Ngmoco's 'Rolando' shines among other iPhone and iTouch games

Brilliant art, good music and unique controls set the game apart.

By Chase Koeneke

Published Feb. 2, 2009

With the increased penetration of high-speed Internet connections and the popularity of systems, such as Nintendo's DS and Wii, smaller, more casual games are seeing a rise in both quantity and quality.

With this new trend, developers have been looking for new places to expand the market even further. What they've found is a home on Apple's newest money-printer, the iPhone. Although most iPhone games have been little more than simple time wasters and some are stretching the bounds of what could even be considered a game, Ngmoco Inc. has really made something special with its newest game, "Rolando."

"Rolando" tasks players to transport a predetermined amount of the little, round Rolandos safely through the door at the end of each level. The catch comes in solving puzzles with the Rolandos to unlock gates and reach higher places, all while avoiding enemies and environmental hazards.

Now, one will certainly see a resemblance to Sony PSP's series "LocoRoco" because the two are extremely similar. In fact, if you stopped reading right here, you'd have a decent review for either game, but "Rolando" does differ in one huge way: tilt controls. While playing "LocoRoco," players would physically turn their PSP's instinctually, hoping to gain some extra momentum to no avail. But with the iPhone and iPod Touch's built-in accelerometer, rotating the device is the whole point.

The controls of "Rolando" are both a blessing and a curse. On the plus side, they're so intuitive. This is pick-up-and-play at its finest. Turn the device to the right, and Rolandos will flow to the right. To the left and, you guessed it, they'll be leftward bound. Yet, for a game that demands precise jumps while still putting you on the clock, after only a few minutes, you'll end up missing the exactitude of an analog stick.

There are three medals to earn for each of Rolando's 36 levels: getting all the Rolandos to the goal, collecting all the hidden diamonds and completing the level under the challenge time. These are pretty easy to obtain in some of the opening stages, but you'll be lucky to receive just one after the sixth level. These medals encourage you to go back and try these stages again, which gives "Rolando" some great replay value.

Undeniably, the best part of "Rolando" is its amazing atmosphere. The graphics are so crisp and clean and vibrant. The music is fantastic (although if it's not your thing, you do have the option of playing your own tunes as well.) The production is absolutely top notch and the stylized art guarantee that "Rolando" will never look dated.

"Rolando" is arguably the best game on the iPhone. It's great fun and with its iSave feature, it'll save automatically when you get a call or go back to the home screen.

The accuracy issues present on any game relying completely on accelerometers and touch-screens are going to make something that should be theoretically easy quite difficult in actuality. This one hiccup keeps the game from being perfect, but Rolando is absolutely worth its $5.99 price tag. If you own either an iPhone or an iPod Touch, this is a must-purchase. You've already sunk at least $200 into your music player of choice, so what's another six bucks?