You can’t help but love the high concept premise behind Inert Soap’s Fingerzilla – your finger is a rampaging B-movie monster laying siege to cities populated almost entirely by those members of society (your boss, the tax collector and so forth) just begging to be squashed.
It’s childhood fantasy and adult wish-fulfillment all rolled into one explosively fun game! Unfortunately though, the fun is short-lived because beyond the initial thrills this beast never quite lives up to its full potential.
Lets start with the good news. Controls are wonderfully non-complex; the carnage caused simply by tapping on the object you want to destroy, meaning you’ll be reducing buildings to piles of burning rubble and chowing down on screaming crowds in no time.
Once you’ve decimated one portion of the city, a swipe across the screen allows you to quickly switch your attention to another. And this easily grasped, slick interface adds to the game’s pick up and play appeal while allowing for some fast-paced, against the clock destruction.
Fingerzilla‘s graphics are great too, with some hilarious little quirks and attention to detail, while the top down perspective allows for a thrilling view of the mayhem. There’s also a lot going on on-screen at any given time, between skyscrapers bursting into flame and panicked citizens trying desperately to escape your wrath (although there’s a weird bug which allows people to walk on water?!).
Sound effects are equally well done and perfectly capture the B-movie feel, while the comic book style exclamations as you devour your victims- chomp! munch! – are a nice touch.
At the end of each round the destruction you’ve caused is tallied up – and splashed all over the newspapers – if the end score is high enough another stage is unlocked. Disappointingly though the levels are samey, with a similar selection of destructable scenery in each.
Okay, okay, you don’t exactly expect much depth from a smash ’em up like Fingerzilla, but at the same time, the destroy everything in sight gameplay soon gets repetitive and a bit of variety would be welcome. Perhaps power-ups could be a nice inclusion… fire-breath? A super-sonic roar that blows out windows and knocks choppers from the sky? A seismic stomp? The mind boggles.
Boss battles could also work well. Imagine, if you will, your finger(zilla) pitted against some other B-movie staples like giant robots, ufos, or the military. Fun right?
All in all, Inert Soap has laid a solid foundation for what could well grow into a hugely enjoyable game. There’s definately room for improvement, but if its simply some mindless destruction you’re after then this one’s for you!
iFanzine Verdict: Fingerzilla has its flaws and is a little light on content, but swatting choppers out the sky and stomping cities to dust is still smashing fun. The perfect game to play if you’re having a bad day!