I’ve documented my problems with Aurora Feint previously. I wasn’t able to get past the opening screen without having the application crash. Several reinstallations later, I was finally able to play the game, only to get stuck in the first section of the game without any way to progress or quit. One last reinstallation later, I was in possession of one functioning copy of Aurora Feint on my iPhone, a full month after first downloading the game.

Had this been a paid app, I would have been royally pissed off. As it is, it’s a free app, so there’s only so much complaining you can do. What’s more, the game is more than worth the wait.

Anyone who has played Bejeweled (or one of its hundreds of knockoffs) will get the central idea of Aurora Feint. The main section of the game is the “Mine”, where you attempt to line up matching tiles in rows of three or more in order to make tiles disappear. The tiles move upward at a pace that is determined by your experience level; if the tiles hit the ceiling you “lose” (in fact, it seems that you’re only kicked out of the mine if this happens - you’re welcome to then return immediately to the mine).

As you successfully line up and destroy tiles, you collect “resources” which correspond to the tiles that have been destroyed. There are five types of tiles - fire, water, wind, earth and shadow - and each allows you to purchase various items or skills that affect gameplay and scoring in the mine. The items and skills are created in the other areas of the game, the “Store”, the “Smith” and the “Tower”.

Aurora Feint uses the iPhone touchscreen to great effect. Moving the tiles around in the mine is done by sliding your finger across the screen - the controls are extremely intuitive and responsive.

The role-playing aspects of the game add substantially to the overall experience. One of the issues many people have with Bejeweled-type games is that there’s little sense of accomplishment associated with playing them. Knowing that playing the game in the mine is generating resources for you that can then be spent in the other locations in the game adds that sense of accomplishment and makes the game more fun.

The graphics of the game are top-notch, especially considering that this is a free application. The opening movie is visually stunning, the Mine is nicely designed, and the menu screens are beautifully detailed.

Most importantly Aurora Feint is just a lot of fun, and massively addicting to boot. I can’t wait to see what developers Danielle Cassley and Jason Citron come up with next.

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category: Puzzle, Role Playing Games