iTunes’ recent iPhone “Game of the Week” To-Fu 2 is not Meat Boy. This puzzling protein replacement packs in 100 levels of touchscreen platforming that’s sometimes satisfying, sometimes bland.
To-Fu 2 from developer Hot Gen gives players control of the soy-based To-Fu, a stretchy hunk of protein that leaps from wall to wall in pursuit of gathering chi, blue orbs that serve as the collectible for this simple, level-based puzzle game. Simply pull To-Fu, stretch him in the direction you want him to launch, and launch with great vengeance he will. Collect chi, reach the glowing fortune cookie in the fewest number of moves and move on to the next level.
To-Fu must avoid the typical video game dangers — spikes, laser beams, spinning blades — en route to his destination. He can ricochet off metal surfaces, slide down glass and adhere himself comfortably to wooden platforms. Controlling To-Fu is an exercise in carefully aiming this block of soy at his target, or calculating his flight path by banking him from surface to surface.
This is where To-Fu 2 suffers slightly. Actually seeing To-Fu’s destination is not always possible, depending on the size and layout of each level. Worse, it’s sometimes difficult to see To-Fu at all when angling his trajectory with a pull and hold of the touchscreen. The problem of fingers obscuring the touchscreen is sometimes at its worst in To-Fu 2.
Despite the difficulty of precisely controlling To-Fu on an iPhone — which may be less of an issue when playing this universal app on an iPad — there’s some very clever level design in To-Fu 2. It’s all wrapped in an attractive package, providing a respectable amount of game into this $0.99 app.
To-Fu 2 certainly has its issues, but this puzzle-platformer can still be a hell of a lot of fun. There’s great variety, some very well-design puzzles to overcome and the promise of replayability as players attempt to maximise scores and minimize moves. But there’s definitely room for improvement in To-Fu 3.
To-Fu 2 [iTunes]
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