First it was unsuspecting cattle which were the targets in Slingshot Cowboy.
Now it’s innocent wild animals that are having stones pelted at them in the sequel Slingshot Safari for iPhone and iPod Touch.
In gameplay terms, Slignshot Safari from the brilliantly named developer Digital Prunes is almost a carbon copy of its predecessor.
There are a few differences – such as this follow-up game looking a bit nicer and having slightly tweaked mechanics including animals which attack back – but on the whole very little has changed.
As with Slingshot Cowboy, the concept of this safari-themed second effort remains very simple.
Wild animals move across the screen, often obscured by obstacles such as tress, and it’s your job to try and hit them using your trusty stone launcher.
To aim a shot you place your finger on the slingshot and drag the stone back. You move your finger left or right to aim, and tilt your device forwards or backwards to alter the distance.
There is a handy laser guide to help with aiming.
Release your finger and the stone flies off, hopefully knocking over the animal you were aiming at.
Points are awarded for each animal hit. More points are gained for animals further away.
Bonus animals such as monkeys and crocodiles appear from time to time – hit one of them to activate power-ups such as a score multiplier or a grenade which takes out several animals at once.
Avoid ‘endangered’ animals like the black rhino as hitting these will lose you points.
There is a points target to reach in a limited time on each stage in order to move through the eight levels.
While the controls are very responsive and are relatively easy to use, I’ve found the difficulty of the game to be too severe in the beginning and it’s hard to make much progress.
I’ve found it tricky to get into any sort of rhythm and to consistently hit the animals quick enough to achieve the required points, but other people may take to the game much better than me.
As I did with Slingshot Cowboy, I’ve found this game’s difficulty versus satisfaction balance to be slightly frustrating, but I know with games that one player’s frustration is another’s pleasure so I’m not going to be too critical.
The game looks very nice with vibrant backgrounds and cute cartoony graphics.
While it lacks some of the magic and addictiveness of the best casual games for iPhone and iPod Touch, it can still be a fun little distraction for passing the time when you have a few minutes.
How long it remains on your device depends on how long its novelty value lasts and how well you take to the mechanics.
There isn’t too much to Slingshot Safari – it’s a very shallow game with only one mode of play, but if you like arcade shooting gallery type games then you’ll probably enjoy this.
Verdict: 6 out of 10 – The same score I gave the first game, because I’m effectively judging the same thing, only with a different theme. A nice little casual game that’s fun in small doses but not in the same league for addictiveness as, say, Angry Birds or Doodle Jump.
Watch a trailer for Slingshot Safari:
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