As AAA games become more bloated and expensive, sometimes a simple, straightforward iPhone game can be a great palette cleanser. In FireWhip, it only takes seconds before you're cracking a flaming whip. Control issues and a lack of content may ultimately cause some players to burn out, but you can't say FireWhip doesn't deliver on its pyromaniac promises.
Catching Fire
Like most high-concept games, all you need to know about FireWhip (99 cents) is right there in the title. It's a score-attack game in which you try to survive as many waves of enemies as you can. But whereas most classic examples of this genre, like Geometry Wars or Space Invaders, give you a gun or some other conventional killing tool, here you get to use the titular blazing melee weapon.
The whip is everything in FireWhip, and fortunately there's more to it than just flailing wildly. Spinning your finger on the touch screen generates a lethal, fiery vortex. However, that also causes the whip to burn out and shrink in size. So you have to whip intelligently to maintain your safe distance and offensive effectiveness. A flicking motion cracks the whip, delivering a concentrated burst of pain. But the gesture feels awkward and unnatural, especially on the bigger screen of the iPad Air 2 ($445.00 at eBay) . Whipping on the iPhone 6 that I primarily used for testing is a little more accurate, but the constant finger spinning eventually grows tedious on both devices.
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Fortunately, short missions and a steady stream of new enemy types help keep things interesting. Early foes called Cowards flee in fear of your burning power, but enough of them in a horde can still pose a threat. Beefy Tanks only go down after two or three whip cracks, and teleporting foes prevent you from relying on a long whip to stay safely out of range. Missions mix up enemies and objectives, with tasks like kill a Tank in four seconds, giving you more new things to do and see.
Blaze It
FireWhip's modest mechanics may not completely hold up over extended play sessions, but its art style sure does. FireWhip's aesthetic is technically retro; its graphics are pixelated, after all. However, while many classic-looking games, from Shovel Knight to Flappy Bird, feature clean lines and gridded layouts, FireWhip appears jagged and naturalistic. The rugged sprites combined with earthy warm colors in the background make this game about fire look like it's actually on fire. It all pays off in the numerous explosions filled with bright flashing lights and crackling bits of virtual embers. The soundtrack is no slouch either, as it features radical, grungy tunes peppered with crunchy arcade sound effects.
The creators of FireWhip know that you'll want to share these moments of burning beauty. So the game allows you to create GIFs of victories (or failures) and send them to friends through Twitter or Imgur.
Whip it Good
FireWhip feels like a throwback to the first few months of App Store gaming. It's a neat little idea with a distinct style featuring as much gameplay as you can reasonably expect for a dollar. Even the control problems are charming in a humble, early-days-of-touch-screen-gaming kind of way. Besides, as far as weapons go, a whip on fire is pretty much too awesome to screw up.
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