Disney might have come to the iOS gaming party a trifle late but is sure making up for lost time. Where’s My Water? features an entirely new Disney character, Swampy the alligator.
The exclusive gaming character is part of a new Disney strategy to develop new characters rather rely on its vast array of established ones. Only time will tell whether it will work. But we must admit that we certainly had a blast with Swampy, once we had downloaded all 19.8 MB of the game and shelled out the $0.99 it cost. Where’s My Water? Is all about getting water to perhaps the only alligator with a sense of hygiene. Even, as his other ‘gator friends stomp around and raise hell, all Swampy wants are to be left in peace in his bathtub and his beloved rubber duck. Of course, there’s a catch – the water supply to afore-mentioned tub is obstructed, and this is where you come in. With your mighty finger, you need to clear the obstacles to ensure the water reaches Swampy so that he can have his bath in peace.
Yes, in short, this is, just like the much-discussed and acclaimed Sprinkle, pretty much a water physics game. You have to ponder which obstacles to move to ensure that the water flows to Swampy. Standing in your way are water sucking plants which simply soak up all the water, filthy water which needs to be drained out (it pollutes the clean one and our Swampy would not dream of having his bubble bath in anything less than sparkling clean aqua), and of course, all sorts of obstacles and locks that cannot be battered down by a mere finger and need to be got around with some cunning and strategic destruction -the dirty water kills off the plants so you can lead it to them, and so on. And if you can route the pure water through ducks, you get a performance bonus. You also get freebies strewn around in your path of destruction, such as loofahs, which will give Swampy a more wholesome bathing experience. There are dozens of levels in the game and more have been promised.
All of which can be immensely challenging and satisfying, especially given the “cute” factor that Swampy provides – it can be quite heartbreaking to see the Alligator howl and burst into tears when he does not get water to bathe in. Although the game does have its eccentricities (some of the levels involve moving water across literally two or three screens, involving lots of scrolling up and down), I think I have discovered another time waster on both my iPad and iPhone. Angry Birds, take a break. Get someone else to cut the rope, Om Nom. I have got an alligator to bathe. And Swampy likes his water clean, I will have ye know.
Get it from: iTunes App Store
Price: $0.99
