A Moon for the Sky – Addictive yet Tricky Physics Game
by Paul Wilks
Dec 14, 2011 9:07 AM –
Install
A Moon for the Sky is an addictive and tricky physics game on Android. Draw lines for your moon to bounce higher and higher. Collect stars, avoid obstacles and, whatever you do, don’t fall! Challenging gameplay, nice graphics and cute sound definitely make the game worth a look. The game uses the Papaya social gaming network for scoring, friends, sharing and bonuses.
Price: Free, ~$1.08
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Cute dreamy graphics!
- Good sound and music!
- Challenging gameplay!
- Customizations!
- Social scoring via Papaya!
Cons
- Very difficult.
- Fun, but might not have enough diversity in gameplay for some.
Features:
A Moon for the Sky is a challenging physics game where you must bounce a moon shape as high as you can. There is a finish line at a certain height and you complete the level here. With this, the gameplay is similar to games like Abduction! where you have to reach a certain vertical goal.
To bounce the moon skyward, you have to draw a line beneath it and it will bounce off it. What I thought was clever about this was that, if you draw a longer line, your moon bounces less. Likewise a shorter line gives a bigger bounce. This places reward on accuracy and correctly anticipating the fall of the moon. The game automatically tells you where you stand here too, longer lines are red, shorter ones are green. This element of gameplay reminded me a little of Chalk Ball- where you also have to draw lines in real-time to control the game.
As you progress you have to collect stars and other items. You will need to avoid various obstacles, including aliens (which pick you up and drop you randomly). There are 4 different stages to work through, with at least 4 levels on each.
Straight away I found the game pretty tricky. The smoothness and fluidity of the moons trajectories was beautiful to look at, but difficult to anticipate. I often found my moon bouncing off obstacles and falling before I could draw a line underneath it. You really do have to be quite persistent and patient to progress through the game.
Watch on Mobile
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A Moon For The Sky – Main menu
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A Moon For The Sky – These purple diamond shapes push you away
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A Moon For The Sky – Bounce high and collect stars as you climb
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A Moon For The Sky – Alien ships swallow you up then spit you out!
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A Moon For The Sky – Breakthrough
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A Moon For The Sky – Avoid all manner of obstacles as your bounce higher and higher
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A Moon For The Sky – Customise your little moon
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A Moon For The Sky – Several different stages to progress through
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A Moon For The Sky – The finish line
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A Moon For The Sky – Failed page!
Fun Factor:
I thought A Moon for the Sky was lots of fun, even if it was nail-bitingly tricky in places. You need fast reactions and a quick brain to be successful and even then it’s not easy! If you factor in the social element of the game- via Papaya Mobile- the game has a whole new level of interaction with friends, etc. that adds to the fun and enjoyment. Not dissimilar to networks like OpenFeint, Papaya arguably offers more reward and interaction.
Addictive:
It is addictive, but I would say this is a little more born out of frustration than pure enjoyment. There is singularly nothing worse than missing the last bounce and having to start again. Plus with the scoring elements, there’s lots to be challenged and attain.
Graphics:
The graphics reminded me of typically old-fashioned Man-in-the-moon bedtime stories. Beautifully dreamy, yet incredibly responsive and smooth. It’s carefully stylized this way and is nice to see. It’s perhaps not as mind-blowing as other games in this genre, but they suit the game and the theme well.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
Sound is a dazzling cacophony of bouncing noises, swirling music and desolate comiseratory effects when you fall. It’s all nice, and work really well with the game itself.
Tags:
A Moon for the Sky,
Abduction!,
Android App,
Android Apps,
Android Game,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Chalk Ball,
Papaya,
physics
Categorised in: Arcade & Action, Licensed Content, Papaya Mobile
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