DNA

Summary

DNA is a puzzle game in which the objective is to combine green balls using numbers. The number determines with how many other balls the original ball must be combined. If the amount of combinations is correct the ball will turn blue, if it’s incorrect the ball becomes another color. When all the balls have turned blue you have passed the level.

I usually enjoy games that make me think a bit, so I thought I’d give this one a go…

Our community member Markus S. wrote today’s test review.
 

The screen shows green balls with numbers on them. As mentioned earlier, these numbers tell you how with how many neighboring balls connections have to be made. If a combination is successful the balls will turn blue. If you’ve made too few combinations the balls will remain green, and when you make too many they become red.

The goal of the game is to ensure that all balls become blue; only then can you proceed to the next level. So far, I’ve managed to make it to level 3, from where on it becomes quite a challenge.

One of the app’s major drawbacks is that you have to rely on the market description to get an inkling of how to play the game. The game itself comes with absolutely no instructions!
 

After you’ve started the game, the main menu appears on the screen. You’ll find the options Start Game and Exit here. After you’ve successfully completed all the levels the third button – Edit Levels – apparently becomes activated. I’m assuming this will give you the option of configuring levels yourself.

Start Game transports you into a grey half tone field in which the balls pop up. You’ll find an overview that lets you know how many successful horizontal and vertical connections have been made thus far in the bottom half of the screen.

You’ll also find the following options under the menu button:

• Change the display of the numbers written on the balls (either the entire amount of combinations is displayed, or else the amount of combinations that still need to be made)
• The type of entry (either Drag&Drop or Click—more about that a little later)
• Start new game
• Start current game new
• Choose level
• Sound on/off

The controls take some getting used to. I wasn’t able to figure out what the point of Drag&Drop is meant to be, aside from it producing a few clicking sounds.

Click allowed me to combine the balls, but I haven’t yet gotten why it’s sometimes only possible to balls from top to bottom, and in the next row only in the opposite direction.

Bottom line:
The idea behind the gameplay is a good one, but the way the idea has been translated into an actual game could do with a makeover. For those of you wondering why this game ahs only received a one star rating: it’s down to the bad controls and the way in which the score is calculated: this drags down the app’s entire rating.
 

I didn’t experience any problems with this on my Magic.
 

The version tested here is the free version, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Market—and quite honestly, it isn’t worth any money whatsoever. There’s also a version you can buy, but I don’t know how well it compares to the free version.