GodFinger – Review
App Type: Uncategorized
Our rating: 
By: ngmoco, Inc.
Version #:
Date Released: 2010-06-26
Developer: ngmoco, Inc.
Price: 0.00
User Rating:
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In the early days of gaming on the iPhone, a small company named Ngmoco hit the scene with a wonderful game called Rolondo which harnessed the unique features of the iPhone to give players a fantastic experience. Ngmoco’s most recent addition to the app store is an equally ambitious game that puts players in charge of their own planet of little virtual worshippers that will do your bidding. This game is Godfinder and I am going to take a look at this title, and see what entertainment divine control can offer.
The game starts you off with a barren wasteland and a single person. You must convert the person to a worshiper by giving them what they want. Once they are converted, you can command them to work farms, relax by fountains, or generally do whatever you want them to do. They do grow tired and need to be restored with a sit by a lake or fountain. Buildings are built with either gold you collect from your followers, or with awe points you generate.
Godfinger follows NGmoco’s trend of "freemium" apps and is free to play. The in-game store has the option to purchase awe as an in-game purchase to help speed up your gameplay. Awe can be used to purchase items in the store (including money), speed the completion of buildings, and replenish followers. I found that gameplay is much slower without purchasing awe, but Godfinger is completely playable without any monetary investment. I would go as far to say this game is better played without speeding things along. The game utilizes iOS4’s local push notifications to alert you when tasks are completed and the entire game has a feel of a long term casual game where you can play for several minutes every day or two and still get just as much out of the game as a more hard core gamer would.
With a low cost of entry, beautiful graphics, and variety of play styles, you would think this game is a sure winner. Unfortunately, Godfinger suffers from a flaw that many open ended building games suffer from. Early levels are fun as new features and abilities come quickly, but as the game progresses the gameplay quickly stagnates into a "farm gold, recharge follower, rinse and repeat." There is the ability to terraform the planet to your liking, but this costs a great deal of money and without purchasing awe, the money just doesn’t come in fast enough to experiment with decorations and planet building. Challenges consist almost exclusively of making purchases.
To borrow a term from RPGs, "the grind" loses its enjoyment quickly. Fans of many Facebook games will find the game play mechanic very similar and may find this game enjoyable, but for more traditional gamers, Godfinger offers very little for the amount of effort put into it. Ngmoco made a good attempt, but failed to take the genre to the next level.
Quick Take
Value:Medium
Would I Buy Again:No
Learning Curve:Easy
Who Is It For:simulation games
What I Like:great graphics and style, good use of push notification
What I Don't Like:gameplay stagnates quickly
Final Statement:Godfinger has alot of good ideas, but doesn't quite take them to the next level.
Everyone gets the Finger. Customize, cultivate and wreak havoc on your world with a tap of your finger.
Own an iPad? Give it the finger with GodFinger for iPad -- made exclusively for the big screen.
Perform an impressive array of Wonders to convert your planet’s inhabitants into devoted followers. Put your new followers to work – provide buildings, control the elements, and earn gold to continue leveling and customizing your planet.
OPEN-ENDED GAMEPLAY
Be a kind, caring god or a destructive demagogue. Level up and unlock new Wonders to perform on your followers and power their economy, including sun, rain, lightning, fire and flood.
WATCH YOUR WORLD
Every decision you make impacts the look of your planet. Use rain to grow a desert oasis, dense woods or lush rainforests. Use the sun to populate your world with exotic flowers. Activate powerful runes and your planet will expand – providing more land to shape.
GROW MORE POWER
Earn gold, perform Wonders and convert followers to gain experience. Level up to unlock powerful items, buildings and Wonders to perform on your followers.
BE A GOD AMONG FRIENDS
Invite your Plus+ friends into your world and get them to worship you. Give them a fright with your Wonders or turn them into powerful Mystics to earn cool bonuses. Send them gifts and postcards, and let everyone know what you’re up to through Facebook and Twitter updates.
TAKE GODFINGER EVERYWHERE
Your game is automatically saved in plus+. That means you can log into any device and continue playing right where you've left off. Play on your iPad while you're at home, then continue your game on your iPhone or iPod touch while on the go.
NGMOCO:) WANTS YOUR HELP
GodFinger is constantly evolving and ngmoco:) is inviting GodFinger players to be part of the process. Join the GodFinger community on Facebook to tell us what works, what doesn’t, and what you want to see in the future. Stay tuned for themed content, coming soon to your planet!
Connection is required to play. OS 3.0 or above.
Screenshots
Article By Nathan Kline
Nathan has been an avid Apple user and advocate since the days of the Apple ][. He has always sought to find new ways to make use of technology to assist his daily life. As a paramedic in southern California Nathan brings his familiarity with technology to the field, and at whatsoniphone.com he brings his critical thinking to he analysis of apps and news. You has also written app reviews for the mobile app site Smokinapps.com.
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