Boonce
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| Boonce

I'm all for pithy game titles, and Boonce has to be one of the pithiest around.

Not only does it tell you that bouncing plays an integral part in the game, but it also nails with onomatopeic clarity the sound of a bouncy ball rebounding off a wall in a big empty room.

In fact, that pretty much sums up what this quietly brilliant Windows Phone indie game is all about.

Right on target

The goal is to take out various targets with your ball cannon, touching the screen and dragging to set the power and direction. Gravity has a marked effect on these balls, so you have to take that into account when aiming, as in something like Angry Birds - except there's no aiming reticule here.

As well as physics challenges, there are obstacles placed in your way. You'll usually have to negotiate a level's particular layout by banking balls off multiple surfaces.

Then there are the target types - some only work when you hit them directly, while others can be struck only after the ball has hit a wall.

Booncing some ideas off you

Before you know it, Boonce is jamming multiple target types and assorted special items (teleporters, poisonous objects, gravity fields) into some pretty twisted levels, forcing you to be precise - and to hit the 'restart' command repeatedly.

If such trial-and-error gameplay irritates you, then Boonce may not be the ideal game for you, as it can be quite maddening.

The presentation too is functional at best - although we're rather fond of its clean lines and stripped-back philosophy.

Ultimately, Boonce is one of the freshest and most challenging games available on the Windows Phone Marketplace. And at the new price of 79p, it's also a bit of a bargain.

Boonce

Immediate yet challenging and extremely good value, Boonce is one of the freshest games available on the Windows Phone Marketplace
Score
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.