Game Reviews

Shark Dash

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| Shark Dash
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Shark Dash
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| Shark Dash

Much like Cut the Rope and the ever-popular Angry Birds, Gameloft's Shark Dash is a physics-based puzzle game that somehow manages to be both cute and sophisticated.

The game's story is told through a series of stills, documenting the tragic kidnapping of Sharkee's girlfriend by a ragtag band of mean rubber duckies.

This leaves Sharkee no choice but to get revenge and save his beloved by eating every rubber duck he comes across.

Don't get ducked

You control Sharkee by pulling his tail back and letting go, rubber band-style. By hitting various targets and obstacles you'll reach the rubber ducks needed to complete the level.

There's a variety of different objects in the tub, all with their own unique properties, so you have to learn how to manipulate your surroundings to hit otherwise unreachable ducks.

For example, you can push a bar of soap aside to open up a larger area of the tub, while knocking a stick of bath salts into the water makes them dissolve.

Some levels are constructed like Heath Robinson machines, with a single move setting off an intricate chain reaction that eventually leads to every duck filing cheerfully into Sharkee's gaping mouth.

As you move through the game you'll not only unlock more objects in the tub but also new sharks, with some levels even featuring multiple sharks simultaneously.

This adds an extra element of strategy as you'll have to figure out how to use both of your sharks effectively without letting them hinder one another.

Reach for the stars

As you may have predicted, Shark Dash uses the tried-and-tested three-star system, with various requirements in place to unlock each star. You earn coins depending on how well you do, and you use these to unlock further worlds - or you can buy in-game coins with real money if you prefer.

It's worth noting that Shark Dash doesn't come with all of its worlds when you first download it. Once you complete the first world, the second starts downloading - if you don't have access to wi-fi or a decent internet connection at that point you'll have nothing to do but follow accept the game's invitation to "play the entire first world in the meantime".

Shark Dash is a fun variation on the casual physics-based genre that's thrived on smartphones, but don't be fooled but it's cutesy aesthetic - like all the best casual physics-puzzlers, it's far more sophisticated and challenging that it first appears.

iPhone version reviewed.

Shark Dash

What Shark Dash may lack in originality, it makes up for with a of bathtub filled with cutesy physics-based fun
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