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Touch Attack! Games by ProRattaFactor has popped up in the App Store for just $0.99 cents as a 3-pack of whack-a-mole, Simon, and a match game (that is unlocked), with a charming art-style and personality. Feel like bellying up $0.99 cents for a virtual whack-a-mole game? How about a virtual whack-a-mole, a virtual Simon game, and an unlockable match game? Still not sure? Then read my full review after the jump.

Noteworthy Features:

• 3 simple & fun games in one app
• OpenFeint Integration
• Tons of unlockables

This isn’t the most innovative or imaginative game available on the App Store, nor will it win any awards for its graphics, but then again that’s not really the point here. It’s all about simple gameplay that anyone can pick-up and enjoy for an affordable -one could say impulse-buy friendly – price of $0.99 cents. If you’re still indecisive, grab the lite version and give it a go, it’s absolutely free.

Gameplay 9/10

The gameplay really revoles around tapping the screen, across three different modes of play. There’s a “whack-a-mole” mode dubbed ‘Touch Attack’, a Simon inspired mode dubbed ‘Memory Attack, and finally once unlocked, there is a match-two mode dubbed ‘Match Attack’.

Touch Attack — whack-a-mole style

It’s the game’s core mode and is basically a virtual whack-a-mole game. In that critters (moles) will pop up out of holes and must be “whacked” by tapping on them. Of course if that was all there is to the gameplay then it wouldn’t be very compelling, so the developer decided to add a couple of tweaks to make the game feel more arcade-ish.

One of the tweaks is the application of reticules (targets) that will appear on the critters that must be whacked, while other critters who pop up without reticules should not be harmed and left alone at all cost. Whacking one of the un-targeted critters will cause you to lose one of three hearts, and once you lose a heart there is no way to gain it back. Losing all three hearts means game over.

The second tweak is a miss counter. If you tap on the screen but completely miss the targeted critter that you were aiming for, that will be counted as a miss. Accumulate to many misses in a round and its game over for you. Luckily, the miss counter is reset each round.

Memory Attack — Simon inspired

For those of you who have fond memories playing Simon, you will no doubt, be glad to hear that this game comes packed with a faithful virtual recreation of the classic Simon game. Its more of a secondary mode, but fun nonetheless.

Similar to Simon, the game plays out a sequence of patterns that light up and make a tone. These patterns become longer and more complex as you progress through each round. It’s up to you the player to memorize them and then tap them out accurately. If you fail to complete the pattern correctly, you will lose a heart. Lose all three hearts and its game over for you.

Match Attack — match two madness

The Match Attack mode is really a supplementary mode. In order to play this mode you must first unlock it by collecting 5,000 tickets. This may seem like a lot of tickets at first, but once you get the hang of each of the two primary modes (Touch Attack & Memory Attack) it will not be uncommon to earn up to 2,000 tickets each session, before it’s game over.

In Match Attack, you will have a brief moment to memorize different variations of two matching critters before they disappear back into their holes. Its up to you to tap on the holes to make the moles pop up in matching pairs of two. If you tap on a hole that doesn’t match to the critter you previously tapped out, you will lose a heart. Lose all three hearts and it’s game over for you.

Presentation 10/10

The presentation of Touch Attack! Games is charming. It’s not going to win any awards of course, but the embedded humor and cartoon-ish art-style is refreshing and works great for a simple 3-pack game like this, especially at the 99 cent price point.

The music and sound effects are very well thought out and add much needed personality to the game. It even has its own soundtrack too. The only complaint I can muster (take this with a grain of salt as it’s more of a feature request) is that it would be nice if the critters would make a few silly grunts and comments here and there when they pop up. Other then that there really isn’t much if anything at all to complain about.

Re-playability 9/10

This is a game that tries really hard to provide added replay value and truly lays it on thick. From flawless integration of OpenFeint and all the features (achievements & leader-boards, ect) that come with it, to the implementation of the concept of tickets. Which means as you play the game you earn tickets in addition to overall score/points. These tickets are used to unlock everything from new game levels, to new music, even unlock a whole game mode as well. Make no mistake about it the replay value is put front and center here and I’m sure many gamers will really appreciate the honest effort, while others may feel a bit overwhelmed.

Final Score 3.5/5

Touch Attack! Games is a simple, yet fun, and a somewhat addictive game for the iPhone and iPod Touch (no iPad specific version just yet). It is what it is, a 3-pack of virtual whack-a-mole, virtual Simon, and a match-two game for $0.99 cents, with tacked on replay value and flawless OpenFeint integration.

It’s not going to win any awards for being the most creative or imaginative game on the platform, but if you’re looking for a simple game to pass the time, then this game is for you as it’s about as simple as it comes. I would have like to seen some more innovative use of multi-touch gestures and/or unique interactions that only multi-touch screens are capable of, or at the very least a way to re-gain hearts or accumulate additional hearts when you’re on a mole-whacking roll, but as is – on its own accord – the gameplay is solid, simple and fun. However when compared to other games (at the same price point) on the platform it will come off as a bit lackluster.

Touch Attack! Games on the App Store.

Tags: $0.99, 99 cents, 99¢, ProRattaFactor, Review, Touch Attack! Games, Touch Attack! Games Review