Here’s the deal: Bounce On by Team Phobic is really fun to play. It’s as simple as that. It’s a side-scrolling adventure game, similar to Super Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog, and it’s adorable and addictive and…did I mention it’s really fun to play?

In Bounce On, you play as a little bouncy ball, lipstick-red with a worried look, who fell out of its owners pocket. In order to get home, you must navigate through dozens of levels, bouncing over obstacles and avoiding enemies to safely complete the board.

The controls for Bounce On are some of the easiest I’ve found for this type of game. Simply tilt the iPhone to roll forward or backward, and tap anywhere on the screen to jump. Of course, there’s a certain amount of dexterity required and it may take a few turns to get a good feel for Bounce On, but once I got going, I was rolling and bouncing along like a champ. (A note of warning: you know how in, for instance, the Mario Brothers games, you can often stand right next to an enemy and not die? Doesn’t work here. I tried to creep up right alongside one type of jumping enemy a million times to try and slide past him more quickly, and he killed me every time!)

In each level of Bounce On, aside from trying not to be killed by enemies, there are gemstones scattered throughout. If you collect them all, you’ll be awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal, depending on how quickly you finished the level. While I steadily managed to achieve silver, I have yet to earn a gold, which bodes well for my replaying these levels exhaustively. I don’t think getting a gold medal actually does anything except earn you bragging rights, but I’m alright with that.

Each level in Bounce On also has a golden ball hidden somewhere that gives you an extra life. While the extra lives can come in handy, I found that I often died trying to get to them…eventually you learn to choose your Bounce On battles. There are also various power-ups available throughout the game which grant special abilities like being able to bounce longer and higher, or a short period of invincibility. Also, like in the Mario Brothers games, if you’ve currently got a special ability, one hit from an enemy won’t kill you, it’ll just return you to baseline status.

Bounce On is a great-looking game with vibrant colors, and even the enemies are quite cute. I also found the music very enjoyable. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys this style of game; perhaps trying out the free Bounce On Lite would be a good start.

Here’s a sample video of Bounce On:

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category: Adventure, Editor's Picks, Games