Puffle Launch

Summary

This app has been hanging out in the Play Store for quite some time already and has become one of the most loved free apps out there. Puffle Launch, the name itself might confuse you at first, but just wait and see. If you look at the pictures, you'll see flying cannon balls with funny faces. That's pretty much it, any more questions?

Test device: Samsung Galaxy S2 (I9100G)

Android version: 4.1.2

Root: no

Available for versions 2.1 and higher

What sort of funny business do we get into with Puffle Launch? The ''Club Penguin'' is attacked by the dreaded crabs and the club's pets now want revenge, in which they steal back the stolen yummy snacks and vanquish opponents. These pets are the cannon ball mentioned above that all have a face, therefore getting their name ''Puffles''.

I think most people who love video games have had a go at Donkey Kong. Why do I refer to it here? It's because one of the cannon balls have a monkey face and the player needs to launch at the right moment, in order to survive the game. In the old DK game, you needed to accumulate as many bananas as possible. Puffle Launch also has this same game concept, all the while ensuring a certain level of difficulty. Just like DK, cannons also get shot off on their own and the player needs to react quickly in order to determine where the living cannons balls will land. These are easily steered by swiping. This is very sensitive and you control the flight trajectory, for which you need to be very precise.

The bees in DK take the form of pianos in this game, as well as flying enemies. If Puffle touches one of these obstacles, the game is over. There is a total of 60 different levels where you need to avoid obstacles and discover surprises, like a turbo bonus that you eventually will be able to unlock. On top of this, you also need to collect all the Puffle Os. Up to level 24, you don't need to collect them all to finish the level. But if you want to unlock extras, one of which being the time challenge mode for example, you need to make sure you get them all. This is what makes the game really interesting. This mode creates a good incentive, thanks to the fact that the difficulty level slowly gets harder and harder.

What's more, the user can also win coins, which get stored in their Club Penguin account and used to buy virtual items. This seems to be targeted to a younger audience. For international users, I can see this being annoying that the game is only offered in English, especially for those younger users abroad who haven't learned the language yet.

Bottom Line

Puffle Launch is actually incredibly fun. During the test, it operated as fast as lightening, all the while challenging my dexterity and finger/rhythm accuracy. On top of that, there were a bunch of cool bonuses along the way to keep the whole thing very interesting. Its graphics were truly very nice and colorful. After a while, the player will attain a certain routine and with that comes the thrill of speed. But if you go too fast, you might miss discovering some of secrets. All in all, the game can be played all the way through relatively quickly. On the other hand, it offers difficult time challenge modes, which motivate the user to play longer.

Puffle Launch is really cool with its clever game idea and worked astoundingly well. The controls are very important factors in this game and worked smoothly too. The graphics were well in-tune with the objects, while the menu and tabs created a great overall picture.

The app worked smoothly and without hinges the entire time. Puffle Launch images were fast-paced, with very fast animations. It didn't crash once.

Puffle Launch costs 0.99 cents in the Google Play store. I think this is a perfectly ok price for what you get. Even though the story mode is quick to complete, the app is full of extras and other modes to keep you occupied. If you would like to first test the game out, you can try the free lite version.