Posted by GPeek
So many iPhone games to pick from, how to choose? A smackdown, of course!
This smackdown pits one of the most popular iPhone games against a lesser known newcomer.
Jelly Car vs Ovenbreak Free
INTRODUCING:
In the first corner, we have Jelly Car. This app is a long time member of the top 25 games and top 100 apps. Jelly Car has even hit the top spot in as the top iPhone Application. This iPhone game app will be tough to beat.
Jelly Car was first released On Oct 19, 2008, and has had 7 updates. Jelly Car is free. Jelly Car 2 was recently released for $0.99 and has consistently been in the top 25 games and top 100 apps overall. This will be a very tough tag team to beat.
The developer is known as “Walaber”. Working for a video game company by day, he is a freeware game author at night. Walaber has developed his own “JellyPhysics” soft body library that he uses to give his games their special jelly-like goodness. Jelly Car is also available on the PC and Xbox360.
In the far corner, we have our challenger, Ovenbreak Free. Released Sept 10, 2009, this app hasn’t seen the consistent success of its opponent.
Ovenbreak Free is free (duh). There is a “Full Version” and special holiday versions of Oven Break for $1.99.
Devsisters.com created Oven Break and they have several other iPhone games. They list themselves as “a hyperactive group of young and talented dreamers and language prodigies”. Lets see if they are talented enough to create an iPhone app that can challenge the Jelly Car!
ROUND 1 – Features
Jelly Car is a type of puzzle game, navigating your squishy car through a variety of challenging obstacles. The game uses “JellyPhysics” technology that gives the car the gooey squishiness it needs to travel across a series of obstacles, as well as a 2D physics engine that models motion, mass, and gravity.
There are three levels of difficulty, with a total of 28 obstacle courses available. The game doesn’t enforce any sort of progression, you are free to play any of the courses right from the start. There is no scoring, but your time is tracked for completing a level.
There is a ranking system for checking your best times against other players. Unfortunately, it seems some hackers have figured out how to give themselves impossible times, such as 1 second.
If you need even more jelly in your iPhone, Jelly Car 2 adds some new levels and power-ups, such as a balloon to float you over obstacles. Even better is the ability to create your own custom levels using over 40 obstacles. This gives the game potentially unlimited re-play value. Also, a little bit more eye-candy is available with custom colors for your car.
Ovenbreak Free is a classic side-scroller. Your gingerbread man is running a gauntlet through the kitchen to escape the oven in a linear race through 5 stages which get progressively harder. Running over and jumping through jelly beans and letters scores points. If the letters spell “Freedom”, you win a bonus life. Hitting obstacles or falling costs a life. Like I said, classic side scrolling action here. While you can try for better scores, once you’ve made it through a few times, there isn’t much replay value.
For $1.99, you can upgrade to Ovenbreak - Christmas Run or Ovenbreak - Gingerbread Christmas Run for more Gingerbread-man vs jelly bean fun.
Both sides score some points here. Ovenbreak Free has the classic, mind-numbing side-scrolling fun, while Jelly Car provides puzzle solving brain food. Both provide upgrades for a fee.
Jelly Car’s unique JellyPhysics technology puts it in front to win this round.
ROUND 2 – Interface
Jelly Car uses touch in general areas of the iPhone’s screen to propel the car forward or back, and to grow or shrink the car. Tilting the iPhone causes the car to rotate. These are used in clever combinations to navigate your car around obstacles in a 2D playing field.
A three finger touch will pause the game – always a handy feature for a game.
The familiar by now pinch motion can be used to zoom the playing field in and out.
Overall, a logical and fun use of some of the iPhone’s basic sensors.
Graphically, the eye-candy in Jelly Car is very basic. The game uses simple, primary colors and geometric shapes, going for a look like a child’s drawing. Given the theme of the game, this works. One issue is that some solid colors have a strange shimmer to them, as if they were poorly dithered.
For audio, Jelly Car has a pretty simple sound track that sounds like a xylophone and a drum machine which could get annoying eventually. Fortunately, there is an option to turn off the music, and the sound effects if needed.
Ovenbreak Free sticks closely to classic side-scroller basics, offering play we’ve all seen on handheld systems for years.
To navigate, you have only three choices: jump, slide, or swing, controlled by touching two virtual buttons on the screen
The graphics are well done and the graphical theme varies for each of the 5 stages.
The sound track is also classic side-scroller fare. Midi with the beeps and bops you would expect.
Jelly Car takes points for its use of the iPhone’s touch screen and tilt sensing. Oven Break Free tries to fight back with better graphics and less monotonous audio.
This is a close round. I have to call it a draw.
ROUND 3 – Performance and user experience
Jelly Car’s graphics are simplistic – in the style of a pre-schooler’s crayon drawings. It could be said that this adds to the game’s charm and fits the PB&J theme of the game. The game is not fast action, but the modeling of the squishy car and motion of objects it encounters are well done. The designer appears to have been careful not to overwhelm the system with too much going on at once.
Driving forward and back, flipping and growing or shrinking the car to navigate a variety of different obstacles is fun and challenging. And there is something fun about seeing your little car get squished and spring back. But if you abuse your car too much, it will break.
Ovenbreak Free goes for speed over complex physics. In this game, just like its predecessors, it is all about reaction time. The decision to jump, slide, or swing must be made in a split second. If you hesitate or hit the wrong button, it will instantly mean the end of your gingerbread man.
The winner in this round is really determined by what type of gamer you are: cerebral puzzle solver or fast-twitch adrenalin junky.
THE WINNER IS:
In a surprisingly close contest, Jelly Car pulls out a win with its early lead from round 1. Its physics engine gives it a squishy fun that is pretty unique. If you like puzzle games, this is a game you don’t want to miss. Ovenbreak Free was a strong challenger, and might beat a less capable opponent.
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