Pling Plong 2

Score: 75%
ESRB: Not Rated
Publisher: Wil's Apps
Developer: Wil's Apps
Media: Download/1
Players: 1
Genre: Puzzle/ Arcade/ Miscellaneous

Graphics & Sound:

It's often charming when inanimate (and sometimes unidentifiable) objects are given personalities, and so it is with Pling Plong 2. This game could have gotten away with having zero personality; after all, personality isn't exactly requisite for entries in the puzzle genre. The world of Pling Plong 2 is apparently inhabited by what look like hockey pucks. King Plong is jet black with no special features, but the several bosses that stand between him and his throne each have a visual quirk that helps distinguish them from everyone (or everything) else. The rest of the game's visuals are cheery and confident, and they never really get in the way of the gameplay.

Pling Plong 2 sounds just fine, too. The music is leisurely for the most part, and fits each world well. Other than that, there isn't much to speak of, save for the same "pling!" sound you hear every time you strike a pling. Simplicity is this game's forte, so that's perfectly appropriate.

Gameplay:

Pling Plong 2 is one of those rare puzzle games that bothers with a story and goes all out with it. King Plong is on his way home to reclaim his throne, and pretty much everyone seems to have it out for him. So, it seems there's only one thing for our hero to do: turn out a bunch of lights at the same time (with the help of your index finger) to advance closer to his goal. So that's the setup; each puzzle presents King Plong with a number of lights (or "plings") to turn off. He can turn them off by simply running into them -- much like a pinball would to a target. However, he only has a certain number of moves to turn off all the plings with. Furthermore, hitting a pling once it's turned off will turn it back on, presenting you with a fresh new problem. Ricochets present the opportunity to score multipliers and earn higher scores. I give Pling Plong 2 credit for its quirky dialogue, self-awareness, and occasionally brilliant puzzle design. However, the fun factor is more of a hit-or-miss affair.

There's more to do outside of the main Story Mode and the OpenFeint-supported leaderboards. By that, I mean you can revisit your favorite levels to increase your score or mess around with a collection of mini-games. My favorite is Plong Crunch, which is like Bust-A-Move with Attention Deficit Disorder. Ah, color matching puzzlers never get old.

Difficulty:

It doesn't take very long for Pling Plong 2 to become extremely frustrating, and that has nothing to do with personal skill level. I tried -- oh, I tried -- but I couldn't finish the Story Mode. Judging by the dialogue, I suspect I got extremely close (by that, I mean a few levels away from the final boss), but the experience became too punishing and infuriating, and I ended up losing my patience.

So what is it about Pling Plong 2's difficulty level that rubs me the wrong way? Most of it has to do with the spotty controls and occasionally maddening puzzle design. The element of chaos is always lurking just out of sight, and once you make that fateful finger swipe, absolutely anything can happen. Different worlds call for different environmental rules. Some of them seem to have been pulled out of some closet full of standard game backgrounds. Others, like World 8, are really clever, and force you to think outside the box. These are the puzzles that make it worthwhile. World 9, well that one simply gave me a headache.

Game Mechanics:

In Pling Plong 2, swiping your finger will propel King Plong in the direction of your swipe, presumably with the force of your swipe. I say "presumably" because the touch screen doesn't prove to be a good judge most of the time. What looks like a gentle swipe to you may translate to a full-tilt cannon blast, and merely touching the screen counts as a move. A less sensitive means of player input would have done a world of good to Pling Plong 2. I'm thinking something along the lines of a slingshot or cue stick mechanic.

Even if your swipe goes just the way you wanted it to go, that's only half the battle; the game's physics are good for the most part, but they can be unpredictable at times. King Plong can go bouncing wildly between two plings; this usually leads to His Highness getting himself into an awkward position with no hope at all of getting where he needs to be before the move counter reaches zero. Accuracy and finesse is everything in this game, and the controls aren't tight enough to give you faith in your own dexterity.

Pling Plong 2 is an enjoyable and perfectly-priced ($.99) casual game for iPhone users on the go. It's got some frustrating gameplay issues, but it's charming enough to win your attention for a while.

-FenixDown, GameVortex Communications
AKA Jon Carlos

Pling Plong 2

Graphics & Sound:

Gameplay:

Difficulty:

Game Mechanics:

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