By Brad Russell
There have been more than a few I Spy games to hit the iPad market, and
there will certainly be many more to come at least 20,000 of those will come
from G5 Entertainment to be sure. Romance of Rome is the latest attempt to
make an app that is more than just loosely-tied-together I Spy puzzles.
The story is presented in the usual comic-book style, with cardboard cut-out
chat scenes before most levels. The story is a decent, heart-warming attempt at
the rags-to-riches tale, but nothing you haven't seen in any Disney movie of
course you could have the setting anywhere in antiquity and there would be
minimal differences. There is a status bar (as in status in society), but it
doesn't really stand for much as far as progression; same goes for the four
items you must buy at the end of each chapter, a nice touch but completely
unnecessary. Story and progression complement each other as well as they can,
but it is all about finding stuff. Where this game does stand out is that almost
each level will have one or two objects that are nearly impossible to spot
unless you are not looking for them. Call it deceptive or cheap, but some
objects will be shown to you in one color and as whole, but in the field the
objects may be hidden in shadow or only very partially visible. And then some of
the object placements are so clever that you have to tip your hat and press the
hint button. There are achievements if that is something that matters to
you, and it probably does.
The levels are spread out in sets of four or more where you have the option
to play in any order you wish, but the truth is you have to play all of them and
there is nothing gained in what order you choose. The binding element is that
you will search for key objects that are used to solve puzzles in other levels;
you'll find a key in the mill and use it to open a chest at the forum and so on
and so forth. Having to level-hop keeps the game fresh, but over time this
aspect is revealed as being filler because you just scroll down or up the levels
until you can complete the chapter. The real challenge may be in finding the
hidden coins, which there are five in each area but you have to find them on
your own. This is how the rest of the game is depreciated, by the fact that you
have to run across everything in a linear fashion, with the unimportant coins
being the only mystery and true challenge you cannot hint your way around. Of
course finding the coins does not grant you any advantage other than
achievements.
The music and voice-over work are well done, but nothing worth having to stop
and listen perhaps with a better story you wouldn't feel the urge to skip most
of the dialogue. There isn't much to justify the HD tag as the game isn't vibrant, but it does not offend the eye either. The art style is 60s
cartoonish, where almost everyone looks like a toddler but not in the anime way.
If you look closely enough you may see bits and pieces of visual effects in the
otherwise stagnant junk heaps, but this occurs not enough.
Romance of Rome has a lot going for it: a story that is serviceable,
challenging I Spy puzzles, and adds a bunch of distractions that hold your
attention between levels. As a whole this game does not break any new ground in
the I Spy genre, but the effort is being made. Eventually they have to get it
right maybe.
Final Rating: 83%
