Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
One of the more successful game genres for the iPhone platform have been line-drawing games. Think Flight Control where you trace a path for planes to land or DrawRace where you chart a course for a race car with your finger. The thing these games have in common? They make good use of the iPhone’s touch screen to provide a unique style of game play.
Add Lion Pride from Blue Fang Games to the ranks of successful line-drawing games.
Lion Pride takes place on an African savanna teeming with wild game. It’s your job to keep the pride from starving by hunting and killing wildebeest, zebra, cape buffalo, warthogs and any other wildlife that happens into your territory. If the level of food (measured by a bar on the bottom of the screen) gets too low, the pride starves and it’s game over.
You’re in charge of the lionesses, controlling them by drawing a line from them to the intended prey. The lioness will follow your path and attack the target. How fast you draw the line dictates how fast the lioness will move—draw slowly, and she will stalk her prey. Draw quickly, and she will charge in for the kill.
That’s where strategy comes in to play: If you just rush your prey, you will scare them off. What you want to do is slowly draw your path until you get close; then speed it up. This will cause the lioness to creep up on the unsuspecting prey and, at the last second, surprise it with her attack. You can also double tap to stun most animals. Some animals require two or three lions to take down, so you’ll have to make your pride work as a team.
Lion Pride has nice cartoon-style graphics and good sound effects, such as roaring lions and squealing pigs. Cool African drum music in the background fits the scene perfectly.
The game features eight levels to beat, which unlocks a survival mode of play. You get a grade for each completed level letting you know how well you did; there’s even an online scoreboards where you can post your score.
A great game with tons of replay value, Lion Pride is a steal at only $1. Just last week, Blue Fang added the free Lion Pride Lite to the App Store, featuring three levels to give you a taste for this great line-drawing game.
Lion Pride is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch running the iPhone 2.2.1 software update.
[Tim Mercer is a technology enthusiast, graphic designer, and blogger, whose blog, digital-artist-toolbox.com, offers free resources to the digital artist and graphic designer.]