Impy Review

IQ Soup has released their second iOS title, Impy, for the gamer on the go. Impy wants to finally leave the nest and explore the lowest depths of the Earth's core. You must navigate Impy around volcanic fireballs and liquid hot magma (Dr. Evil pose!). Described as the "ultimate toilet game", is Impy the best endless runner to play while you have the runs?

Impy is fast-paced and meant to be played in short increments. While it certainly does not reinvent the wheel, it still has enough charm to warrant your attention. Factor in that this iOS title is free for the first week of its release and there are not any really big reasons as to why you should not try out Impy.

Impy the imp hatchling wants to explore the underworld, and it is up to you to keep him safe. You must constantly steer him out of harms way and collect as much gold and as many sweets as you can in the process. Anticipate Bowser-esque fireballs, shifting walls of fire and vegetables to avoid while you fly through the land of the imps. Impy's metabolism optimizes sweets, so collecting donuts, cupcakes, cookies and milkshakes during Impy's adventure will lead to score multipliers. Just as long as you don't accidentally eat a broccoli or tomato, your score multiplier will continuously raise and your score will skyrocket.

Impy's controls are extremely simple. You must slide your finger along the left side of the screen in order to help Impy navigate his subterranean domain. Impy is quick and responsive, which is a necessity considering how dangerous the underworld can be, with its random, floating vegetables and all. Any vegetables you come into contact with will poison Impy and break your score multiplier. Luckily, this poisoning does not kill you and will go away the second you grab a sweet and start to rebuild your multiplier.

Beating the online high scores and accumulating coins are meant to inspire you to keep coming back to play. The coins can be used to buy various outfits and other visual accessories for Impy to wear. There are also quests which give you bonus points and coins if you are able to meet their requirements (for example: getting poisoned by a tomato while wearing the tomato hat). These quests bring about a small level of diversity to Impy, considering that its levels are not randomly generated. After about four or five runs, you will become very accustomed to the paths you must navigate through the Earth's core. I quickly became uninspired to play, knowing that each run is exactly the same and that there are only a dozen or two items you can equip (which are all vanity items and have no semblance to the gameplay).

Impy's aesthetics are simple and very limited. The outfits and accessories you can put on Impy are cute, but there is not anything else to this title's graphics. The levels, fireballs, and fire waves become stagnant very fast, with the vegetables and desserts being the only things on the screen which seem to vary. Despite Impy's visual shortcomings, its soundtrack is spectacular and reminds me of the classic Wizards and Warriors for the Nintendo Entertainment System.

App Store Link: Impy for iPhone & iPad | By IQ Soup LLC | Price: $0.99 | Version: 1.0 | 16.4 MB | Rating: 9+