iPhone App Video Review: Candy Boy

The premise I gathered is that Candy Boy works in Candy Land. The stamp motif seen everywhere in the menus indicates that he is a delivery or post office man. Also, it might be Christmas time in candy land, because I’m pretty sure the main theme is that “Old St. Nick” Christmas carol. I don’t know what’s going on, let’s just get on with it.

The purpose of each level is to make your way around, dropping pieces of candy around the map. Your goal is to get rid of all the awake pieces of candy with the crazy faces, by dropping a piece of candy of the same color next to them, totaling at least three or more pieces. You start every level with a specific set of candy in your arsenal, which is displayed across the top of the screen. It can be a real challenge to drop them in just the right places at the right time. As a side mission in each level, you can collect up to three coins to improve your rating and unlock new worlds, of which there are four total. This is classic match three rules, only thrown into a platforming world. The platforming elements are your basic run and jump, where you build up speed by running. The levels are full of moving platforms and crumbling platforms, patrolling enemies, etc. The platforming is really awkward though. You always have to build up some speed before jumping, but the timing takes some getting used to, and I can almost guarantee that you’ll die a whole lot at first.

Overall, the game is pretty good, and the puzzles themselves can be very well done, but the platform heavy segments drag the whole game down for me, and I don’t get so enthused about match-three games as it is. The graphics are great, and the world is vibrant and colorful, and makes you feel hungry. The sound design kind of got on my nerves though, and I played with the volume turned down low most of the time. Candy Boy supports OpenFeint and Game Center leaderboards and achievements as well. This is a one dollar app. Check it out if it seems like your kind of game.

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