Version Reviewed: 1.0
Developer: iScape Games Limited
Price as of Review: $0.99
Current iTunes Rating: 3.5/5
Lite Version: [iTunes Link]
Review by Andy Horsman at iPhone App Reviewer

Super Marble Roll is an excellently developed tilt control iPhone game in which you must guide a 3D sphere into it’s destination.  You’ll be faced by tons of amazingly challenging levels in an advanced 3D environment.  Trying to collect all the jems as well as staying within the time limit will provide an addicting challenge which hasn’t been seen on the iPhone since Super Monkey Ball (yes this game is a bit of a knockoff).  It’s also perfect for pick up and play gamers, as levels are around 30 seconds long (you can get time bonuses) and the game saves your progress when interrupted.

While playing you’ll notice the very smooth gameplay, the speed or stability is not hindered by the app’s excellent control responses.  The graphics are a little dull but rendered very well, satisfactory to a casual cell phone gamer.  There are quite a few annoyances however, specifically with some of the harder levels where you’ll find yourself diving off a platform, although you land correctly, the drop counts as a fail, and you lose a life.  Another huge annoyance is that when you start a new game, you’re starting from the bottom all over again, this means going through the same levels over and over again.

The lack of menu and aesthetics in non-gameplay graphics is a bit of a turn off for this game, especially the lack of statistics to fuel an addiction.  You’re local high score board only saves your top five scores, and there’s no online scoreboard which unfortunately breaks the recent trend of iPhone apps.  Overall if you’re a fan of marbles, accelerometer games, or looking for a nice pick up and play game, you can’t beat Super Marble Roll’s $0.99 price.  Get it while it’s hot!

Final Ratings:

Gameplay: 7/10 – A classic gameplay, unfortunately it’s lacking a bit

Enjoyment: 9/10 – Definitely something I’ll keep on my iPod

Graphics: 7.9/10 – Fairly good, could use a bit of jazz and colour however, maybe user customizable colour schemes

Sound: 7/10 – Nothing annoying…

Technology: 9.3/10 – Flawless stability and control

Replay Value: 7/10 – Addictive but some annoyances might stop your from coming back.

Overall Rating: 7.9/10

More screenshots here, on iPhone App Reviewer’s Flickr page

Further Improvements: (Notes to the developer!)

• Online high score board
• Advanced start, choose starting level (even do the levels in sections)
• Graphics themes

Other Reviews on Super Marble Roll for iPhone and iPod Touch:

• Super Marble Roll Review on The iPhone App Review
• Super Marble Roll Review on iPhone Game Network
• Super Marble Roll Review on AppVee
• Super Marble Roll Review on WhenWillApple
• Super Marble Roll Review on AppCraver

Why does iPhone App Reviewer link to other reviewing sites?  Because if you’re not 100% satisfied with the quality of our review, then we encourage you to go elsewhere.  The point of iPhone App Reviewer is to give you an honest, open opinion of the application.

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Figure 1

An accelerometer uses tiny weighted springs which pressure or other sensors read their level.  Gravity will push each axis’ spring which is loaded with a specific mechanical resistance.  The iPhone then reads the levels of each sensor to find out what direction the iPhone is facing, how fast it’s moving, and what angle it’s tilted at.  See Figure 1 for a small diagram on how this works.  Anyways, by reading different combinations of the axis’ values, the iPhone’s firmware can then send presets and exact information to applications.

Figure 2 - Image from and owned by Spark Fun (http://sparkfun.com)

Even though this may sound like a complex process, the hardware inside the iPhone can process it in milliseconds.  And yes, this works the exact same for the iPod Touch.  You can see a picture of what an accelerometer looks like (probably not the one in the actual iPhone) in Figure 2.  Hope you enjoyed the post!

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