For those who enjoy simplistic, pick up and play games for their iPhone or iPod touch, Dodgem by Nikita Logachev is pretty much a winner. The premise of this simple game is to guide a lone star around the screen for as long as possible while avoiding enemy shapes and racking up points. Dodgem uses the tilt function to control the star, which must be kept away from the different colored circles and squares that approach from all directions.

Dodgem has three difficulty levels to suit any age and skill level. With each increase in skill level, you begin with fewer stars and more enemy shapes. Your objective is simply to avoid all the solid colored shapes and keep an eye out for “Orbs.” Orbs are red and green circles that contain symbols and can help or hurt you. Green orbs are good and may yield an extra star, a shield or a free hit, but red orbs are bad.

As time passes in each level, new waves of enemy shapes appear that gradually increase in number and speed. You can maneuver the star outside of the center circle, which Dodgem refers to as the “inner zone,” but you lose points when you do. When all your star life is gone, the game ends.

Though there is nothing visually stunning about Dodgem, it is surprisingly fun to play. The hard level is actually quite challenging, but the experience is well-supported by solid tilt response, which makes the control easy enough that most anyone can play. If you’re competitive in nature, you can compare your scores to other user scores with the online leader board. Even though Dodgem has its own soundtrack playing in the background, don’t forget you can play music from your own library instead.

While it is simplistic in nature, Dodgem is a fun, easy-going game for any age and for .99 should prove a value-priced addition to your collection of entertaining, time-killing apps.

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category: Editor's Picks, Games