Intro

Poodle Invasion is a fun retro survival game where the aim is to get as far down the level as you can racking up a score whilst avoiding all sorts of oncoming objects in the shape of poodles. This is similar to other survival scrollers such as Doodle Jump or Fall Down, however, as you make your way down the level your environment changes from space, to a blue sky to a city and so on.

Gameplay  8/10

The game progresses at a snails pace at first, but thankfully the difficulty ramps up as you go through each stage of the game which turns the game from being easy, to quite difficult. Even though I liked how the scenery changes, I feel that the game runs too slowly at the beginning of the game and maybe a level selection should be apparent for players who have made it to those stages. As you go down you can also collect sushi which give 100 points. You also start off with 5 energy waves that destroy all nearby poodles once executed. This works well and you gain an energy wave back every 10 seconds.

At the shop you can use some of your hard earned points you have gained from the game to rent attachments to your green blob for one round, such as shades, ties and even some vampire teeth. These items are good and add character to the game. But, I feel that more beneficial objects should be included that actually help you in the game.

There are 20 achievements in the game which is good, but the only problem is that I don’t know what they are until I unlock them. This doesn’t give good incentive to play on as I don’t know what I have got to achieve.

The graphics and scenery are great!

Graphics 10/10

The graphics are very well done for a retro style game, and even though pixel art may not be my forte, I can certainly spot some good art when I see it. The backgrounds are well drawn and the enemies are varied and interesting. I also liked it when you hit an object you would go spinning out of control and so therefore will be spinning the rest of the way down. The colors are vibrant and the game ran extremely smoothly on my iPhone.

Controls 7/10

The controls consist of the normal tilt sideways to turn (like Doodle Jump), but the controls were not very responsive and it takes a bit of time for your character to respond. However, this is probably done on purpose as it is a space setting but it can get a bit frustrating when trying to dodge a load of poodles. To release an energy ball you have to tap on the screen which works very well.

Sound 8/10

There are a few sound effects in Poodle Invasion, but probably not as many as I would have hoped, but this uplifted by the great music. The music helps making the game less repetitive and fits the style of the game nicely.

Menus 5/10

The menus are OK. They’re clear and easy to read, but nothing special from the design side. However, the options were very unresponsive and it is unclear whether you actually selected something until you go there. Nonetheless they were easy to navigate and did their job. One gripe that I noticed is that you can’t pause or get back to the menu from the game which is immensely frustrating, especially if you get a phone call. This also doesn’t fit very well for all the pick-up-and-play gamers who don’t have the time to get a good score in one sitting.

Buy upgrades for your character.

Longevity 5/10

Poodle Invasion doesn’t have that long a replayabilty and as most game plays go over the 10000 mark it gets very repetitive. I would have liked to see a difficulty selection so advanced players could delve straight into the action and as you always start in space, it can get repetitive. The shop definitely adds some longevity and it is great kitting out your green character.

The achievements would have been great if you knew what it was you were trying to achieve. Furthermore there are no leaderboards which is a must in a highscore game such as this one.

Overall, Poodle Invasion is fun to play and explore the scenery, but gets boring after a while.

Cost 10/10

$0.99/£0.59 is the right price for a game like this.

Conclusion 53/70 – 4/5

Poodle Invasion is fun, humorous and includes some good mechanics but needs more content and polish to hook the gamer that little bit more. If you are interested, and you have $0.99/£0.59 to spare, then I suggest you get it.

Poodle Invasion on the App Store.