Greedy Dwarf Review

Dwarves. They sure are greedy little bastards aren’t they? Finally, Crescent Moon Games has created a game that captures the full depth of the greediness Dwarves are capable of in the appropriately named Greedy Dwarf. Hi, ho, hi, ho, he wants some freaking gold! But, is it worth spending your hard-earned gold on?

In Greedy Dwarf, you play as -- surprise -- a dwarf with a penchant for gold. Jump in your mine cart and roll through underground tunnels filled with tons of treasure, and the occasional rocket power-up. Don't think this is a mere joy ride, however, as there's danger lurking everywhere in these twisty, turny tunnels. A sea of lava pulses between the cracks of the tunnel, forming the kind of pools you'd only ever take a dip in once. Greedy Dwarf's tunnels are detailed with small, but varied pathways through the heat and smoke.

The 3D graphics are crisp and adorable, making you really feel like you’re spiraling through a lava-filled tunnel. There are 32 levels of mine-carting madness, and while the setting looks the exact same, the different layouts help vary it up a bit. You can send your dwarf and mine cart up on the walls, or even ceiling, to grab gold and avoid the lava.

Periodically, platforms which reverse the gravity are peppered into the levels, and when the player passes over one, it will glue them to the ceiling instead of the floor. Plus, there are also the aforementioned rocket power-ups, which rapidly vault the player forward, so you have to be really quick with the controls in order not to fall into a pit of lava. Additions like these add some nice variety to the game, though it would have been even nicer if there were more of them. As it is now, it’s just gold and rockets that you collect to determine your score.

Players can choose between traditional iOS swipe controls and the faux-buttons we've come to see in most action-oriented iOS games. Either control scheme works well, though in our time playing Greedy Dwarf, we found the faux-buttons to be slightly more accurate than the swiping.

In its current state, Greedy Dwarf is a fun game which will leave players hoping for future updates. The sharp sound design and short levels are great for quick, focused bursts of gaming, and the twisting gameplay helps set it apart from other, similar titles.

But all in all, there's little here to keep players going for an extended amount of time. There aren't not any kind of different gameplay modes; just the one. If you want a deep title with tons of content, Greedy Dwarf isn't that game (yet), but if you're looking for a quickie, this would be a good choice. Now’s the perfect time to check it out because it’s 50% off during the launch period.

App Store Link: Greedy Dwarf for iPhone & iPad | By Crescent Moon Games | Price: $0.99 | Version: 1.0 | 39.0 MB | Rating 4+