Troll Blaster review (iOS / Universal)

♫ “You’re angry, I know I’m done”

10 word description: Projectile destruction physics game. Destroy structures and Trolls.

Oh well, at least they haven't stolen any eggs

10 word review: Angry Birds for hardcore troll haters. Starts tough, gets hard.

This looks awfully familiar

You will like this if you enjoy: Playing Angry Birds type games, but then you probably only play Angry Birds. Perhaps it’s fairer to compare it to Crush the Castle… you decide.

The good news: Graphics aren’t too bad. Shot trails remain after firing, which helps a bit with the next shot. 64 levels, which is a lot without even factoring in how many attempts each level will take you to clear it. It definitely provides a challenge! Weapons include exploding cannonballs and a rocket launcher.

In this game cannonballs don't shatter wood, they simply change its texture

The bad news: Projectile effects on objects are not entirely logical, but that’s part of the learning curve here – this is not an easy game. Physics occasionally appears to be from a parallel universe where Trolls can safely surf to the ground on falling masonry and survive direct hits from cannonballs. Weapon can sometimes refuse to fire unless you zoom in and out a bit. I found the game to be hard work, possibly needing a short set of introductory levels featuring just one weapon and some rather casual scenarios.

It's a lot harder than you might expect

Arcadelife verdict: After struggling bravely through 15 of the 64 levels, I’m suffering some kind of post-traumatic troll warfare stress. Sure, I’ve used the rocket launcher and been impressed by the amount of scenery it flings around the screen, but I feel burned out. Every level is an exercise in constantly refining each shot, often failing at the very last shot because a troll falls on his head and survives, rather than falling flat on his back and dying. The game wouldn’t suffer for having some easier introductory levels added, maybe two or three to introduce each weapon type, where a single weapon type is all that’s needed. I’d even go as far as to suggest a “casual/wuss” mode with unlimited ammunition, so at least players with less stamina can have a blast. A few tweaks and this would be a load of fun. As it stands, it’s a hard game that will be enjoyed by a smaller group of gamers than it is trying to appeal to.

Arcadelife rating: 60/100

Version reviewed by Arcadelife is 1.0.2

eMobisoft website link

Arcadelife played and reviewed this game on:
4th gen iPod Touch (OS 5.0)
iPad (OS 5.0)

You may have noticed that this review has changed from the one I originally posted. This does not mean that Arcadelife’s integrity has been compromised, I have just added some more text to explain why and how I feel about the game. I also changed a few things that I didn’t like. While revisiting Troll Blaster for the review update, although it didn’t get any easier, I can see more of a reason for encouraging improvements now and I thought the original review was a bit too harsh, particularly the score.