Billy the Painter Review
PROS
- Such a simple game with an equally simple control scheme, yet success takes some finesse.
CONS
- More interesting shapes to paint would have been nice.
VERDICT
A score based game where your touches create paint blobs that will encompass all as they grow until they smack into a paint barrier. That's entirely what's on offer here.
- Full Review
- App Store Info
Painting must have been a lot different in the 20s and 30s. If Billy the Painter has taught me anything, it's that painting is as easy as splotting down a dab of color, and watching it expand until the area you were painting has been covered completely. Of course a game element has to be introduced, so if the paint touches the edges and blends with the areas already painted, a life is lost. What? You're telling me that paint doesn't work that way? Ah well, it still makes for a simple and entertaining premise.
And really there's not much more to say about the game. Each level has areas that need painting. You tap the screen and a dash of color starts growing from that spot. You can pop down as many of these as you like, and indeed the finesse of the game is to time your paint so that you can dab smaller areas when the larger ones are close to being filled by earlier dabs. There are splotches of other colors that give you bonus points upon covering, and your final score is dictated by how much of the surface area you covered before hitting the outer edges. Anything below fifty percent will be a failed job, and after three failed jobs, it's game over.
As you continue, the shapes get trickier to fill, and every ten stages, there is a bonus level worth double points, but the areas you need to paint are always variations on simple circles. It's understandable given how the paint reacts upon tapping, but it feels like a wasted opportunity not to be a little more creative giving the player silhouettes of images to fill, creating more of a puzzle element alongside the timing game. Also while everything is presented like a Fleischer Brothers cartoon, the style is only used superficially.
Being a free game you should easily get some gaming satisfaction from Billy the Painter. You'll understand the finer points of playing after a couple games, and from there it's a test to see how far you can get before being fired and having to start all over again. Played in small bursts it should have some longevity. As they say, a little dab will do ya.
Screenshots
$0.99
