Every month or so, I get all excited about a new iPhone app and really get hooked on it. Remember I said that I tend to over express what I like? Well, here I'll do that with said iPhone Apps. This month: Zen Bound™.
Zen Bound™ is a pretty unique game. You could be tempted to say it is a Puzzle game, but it's not really about solving puzzles. It is more of a, well, Zen game. With beautiful graphics and innovative gameplay (which
finally makes good use of the iPhone's capabilities), you twist and turn wooden figures to wrap (or better said,
bound) them with a rope. As the rope touches the figure, it paints the area it is wrapping. The object of the game is to wrap the figures trying to cover as much area as possible before the rope runs out. Yet it is not about doing it quickly. The only metric is the percentage covered, so you can take your time, backtrack, and make tiny adjustments without any pressure.
Another great quality of this game it that it features an amazing soundtrack. The music blends beautifully with the whole mood of the game, and the creators are so proud of it, that they let their customers download all 11 tracks for free ("Secret Exit" link in the main menu of the game).
In short, Zen Bound™ is a great game with amazing attention to detail and quality, and one of the first to really make good use of the accelerometer and touch screen. It's not a simple port from another console. It was designed for the iPhone. In any other device or console, it simply wouldn't work.
- Graphics: Beautiful lighting effects and renders... 9/10
- Sound: Appropriate sound effects and amazing music... 10/10
- Gameplay: Incredible rope physics with intuitive controls... 9/10
- Originality: Unique concept born for the iPhone... 10/10
- Overall score: 95
Zen Bound™ site
iTunes store
