer of depth. One of the better puzzle games on my iPhone.


iFanzine Verdict: 180 is a great puzzle game that manages to stay fresh with its unique flipping mechanic. With a small update to the graphics and general presentation it can easily become one of the top puzzle games on the app store. With fun and smooth gameplay, 180 is well recommended.

[xrr rating=4/5]