Angel Poring Review (iOS)

Mobile game titles are becoming increasingly difficult to define as of late. The ‘pick up and play’ ethos is at the forefront of a lot of game developer’s minds, where the ability to hold a player’s attention without a plotline has to be strong. This ethos is none more apparent in the oddly-named puzzler, Angel Poring.

Now there’s a title that gives very little away.

If you’ve ever played popular PC MMO Ragnarok Online, you will recognise these cute and colourful little balls almost immediately. Well, now these ‘Porings’ have their very own puzzler. If you have never played Ragnarok Online… it doesn’t really matter as the similarities between the two abruptly end there.

Injecting new life into the ‘three-in-a-row’ genre of puzzlers, the aim is to simply match up three (or more) of the same coloured Porings to create a chain. This then can be exploded by tapping the screen, creating chain combos and racking up a high score. On the top left of the screen is the amount of Porings left to fall, with the aim being to clear all of them out before the timer runs out.

This can be done in a variety of different ways. You can tap on the Porings to connect them up or you can drag them into each other to create a Mega Poring, leading to an even higher score when popped. As you pop more and more the three colour gauges, which correspond to the colours of the Porings, fills up. When it’s full, a simple tap causes the same colour Porings to explode; creating spaces for more to fall into. The game ends if the time runs out before all the little guys are clear or if they back up too much and none can be released, similar to Tetris.

There’s a two player game mode where you can battle those online who have the game, giving it longevity and there’s a fair few levels there to contend with. It’s a shame they didn’t include more game modes to keep us coming back for more exploding cuteness, though.

The physics engine in Angel Poring works well here as exploded Porings fly about all over the place, connecting with other on like for like colours as they go.

You can also use your smartphone’s accelerometer to tilt the game one way or the other to get the colour combinations you need. It’s a nice touch and brought not only a new challenge but an even bigger smile to my face. As did all the pretty colours.

Here is a game you can just dip into while you’re waiting for the bus, on the loo or just to pass a few minutes. That’s the beauty of a large chunk of the mobile gaming market; it’s built upon games that you don’t need to have a degree in Psychology to understand. It’s just about keeping your attention and maintaining that fun factor for as long as possible.

Angel Poring’s got that in spades.

Angel Poring is out now for iOS 3.0 or later.