California Gold Rush iPhone App Review.
The makers of Crazy Penguin Catapult and Rollercoaster Rush, the team from Digital Chocolate has hit the jackpot with its newest golden release - California Gold Rush. The game is similar to the iDig It release from InMotion Software, but it will take you back in time, when the gold rush was on. The game had me hooked the very first run, and I've been pushing towards the final levels since. It's freshly addictive and extremely pleasant and entertaining.
You'll be playing the sweet Mandy as you rush to gather as much gold as possible from the depths beneath. Your task is to explore over 30 mines throughout the game, filled with golden surprises, but spiced up with sudden dangers as well. The controls are really simple. A simple tap on a square of dirt and Mandy will dig right through it, although it takes her multiple blows if the terrain is rocky. With each such blow, stamina points are deducted from your total stamina, so you need to dig and recover as much gold as you can before your stamina runs out. Each mine will act as a new level and will have different requirements to complete successfully. Moving through the mines will also take away stamina, but at a much lower rate. Still, choosing the shortest route is to be advised and perhaps digging from the surface down a new way is the better route.
As you recover gold, you can then use it back up in the mine shed to buy dynamite, that will clear out certain rocky patches down bellow in a single blow. Supports to prevent cave-ins can also be bought here. Since the game is more of a strategy than a puzzle game, you have to carefully consider where to dig and save up enough stamina to get back up. Cave-ins are a sure way to prevent you from that, so to stop these incidents from happening, prop-up the blocks that let off dust with the supports bought in the store. And this is what a lot of times, the game is all about: tradeoffs between gold, stamina and supplies to make it to the next mine.
Sure enough, the game requires a certain amount of luck, as digging deep enough can lead you to either great gold deposits or a rocky wall. In some situations, you'll be required to find trapped miners, as well as gold. Lava and ice will also come into play at the higher levels. The diversity in levels is a great prop for the game and it will definitely keep you coming back for more. And although the game is not so much about fighting off enemies, but more about digging and exploring, the occasional bat will disrupt little Mandy from doing her job.
All in all, California Gold Rush is truly a piece of art, a game like nothing you've tasted before, all with stunning visuals that complement a great game style. The game is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch from the App Store at $2.99, while Digital Chocolate also gives you a lite version that is sure to give you a kick and make you buy the real thing.
Screenshots
Developer: Digital Chocolate
Category: Games
Released: October 19th, 2009
Price: $0.99
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[...] California Gold Rush from Digital Chocolate is truly a piece of art, a game like nothing you’ve tasted before, all with stunning visuals that complement a great game style. The game is more of a strategy than a puzzle game, you have to carefully consider where to dig and save up enough stamina to get back up, but it will definitely keep you playing for hours.The game had us hooked the very first run with its freshly addictive and extremely pleasant and entertaining game style. [...]
Whoa, this sounds pretty nice. There aren’t enough games based on real history in the app store.