Funkyball Worlds is a simple yet brilliant 2D side-scrolling platformer. Like a delicate food, Funkyball World’s may not bring anything substationally different to the genre you can never get enough of its delicious simplicity. Intrigued?

What first caught my eye on the game is the beautifully stylized graphics, and let me say the eye candy is definitely catchy. Vibrant colors and animations (such as falling leaves) flash before your eyes as your rolling your ball across the screen. To add to the fun, the game consists of three worlds to traverse through: forest, desert, and water for a total of 72 levels! Each level is unlocked by completing the previous one, and you can play over levels to improve your time and gain more gold stamps of approval. One thing’s for sure; if you’re a completionist like me you definitely won’t be putting this down in one playthrough.

There are two ways to control your ball; accelerometer and onscreen buttons. As you roll you can press and hold your finger anywhere on the screen to jump (quite handy might I say). The longer you hold, the farther you jump.

The game seems to take in account how fast you’re rolling the ball. If you speed up too much and don’t take into account the balls awkward way of movement your sure to tumble off the screen to your death A LOT. Luckily there is no penalty or limit to your deaths and even the later levels aren’t super challenging but this could all have been easily avoided if the ball controlled the way you think it should. In addition to this problem if you ever get stuck on a level or get sick of falling to your death at a particular spot there’s no way to skip the level and try your luck on a new one. Allowing the player to access up to five levels at a time or even introduce a ‘wildcard’ system akin to Torki Tori could help relieve any headaches a player is experiencing.

Though I usually use the onscreen buttons as my go to control setup I seemed to perform a little better and have more control of where the ball was going with the accelerometer. After I got past the unnatural feel of the ball, by the time I finished the game I felt exhilarated and relieved; wishing for more! If you enjoy games like these, look no further for your next purchase; Funkyball Worlds will satisfy you. Check it out.

Editors Note:This title really came completely off my radar, and the physics based platforming just works sp well with the iPhone interface, it is a game that is truly hard to put down. If you are into physics games, or platformers, make sure you check this one out. – Robert

Overview:

- Lack of fluid control movement of the ball which leads to unnecessary deaths.

+ Vibrant graphics.

+ Tons of gameplay value for your buck.

+ Ipod music compatibility and controls in the app (always handy).

Rating (4/5)

Review: Funkyball Worlds – M.J.

Developer: Handmark Inc.

Current price: 0.99

iTunes Link