My kids come up with some crazy ideas for new iPad apps. Some are good and some are really not good – for example my 3-year-old thought up an app that uses the iPad to put a straw in her juice box. The child-developed apps often have no rules, self-produced artwork, and random storylines that don’t really add to the game.
When I saw Glorkian Warrior trending in the App Store and read the description, my first thought was “Oh my gosh, my kids actually did it!” The screenshots looked similar to the artwork the preschool teachers send home, and the game play description is described as a “goofy mash-up of Galaga-style shoot-em-up, simple platforming action, and Saturday morning cartoon”.
The game opens with a quick back story about the Glorkian Warrior and his backpack, and how the pair must defeat alien ships. The platformer style keeps the learning curve small and even if you die all progress goes towards unlocking new features. Tap the screen on either side to run right or left and swipe up to jump over pesky alien-robot hybrids.
As you can well imagine, Glorkian Warrior won’t stress your brain with indomitable puzzles or wear out your fingers from too much action. Artwork isn’t cutting-edge or console quality, and you won’t learn any cool educational facts. But you will have a ton of fun playing without IAPs, family-friendly content, and YES.
I love playing this game – it’s not pretentious or over-reaching; it’s a basic arcade-style shooter that appeals to the kid in all of us. Even my armchair game developers kids got in on the action and I was glad to let them because the game was easy to play and simply fun and great for all ages.
Connect to the Game Center to compare your scores with other Glorkian Warriors. A $2.99 download price might seem a little steep but this is money well spent. It’s so refreshing to find a game that doesn’t put on airs and aims to give players a chuckle.