I like my iPhone games like I like my women: cheap, easy and good-looking.
OK, that last bit is a lie. I'm no Burt Reynolds. Sadly. But that is how I like my iPhone games. All these ill-advised ports of flash games and DS titles are forgetting what the iPhone is. It's a phone. And your phone is a busy device; it's a clock, a notepad, a calculator, a games device and, oh yeah, a phone.
So iPhone games shouldn't be something you play for three hours at a stretch. If you're going to play for an hour, or even half an hour, bring a DS or a PSP with you. An iPhone game should be a quick distraction, something to keep you busy while you wait for someone to make you coffee, or your partner to get back from the toilet.
FixPix is one of those games.
Loved
Gorgeous - eBoy's pixellated artwork looks amazing on the iPhone's screen, its bright colours and sharp lines making for a better "oh wow look at my iPhone game" than most, well, iPhone games.
Simple - The premise of the game couldn't be simpler. You're given 100 pieces of art which have perspective errors. Tilting the iPhone, you have to make sure the image aligns correctly. Those whose correct alignment isn't obvious have subtle tips for you to lock into, and if you're completely stuck, you can skip a level. And that's it! No buttons, no commands, nothing. Just tilting.
Fast - FixPix boots up in four seconds. Another three seconds from the main title screen and you're playing. I got those results on an old 3G, which hasn't been reset in days, meaning no matter which iPhone you have, this is a game built for those thirty-second gaps in life where you don't want to make small-talk and can't afford to have 27 of those seconds blown on load times.
There's the slight niggle over the fact the game is pretty much "done" after around an hour's play, but if you're using it as it's intended - as a snapshot diversion - then it should take you a while to get to that stage. Long enough for the $2 you spent on it to be worth it, at any rate. And when you're done? It's still worth the money as a wallpaper and eBoy art repository.
FixPix was developed for the iPhone by Delicious Toys on June 2. Retails for $2, which is what I paid for it. Completed 100 puzzles, then spent an hour or so deciding which pic I was going to use as my new wallpaper.
Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.