Bucketz Review

By , on August 15, 2012

Bucketz
  • Publisher: PICNICHIPPO
  • Genre: Arcade
  • Released: 26 Jul, 2012
  • Size: 186.0 MB
  • Price: $0.99
Download on the AppStore
4 out of 5

PROS

  • Lots of personality and humor with the different bucket personalities and all the conversations.
  • They really use the game premise to its fullest. Store is full of useful items.

CONS

  • Some of the voices are a little grating.

VERDICT

A simple game of flicking and balance brought to life through great visuals, fun voicework, and a load of personality.


  • Full Review
  • App Store Info

Sometimes you just have to admire the level of dedication given to certain aspects of a game. Often it's the attention to detail in the programming, wowing the player with intriguing answers to the question of “hmm, I wonder if I can do this”. In Bucketz however, the dedication is in the level of commitment to the personalities of the characters in game. Not only are they are an amusing lot of sentient buckets with distinct characteristics, but every single level contains its own set of funny conversations between them with fairly decent voice acting. That plus the general level of humor throughout the game does a lot to draw players into this game of balancing acts, and yes, the game itself while not an original concept is quite engaging.

The buckets are all different sizes and find themselves precariously placed on a ledge as objects of varying widths and weights rain down. It's up to your finger to keep the buckets from becoming too heavy and toppling the ledge, thus ending the level. Large objects will crush smaller buckets, and sometimes the combination of buckets makes for some interesting balancing acts indeed. Each level introduces something new that will help or hinder your progress (and upgrades can be bought in the shop to help you out). Don't worry about the prices as every stage ends with a bonus round, where coins fly with wild abandon across the landscape, waiting to be scooped up by your tapping fingers, and like the Ode to Joy in Peggle, this is always a welcome and satisfying end to each stage.

The presentation was mentioned before, and it really is one of the highlights of the game. The characters themselves are a rather simple cartoon style, but everything is crisp, full of color, and most importantly the characters are very expressive. The buckets themselves are archetypes (the grizzled war veteran, the hillbilly, the know-it-all brat), and their voices and personalities match these archetypes, but it's the combination of characters plus the punchy writing that really brings the whole thing to life, with plenty of fourth wall jokes and meta humor, if you like that sort of thing.

Bucketz shows that a decent enough game can be elevated to something more engaging through a great aesthetic if the proper creativity and effort is put in. Oh sure some of the voices are going to grate with some people, humor is very subjective, and we've all seen this type of game before, but this is a complete package that should definitely amuse all who make the purchase.

Screenshots

Screenshot 1 of 10 Screenshot 2 of 10 Screenshot 3 of 10 Screenshot 4 of 10 Screenshot 5 of 10 Screenshot 6 of 10 Screenshot 7 of 10 Screenshot 8 of 10 Screenshot 9 of 10 Screenshot 10 of 10