Gravity Hook – Review

Our rating:

By: Semi Secret

Version #: 1.01

Date Released: 2010-07-29

Developer:

Price: 1.99

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Gravity: it can be your friend, or it can be a "fall to your death" enemy. In Semi Secret’s newest iPhone game Gravity Hook HD, it is mostly the later. In this new arcade game, you take on the effects of gravity with a robotic hook which you use to latch on to floating mines that will propel you upwards. This game has all the attention to detail and charm that we have come to enjoy with Semi Secret’s previous entry in the app store, Canabalt.

Much like Canabalt, there isn’t much story, but lots of detail to say otherwise. The music is pounding and as the first screen suggests, the game is best enjoyed with headphones. The environment is beautifully rendered, and as you progress higher the ledges you relied upon for a moment reprieve, will fall away from under you. At certain intervals there are floors that close below you to allow a rest, but as you climb higher you will find that stopping can be more of a detriment that keeping your current momentum.

The initial mines are really more floating orbs, but life does not remain so easy. The green "safe" orbs soon disappear and are replaced with blue mines that will quickly explode if you remain attached to them as well as the evil red mines that will explode if you run into them. There are also the occasional line of grey mines that while unsuitable for attaching to (unless you want a quick death at the bottom of the screen), are great for bumping into to help propel you upwards. One must also be careful not to grab a mine too far away as the force to pull you up is lessened by the distance from the mine.

It would not be an exaggeration to say this game is quite challenging and will take time to master the rhythm of the game. For those that do find this game to be a walk in the park. The game unlocks a classic mode which is the original version of this game. This is pixel art style and contains only the blue type mines. The timing of this version is much faster and is even more challenging that the updated version. Semi Secrets high score boards and twitter announcements are built in just like their previous game. This is another example of the high quality gaming we have come to expect from Semi Secret, and is not to be missed.