Pizza Vs. Skeletons Review
- Publisher: Riverman Media LLC
- Genre: Entertainment
- Released: 16 Feb, 2012
- Size: 353.7 MB
- Price: $2.99
PROS
- 100 levels with a huge handful of game types of increasing levels of difficulty to conquer.
- Spookily stylistic high-definition visuals; customizable with change earned from levels.
- Simple and responsive controls map themselves cleverly to each new game type.
- Hidden bonuses for that extra 'spice'.
CONS
- 'Double Jump' mechanic a bit wonky; split-second timing required to pull it off accurately.
- Boss 'fights' range from complete walk-over to frustrating waste of time; no real middle ground.
VERDICT
Pizza Vs. Skeletons aims itself at casual gamers with its huge amount of short, simple and gorgeously presented challenges that only require players to learn one set of controls to complete them all; an ingenious and at times hilariously game that's hard to rip yourself away from.
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While I may not have emphasized it over my time at AppSpy, games like Wario-Ware always seems to suck me in thanks to is ever-changing series of micro-games. When I saw that Riverman Media, the developers behind the gorgeously presented DeathFall and Ikaros, were releasing something in a similar vein, I just had to check it out.
... And almost immediately Pizza Vs. Skeletons managed to floor me.
You're given three basic controls: tilt to move left and right, tap to jump (with a second tap to smash down while mid-air). With just these controls Pizza Vs. Skeletons provides players with a huge variety of game types ranging from a basic brawl against undead enemies, to skiing down a hill to collect coins, rescuing puppies from prison, and demolishing buildings as a wrecking ball. The real magic is that they all take only a few seconds to understand despite the huge amount of variety on offer.
Stars are awarded for completing the stage and fulfilling one of two additional tasks such as completing the level in a limited amount of time. Each star unlocks an additional stage, however progress is ultimately kept in check by 'boss stages' where you have to sumo-wrestle a giant skull off a platform. In this way you could potentially unlock all the available levels by only playing the games you enjoy and there's no pressure to get the remaining stars unless you're a completionist.
You're also given a chance at earning bonus coins, all of which can be collected and used to purchase costume changes for your Pizza, with some hilarious combinations adding real character and charm to the game's already stylistic presentation.
As a side-note it was amusing to find the titles of each area following the basic outline of a Monomyth (for those interested, Google for the 'Hero's Journey'), implying that the 25-foot tall Pizza is the subject of an epic tale (albeit with no actual narrative being involved).
Pizza Vs. Skeletons is pure, unadulterated fun - a smattering of cleverly varied stages that utilize the same controls to great effect. Whether you're balancing on a skull or playing a miniaturized version of Flow, you're guaranteed a great mix of fun and frantic levels to conquer.
Screenshots
$2.99
