CopterKid
by Brett Nolan on Tuesday 4th Aug 2009

Hats with propellers on? Genius! Why didn't the US military think of this?!

Two young siblings discover a couple of prototype propeller hats secretly developed by hostile aliens and evil Earth scientists.  Harnessing the power of their pilfered flight-enabling beanies, the children desperately try to escape the clutches of the nefarious baddies with a little help from a bumbling, but well-meaning sea monster.  No, this isn't the plot of the latest Robert Rodriguez family-friendly feature film, but rather the first game released by new iDevice developer FIPLAB.
 
Don't let the wild plot, propeller hats and the main character's big puppy-dog eyes and goofy ear-to-ear grins fool you, CopterKid is not some mindless kid's game.  It is a tough side-scroller that requires a steady hand and a delicate touch, neither of which I apparently seem to possess. The basic game play is very simple, but, as I mentioned, it is far from easy.  You take on the role of either of the propeller-hat wearing protagonists, Calvin or Cassie.   Holding the iDevice in landscape mode, the scenery will scroll by your character (from right to left) and it is your job to move up and down to avoid all of the obstacles coming toward you.  When you touch the screen, your character will get a small burst of upward motion, hold down for a longer burst, let go to allow gravity to pull you back downward. That's about it. Your biggest hurdle will be getting down the proper timing.  Fortunately at certain points in the game you can pick up an invincibility shield.  This will indefinitely protect you from any obstacles until the shield is breached.  Once you hit something, the shield only lasts for an additional 5 seconds.

The graphics in this game are phenomenal, both the daytime and night-time scenery is stunning to look at.  On more than one play through, I found myself crashing into objects just because I was too busy admiring the artwork.  Blimps, planes, sheep, houses, sea monsters and more, are all beautifully drawn.  The artists on the FIPLAB team should be commended for their amazing work. Once you get into the later levels even more impressive visual effects await you.

Much like the graphics, the in-game music also really exhibits the talents of the CopterKid's development team. As the game progresses and gets more difficult, the music seems to build in complexity as well. The sound effects, while not plentiful, are also convincing and appropriate.  The bone crashing thud when Calvin or Cassie hits an object still makes me flinch even after numerous games.

Sure, the game play is simple, perhaps too simple for some, but I have and will continue to enjoy playing CopterKid.  Assuming you can get your rhythm down, there is a lot of game to be played. CopterKid offers an infinite number of levels spread across 4 islands, with increasingly more difficult obstacles and twists as you progress through the game.  FIPLAB has succeeded in creating that magic "one more try" type of addictive game play. With online global leaderboards, Facebook news feed integration and a cash prize for the top 3 scores on the leaderboard, CopterKid also presents players with numerous opportunities for bragging rights, which will surely keep you coming back for more. I'll admit that at first I did find the game frustratingly difficult, but with some practice and patience, I have been able to dramatically improve my scores, whilst having a lot of fun. Currently I have propelled myself up to #55 on the leaderboard with a score of 1,256 points, but there is still a long road (er sky) to #1, which sits at 15,063 points. The FIPLAB development team is quite active on both twitter and Facebook, offering tips and actively seeking user input for future game enhancements. In fact an update which adds some improvements to the game play based directly on user feedback has already been submitted to Apple for review.  Additional power-ups/downs are currently in the works, including something called 'toxic', a sand timer to slow things down, and a rubber dart gun to hep you get rid of obstacles, and at least one more still to be revealed.

CopterKid is currently on sale for only $0.99 for the first 20 days of release, so by the time this review is published you should still have a week or two to pick it up at this price.