Where's My Water? (Ipad) > Reviews (1)

When it comes to the latest technology regarding iPhones, iPad’s and other such smart phones or tablets, it must be said that I am pretty new to it all, having recently crawled out from under my rock. However with the purchase of my new iPad, I was obviously on the hunt for some decent games and/or apps to waste a bit of time. One such game that I had heard a lot about recently was Where’s My Water, so I decided to buy it and see what all the fuss was about.

Where’s My Water is an app released on iPad as well as on Android operated systems through Disney and costs 69p to download which really is good value, and even if it turned out to be rubbish, I couldn’t really complain at this price and features the first character created by Disney for a mobile game.

The storyline of the game is that Swampy, an alligator who lives in the sewer system just loves to take a bath, however a fellow alligator called Cranky continually tries to divert the flow of fresh water away from him. Your goal through a series of levels is to redirect the flow of water into an inlet pipe to allow him to get the fresh water he needs to be able to get his bath. There are also rubber ducks that are collected by diverting water to them, and there are 3 of these on each level. Certain levels also contain hidden bonus items which if found will unlock bonus levels later on. In my opinion and for those old enough to remember an absolute retro gaming classic, the game is very much based upon the old Acorn game Cataclysm. (OK maybe just me showing my age and geekiness there!)

The levels start off very easily, with the water being diverted by simply moving dirt by using the touch screen interface to direct the water downwards via the gift of gravity. However it quickly becomes more complex as you move through the levels, and there are now 6 separate chapters of 20 levels each, giving the game a fair bit of longevity. Further free updates are promised in the future, which will prolong the gameplay even more. There is also an extra challenge known as Cranky’s challenge, which has a few free levels, but then a once off fee is required to purchase the rest of his campaign. At the end of each level points are awarded based upon how many ducks you have collected, the time taken to complete the level and extra points are scored for getting more than the minimum amount of water to Swampy at the end.

As I said this game does get more difficult with the addition of two other types of liquid. These being a purple poison, which will instantly contaminate any fresh water in comes into contact with, but will destroy the algae, which will bloom on touch with fresh water. A yellowy acid is the third type of liquid, and this will corrode through the dirt and will react with water to destroy both liquids, and explode on contact with the poison to blow holes across the level, which may be beneficial or not, depending on where they occur. The acid will also solidify the algae, which can provide a bridge or a block again depending on what is required on that level.

Both the poison and acid will instantly kill any rubber duck it comes into contact with, and the level is immediately lost if either liquid enters Swampy’s collection inlet and makes it into his bath. (He is understandably annoyed should this happen) There are also various switches that can be activated by guiding a liquid onto them, and also various pipes that can change one type of liquid into another. As you can see, the game does get pretty challenging as it goes on, which also has the effect of making it very addictive, as you just want to try that one more level. The final two innovations in the game are heat and ice, which will turn liquid into steam, and then condense steam back into pure water. Finally we have balloons, which will carry a certain volume of a liquid until it hits a sharp object, gets squeezed or is deliberately popped by the player.

Graphically this game is excellent, making full use of the capabilities of the modern tablet or smart phone. The animation is very well done which is what you would expect from having Disney involved. In addition the simple touch screen interface means that this game is ideally suited to children as well as adults and is a very good puzzle game to improve problem-solving skills in my view. (See games have an educational element too!). Sound quality is also very good with some simple but effective little musical tunes and sound effects such as the ducks quacking when they are collected provide a nice little bonus touch.

So to sum Where’s My Water from Disney I can safely say that I now see what all the fuss was about. This really is such a simple concept for a game, yet proves how even the most basic of ideas can be turned into really addictive little games with a good team behind them. This really does benefit from all of Disney’s experience in the field of animation, as they know what works. The game also has a nice learning curve, starting off very easy, with each new feature being introduced slowly with a nice easy level to get you in the groove. I touched on the bonus levels earlier and I will leave these as a surprise for the player, but they do provide an extra bit of amusement. I would say to any fan of little puzzle games to go out and buy this now. The iPad is the perfect platform for it, as it provides a big enough screen to easily dig out the dirt that you want. To all other gaming fans I would say that this really is one of the better games that I have played on any platform in the last few years, and at 69 pence, you can’t really go wrong can you?

Thanks for reading this review and it may also appear on Dooyoo under my same username.