Wave Trip Review

One of the many reasons The Beach Boys' seminal Pet Sounds is my favorite album is that each of the tracks continue to unravel themselves in unexpected ways. Although Wave Trip doesn't hold the profundity of Brian Wilson's vision, it gives gamers an invigorating aural journey through similar but different soundscapes.

In Wave Trip, you play a female astronaut who travels through different worlds to save your friends. By flying through orange coins you are saving your buddies, and the blue coins are used to increase your score. Navigating the ship, which moves exactly like an ocean wave, requires tapping a finger on the lower right side of your device, with the lower left hand side used for shields. If you don't use the shields at the precise moment, the ship will run through the barriers, and hinder your overall score. The game's goal is pretty straightforward -- collect as many orange and blue coins as you can and earn the highest score possible.

The music within each level is slightly altered with every coin you accrue, so even if you've completed the level a dozen times before, the sounds won't be the same. Wave Trip's diversity extends beyond its audio to the actual game play, as there are 20 levels that are already playable, and they are all spread out through four types of environments (the Plains, Triangulon, Caverns, and Inner Crust).

Credit also goes to the developer's decision to give each level absolutely standout monikers. Want to check out the level five cavern? It's called the Midnight Cavities of Hades. What about flying through level four in Triangulon, also known as Out of the Squeeze of Zetunaut!

The ultimate Wave Trip feature is the ability to build your own level and share it with the world. On the top of your device is a bar that features all the icons you need to develop your world, and with just a couple of taps you are in creation mode. As with basically everything in the game, the music changes along with every icon you place on the screen. Even if you're not the most intricate builder, you can use this mode to develop a wonderful journey into sound.

For the lazier gamers like myself, I can play levels that have already been created by other Wave Trip enthusiasts, so whether you're building or just entering someone else's domain, there is a myriad of worlds to explore.

Developers Lucky Frame accurately describe Wave Trip as a "musical adventure," and thankfully the music is, at turns, hypnotic, rhythmic, and soothing. Whether it's the uncomplicated yet effective visuals, the first rate sound design, or the entertaining game play, Wave Trip succeeds in all areas. I've only begun to scratch the surface of the game's ultimate potential, and I wouldn't be surprised if, even a year from now, I'll be flying through the Gentian Sanctums of Love.

App Store Link: Wave Trip for iPhone & iPad | By Lucky Frame | Price: $1.99 | Version: 1.3 | 18.3 MB | Rating 4+