Game Reviews

Clumsy Bob

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| Clumsy Bob
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Clumsy Bob
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| Clumsy Bob

"Imagine Doodle Jump but, like, sideways!"

That’s how I imagine the sales pitch went for Clumsy Bob, in which case developer Flygames can be very proud - that’s exactly how it’s turned out.

It's a colourful and fun perpetual climber knocked on its side. Job done.

Except there’s the small matter of the dozens upon dozens of like-minded games, each with similarly miniscule tweaks to the formula, that have flooded iPhone and iPod touch.

A gamer never forgets

Surely we’ve reached saturation point with this kind of thing now. Still, credit where credit’s due: Clumsy Bob is a well-constructed example of the genre.

The accelerometer controls, which allow you to fine-tune Bob’s (a surprisingly light-footed elephant) position as he bounds from cloud to cloud, are well calibrated. There’s little of the vagueness or unpredictability that plague lesser attempts, and the game includes a helpful arrow when Bob pings off the screen entirely.

There's a variety of special clouds from the previously hinted spring cloud to the angry, disappearing red cloud. You’ll be unsurprised to learn that there are power-ups, too, with rockets and umbrellas extending your air time.

Seen about everything, when I see an elephant fly

Continuing this theme of all-round competence, Bob’s world is well realised, with a cute and colourful art style and a jaunty background tune.

As you’d expect, there’s social gaming network compatibility (Crystal) to afford those all-important high-score comparisons. The further you get in the game, the further you climb on the online comparison chart.

The trouble is, when any genre becomes as densely populated as the perpetual climber has done on the App Store, we naturally start to demand more than mere competence. We need something special – something new – to make us sit up and take notice.

Clumsy Bob, in contrast to its name and protagonist, moves slickly through the gears without once threatening to grab your attention.

Clumsy Bob

There’s little inherently wrong with Clumsy Bob and its sideways take on Doodle Jump but for the fact we’ve seen so many similar games before
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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.