Eliss: iPhone Game with Abstract Shapes and Beautiful Sounds
I’ve heard about the iPhone game Eliss for a while now. Mostly it’s been described to me as a fantastic game, but I didn’t really know much beyond that.
During my bachelor party, while we were hanging out at Dan’s house, Ben showed me the game and I got to play a few rounds.
Since I got an iPhone recently, I ponied up the $2.99 and bought the game. And I have to say: it is indeed a fantastic game.
The controls are deceptively simple, and the levels provide for a slow learning process. Like any good game, it teaches you the rules through discovery (though there is a good set of instructions too).
Overall, the main goal is to move circles into set areas. Two differently colored circles bumping in to each other is bad. Moving two similarly colored circles together joins them into a larger circle. And, through the magic of the iPhone touch screen, pulling a circle splits it into two smaller ones.
On top of the gameplay, the audio is just superb. The soundtrack is light and absolutely perfect for the game, and the sound effects are spot-on. The game itself is great, but the audio is what makes it shine IMO.
Sadly, the game is only available for the iPhone. But I have to say I’m not sure if it really could get ported over to anything that didn’t have a touchscreen (there are several levels where it’s better if you’re using both hands to play).
iPhone users, definitely give this game a go. There’s a free version called Eliss Lite, if you want to just give the thing a test drive.
Not only a touch screen – a multi touch screen. Once you get past level 4 or so, it’s critical to hold onto many planets at once. In terms of interaction model, there’s really nothing in the world quite like Eliss.
nickd (January 12, 2010 at 9:45 pm)