A variant of Puzzle Bobble mixed with a pinball launcher and cutesy penguins
Gameplay: Imagine Puzzle Bobble but flipped upside down, so there’s a whole heap of glass balls lying on a platform. Then there’s a ball launcher on the side of the screen which shoots a ball up into the sky if you touch the screen. The ball will then fall vertically downwards onto the heap of balls. If you keep the launcher down for longer, then the ball is shot further away. Once you create a single colour chain of over 3 balls then they’ll pop, and the balls above will fall down due to gravity. The aim is to eliminate all the balls before you run out of space.
Cute stuff: The theming of Alpang is quite decent so the animations and the mascot are quite cutesy. The fonts, images and colour schemes add to a good overall feel which is easy on the eyes.
The worry about these kinds of games is that they’re too straight forward, but Alpang has a whole heap of Open Feint achievements to unlock and there are 80 levels. Variety is introduced into the game through some special pieces which are like bombs, ice blocks and double hit balls. They change the game a fair amount and allow Alpang to have many levels.
Verdict: 3/5 Alpang is a fun game which combines skill with puzzle play. It has a lot going for it and is pretty awesome considering there’s so much free content.
It’s unfortunate this didn’t get 4 stars, but it’s not far from it. The main reasons why I scored it down were because there’s something slightly wrong with the game balance – it’s too difficult. I’m pretty skilful when it comes to this type of game, but I’m having to repeat levels quite a few times and I’m only on level 8! Also the game size increases a fair amount as you play, and this isn’t great on most Android phones.
Tips: Make sure you switch off your internet or wifi when you play this because the adverts are quite obtrusive.
Alpang QR Code (click on the image, or scan the barcode with you phone to goto the Android Market)
Developers: N-Top Communication
