APP OF THE DAY: Tiny Wings review (iPhone)

One thing that the iPhone has done for casual gaming is make it acceptable for your more traditional console gamer to appreciate the more whimsical title.

If you'd asked a "hardcore gamer" a couple of years back whether they'd be seen dead playing a game with birds and pigs in it (unless you were referring to GTA title) then the answer would most likely have been "no".

Now everyone seems to be in on the action, and although this particular app of the day is pretty soft and fluffy it's still brilliant and incredibly addictive.

Tiny Wings


Yes it's Tiny Wings, and there's a good reason it's called that as you control a rather plump bird who's a bit short in the wing department and needs the help of the local terrain in order to help him/her fly.

This terrain almost exclusively consists of hills of varying degrees and using the one touch control to fold your wings, and therefore gain spedd on the downhill sections, you can hopefully launch yourself into the air on the uphill section; the higher you fly the faster you go and the more points you get.

There's a nice touch in the fact you are continually being chased by the night, so it's bit of a race against time; once darkness falls it's game over. Island graphics change daily and each island gets it's own look.

More points can be had by collecting tokens along the way, and there's lots of nice achievements to be had (27 in total) if you like your OpenFeint action, as well as nest upgrades.

The gameplay is pretty similar to past classics like Canabalt and Robot Unicorn attack, although it's more forgiving as the scroll rate is determined by your speed and you won't be immediately penalised if you slow down, although it will make for a shorter game.

There's some nice touches, and one we particularly like is the ready window which pops up; rather than hurling you straight back into the action if your gameplay has been interrupted for say, a low battery warning.

Altogether a classy little title, and well worth the 59p download.