Giant boulder of death

The Bad

I mentioned above that, between each game, there is a series of screens that you must go through before getting back to the play window. This is very annoying. First, you see the game’s high score and your current goals, then have to skip past the request to connect to Facebook every single time, then, you go back to the home screen where you are reminded to upgrade your boulder before playing again, and finally you are given the chance to spend two gems in order to spin for boosts. No matter how short your run is, the same set of screens appear. Sometimes, I wanted to stop playing just because I was sick of being asked to connect to Facebook.

Design

The game is designed to look like papercraft. All characters are blocky, but not pixelated. Instead, they have smooth features and high-quality graphics. Each one of the funny little characters look like they were painstakingly folded together by a very bored IT support person.

The default controls are tilt-based. Players can also tap the screen to make the boulder jump. You can switch between touch movement and virtual joystick controls, as well. This is a nice option since I personally hate tilt games on the iPad.

Instead of just a catchy tune playing in the background, players are lulled by the relaxing sounds of cows, maids, and yodelers getting crushed to bits by the massive rolling rock.

Between each game, you are subjected to a plethora of screens that will remind you of your current goals, tell you your high score, ask you to connect to Facebook, and try to convince you to buy a spin on the bonus wheel for more stuff.

As you barrel down the mountainside, you will collect coins that can be used to upgrade your boulder, add bonus items to pick up, and make your path of destruction a little bit more fun.

Gameplay

Players control a giant boulder (as the name suggests) as it rolls down a mountainside, crashing into everything in its path. Tilt your device left or right to steer the monolith and tap the screen to make it jump. The goal is to earn as many points as possible while traveling as far a possible.

Points are earned for everything you hit. Lightweight, stationary objects like trees, are worth very little. However, frightened milkmaids and brave Mounties are worth a lot. The best way to earn the most coins is to focus on killing the townsfolk.

As your boulder rolls downhill, you will collect points in your invincibility bar. When the bar is full, the boulder turns into a spiked, armored, death machine. Nothing can stop the “Invinciboulder.” Nothing, except time. Once the effect is triggered, your meter will run down. If you are right in the middle of destroying a mine when you lose the power, it will kill you.

The further you travel down the mountainside, the more difficult the terrain becomes. There are more spikey walls and bottomless caverns to avoid. Plus, mines will come rolling into your path out of nowhere and you can’t run them over without the Invinciboulder.

After you’ve collected enough coins, you can upgrade your boulder’s special abilities. Increase the height of your jump, improve your steering abilities, and make the Invinciboulder last longer. You can also unlock bonus items, like a coin magnet, increased frequency of gems, and a chance that those mines will blow themselves up.

Other than the fun of destroying a town full of people, the game features more than 60 goals. These are not simple achievements. You’ll be tasked with earning high point scores in a single run, traveling further than ever before, and collecting items that are about as rare as a blue diamond.

Some of these goals seem nearly impossible without upgrading your boulder or unlocking bonus items. Unfortunately, coins are not exactly flowing from the mountaintop. It takes a long time to earn enough to upgrade a feature. Then, the cost to upgrade a second time increases significantly. So, it may only cost 250 coins to upgrade the first time, but it will cost 700 to upgrade the third time. Of course, you could buy coins with an in-app purchase, but most people want their free games to stay free no matter what.

Giant Boulder of Death Review

By , on September 16, 2013
Last modified 9 years, 3 months ago

• Publisher:
• Genre: Action
• Released: 5 Sep, 2013
• Size: 73.3 MB
• Price: FREE!

VERDICT

Adult Swim is known for creating good games based on funny concepts. Giant Boulder of Death would join those ranks were it not for its restrictive freemium structure.

• Full Review
• App Store Info

You might ask, “What motivation for destruction could a giant boulder possibly have to go on a gravity-powered killing spree?» That’s a fair question, one that Adult Swim’s Giant Boulder of Death attempts to answer. You see, a pompous general has turned your loved one into a statue of himself. So, in a fit of rage, our rocky hero decide to roll down a hill crushing everything in his path.

The game follows the endless-runner formula of play, upgrade, and then play some more. Tilting your iPhone or iPad will steer the boulder. You gain points for everything you hit that isn’t a military installation. You see, for a huge lump of rock you’re surprisingly fragile. Slamming into a spiked wall or homing mine will end your descent.

Instead of completing the usual trio of missions, you only tackle one goal at a time. Completing it will unlock more buildings and creatures to smoosh, which will deliver bigger bonuses. There’s also a multiplier bar which increases each time you hit certain thresholds. Once filled, your boulder becomes the Invinciball, a rolling dervish of unstoppable destruction.

Of course, the Invinciball status wears out rather quickly. And, since there is no window of adjustment when you turn back into a boulder, often you’ll be gleefully rolling over everything in your path when you return to your native form — usually directly infront of a spiked wall.

As the game is free, the progression feels a little slow, presumably in an effort to encourage you to spend real money on upgrades. As a result, the need to repeat levels to grind out currency does impact your enjoyment. The yodelling that accompanies the game over screen and Invinciball state also loses its charm due after the 30th death.

The quirkiness we’ve come to expect from Adult Swim is present here, but this idea doesn’t feel as fleshed out or well-considered as Monsters Ate My Condo or Robot Unicorn Attack. It’s fun for a little while, and costs nothing to give it a try. But unlike the mighty boulder that sits perched upon a hill, this game probably won’t be able to whether the ages intact.

Description

When a boulder holds a grudge, no one survives. Bowl your way down the mountain and destroy everything in your path. Crush villages, cars, yetis, golden cows, crush everything!  From the creators of Robot Unicorn Attack 2 and Monsters Ate My Condo!
Check out the AMAZING new premium Heavy Metal theme!
• Meet our biggest, baddest avatar yet — Metal Boulder!
• Screamalicious new Heavy Yodel music!
• SUMMON your avatar of choice: The Original Boulder, Happy Holiboulder, Jack O’Boulder or Ms. Boulder
• STEAM through new goal trees specific to each boulder
• ANNIHILATE brand new objects in each theme
• CONQUER Game Center Achievements and Leaderboards!
• CRUSH legions of outrageous mortals, beasts and buildings
• SMASH through over 250 nail-biting goals to unlock over 100 destructible objects
• OBLITERATE your high score with boosts and upgrades
• DOMINATE your friends via Facebook. Connect and SMASH through their avatars!
WEAR your finest lederhosen with renewed pride and REVEL in the century’s most yodel-tastic (and FREE) gaming sensation!
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— Bug Fixes and Optimizations

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