Four Corners Game (iOS) Review and Tips
I'd never thought I would write a game review, but Four Corners is a game which is co-developed by a good friend of mine, and I really enjoyed it. Plus, I haven't had much to blog about in awhile (cue Chinese accent: Whai yuu so long FoojeeFeelem X-E2???). So here it is.
The game is developed by Scenic Route Software, a spanking new indie game developer and currently runs only on iOS (iPad and iOS). It's selling at $2.99, but I bought it at $0.99 during an Independence Day promotion they were running.
Four Corners has a very simple game premise. At first look, I thought it was some kind of minesweeper game. You get a board of 10x10 colored tiles. The similarity ends there. The objective is to make a square or rectangle, whereby the four corners must be of the same colored tile to clear those tiles (ranging from 2x2 to 10x10). You progress level by level, by clearing a specified number of squares, with a time limit of 45 seconds on each level. You also get some really funky music and effects voice over by Sean Connery (well, at least I think they should have that for British users who can't understand Americano!).
The level progressively gets more difficult as:
The game would have been really difficult (and boring), if not for those special-awesome-power tiles and color bombs! For every level you pass, you will receive on bomb. AND if you clear the whole board of 100 tiles in one move, you get another. These bombs become really handy in the later levels, when there are four colors and it becomes confusing as heck.
Did I mention that there are those special-awesome-power tiles? These tiles must be used in one of the four corners to be activated. It doesn't work if it's just within the area inside the clear-zone. These are the power tiles I found so far (I'm up to Level 28):
Below is how a typical Level 18 game would look like. Lots of power tiles, but at the same time extremely difficult to make a match. In the actual game, I would have just used the bomb, but for the purpose of our illustration on to play this game, here is one match I found (after a looong time). This match is worth 18 tiles (3x6).
So far, I've made it to level 28 after about 5 days of playing, which according to the Leaderboard, I'm at the number 7 position of all time! Weeee!!!
The game can become really addictive and exciting, especially during the higher levels. The games starts off with only two colors and there is a basic tutorial provided. However, even with that, it took me at least a day before it clicked in my head with an AHA! and my paced picked up significantly.
Here are some tips I personally use all the time:
On my iPhone, the game has still some bugs (one I found was that when I get a timewarp clear about 3 seconds before the game is over, my time doesn't get extended!!!) and often doesn't clear a match and I have to redo it a few times. However, I believe a fix is coming soon, and I can't wait. Also the Wildcard tile could have looked a bit more distinct, as currently it defaults to a grey look and I always mistaken it as a grey tile.
The game is priced at $2.99 (little on the high side for people who are used to playing games for free or $0.99. yeah, I admit, that's me), but after playing it, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good puzzle (and has an eye for colors). Whatcha waiting for? Go get it HERE.
The game is developed by Scenic Route Software, a spanking new indie game developer and currently runs only on iOS (iPad and iOS). It's selling at $2.99, but I bought it at $0.99 during an Independence Day promotion they were running.
Four Corners has a very simple game premise. At first look, I thought it was some kind of minesweeper game. You get a board of 10x10 colored tiles. The similarity ends there. The objective is to make a square or rectangle, whereby the four corners must be of the same colored tile to clear those tiles (ranging from 2x2 to 10x10). You progress level by level, by clearing a specified number of squares, with a time limit of 45 seconds on each level. You also get some really funky music and effects voice over by Sean Connery (well, at least I think they should have that for British users who can't understand Americano!).
The level progressively gets more difficult as:
- More colors are introduced (up to four)
- More tiles are required to be cleared
The game would have been really difficult (and boring), if not for those special-awesome-power tiles and color bombs! For every level you pass, you will receive on bomb. AND if you clear the whole board of 100 tiles in one move, you get another. These bombs become really handy in the later levels, when there are four colors and it becomes confusing as heck.
Did I mention that there are those special-awesome-power tiles? These tiles must be used in one of the four corners to be activated. It doesn't work if it's just within the area inside the clear-zone. These are the power tiles I found so far (I'm up to Level 28):
- Wildcard tile (looks like a salamandar?): a wildcard tile which can be used as any color
- Timewarp: adds 5 seconds to your time
- Simplifier (the tile with two smaller tiles inside it): changes the board to only two colors for a few seconds
- Multiplier 2x and 4x: doubles or quadruples the number of tiles you clear
- Color Bomb tiles: similar to the color bombs you get when you level up
- Amplifier (the star tile): makes other power tiles even more powerful. I haven't found the full potential of this tile, but when added to the simplier, it makes the whole board just one color (awesome!) or when paired with the color bomb tile, it clears the whole board!
Below is how a typical Level 18 game would look like. Lots of power tiles, but at the same time extremely difficult to make a match. In the actual game, I would have just used the bomb, but for the purpose of our illustration on to play this game, here is one match I found (after a looong time). This match is worth 18 tiles (3x6).
 |
| Can you see the other match? The Simplifier+Amplifier! |
The game can become really addictive and exciting, especially during the higher levels. The games starts off with only two colors and there is a basic tutorial provided. However, even with that, it took me at least a day before it clicked in my head with an AHA! and my paced picked up significantly.
Here are some tips I personally use all the time:
- During the first 6 levels, you can easily go a full board clear. First make sure the bottom corners match. Then make the top two match. Really easy. By Level 7 you would have about 14 bombs.
- When the game picks up and you get stuck, just use the BOMB. Take note that bomb you use requires a 3 seconds recharge, so best not to use the bomb too late.
- Best power combos I could find: Simplifier+Amplifier (makes everything one color) immediately followed by Bomb+4x (you can't miss this if they are on the board). You will clear 400 tiles immediately!
- Look for easy clears with the Timewarp or Simplifiers. Conversely, for Multipliers, try to cover more space or use it with a Bomb tile.
On my iPhone, the game has still some bugs (one I found was that when I get a timewarp clear about 3 seconds before the game is over, my time doesn't get extended!!!) and often doesn't clear a match and I have to redo it a few times. However, I believe a fix is coming soon, and I can't wait. Also the Wildcard tile could have looked a bit more distinct, as currently it defaults to a grey look and I always mistaken it as a grey tile.
The game is priced at $2.99 (little on the high side for people who are used to playing games for free or $0.99. yeah, I admit, that's me), but after playing it, I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good puzzle (and has an eye for colors). Whatcha waiting for? Go get it HERE.
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