Game review: Slingshot Cowboy Plus - iPhone / iPod Touch (From Wimbledon Guardian)

Game review: Slingshot Cowboy Plus - iPhone / iPod Touch

1:10pm Monday 14th December 2009

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About 10 years ago I remember playing a game on the internet called Fling the Cow.

While dubious on the animal welfare front, it was still a great little game.

The aim was to use a catapult to, well, fling a cow into the air, judging trajectory and distance in order to land the creature on a target to score points.

A mixture of simplicity and addictiveness kept me playing.

Clearly taking some inspiration from that classic web game, Slingshot Cowboy again casts cattle as the stars of the show.

This time though instead of flinging them the aim is to fling things at them, namely stones.

Now before the animal rights brigade get on their high horses, it must be pointed out that slinging rocks at the cows is for their own good.

You see, the herd has escaped and the only way to get them back under control is with a slingshot, apparently.

The concept of the game is very simple.

Cows amble across the screen and it’s your task to knock them over with your trusty yet magical slingshot (it’s equipped with a laser to help aiming).

Three hits then a cow is down.

Aiming the slingshot involves using the iPhone/iPod tilt controls. Tilt left or right to direct your stone, then tilt back or forward to alter its angle of flight.

Finally with your finger drag the rubber band of your slingshot back and release to fire. Pulling further back increases power.

During play gophers will pop out of the ground briefly. Hit one of these before it disappears to activate special power-ups. These include a slo-mo feature and also grenades which can take out multiple cows at once.

There are also bonus rounds featuring stampeding bulls which must be hit before they trample you.

The game has two main modes of play – classic and timed race.

In classic you need to amass a required number of points within the time limit to move on to the next level.

In timed race there is no time limit and no failing. The aim is to accumulate enough points to pass each level in the fastest time possible.

A practice mode lets you test your slingshot skills before taking on the main game. I would suggest spending some time in this mode. While the controls work well enough, they do take some getting used to. Also, achieving consistently accurate aiming definitely takes some practice.

The game takes place across seven levels in different locations including desert, arctic and tropics. You start off in a nice wide open field but obstacles such as trees and cacti get in the way in later levels.

Graphics in Slingshot Cowboy are very cute and colourful, in keeping with the whimsical feel of the game overall.

Slingshot Cowboy, from the brilliantly named Digital Prunes, is a cartoon cow tipping game which has the likeability factor.

I’d say it’s slightly above the usual standard of novelty games and makes a fun distraction when you have a couple of minutes to spare. Yee-haw!

Verdict: 6 out of 10 – Not much to it really. It’s slinging stones at unsuspecting cows across seven levels. But it’s a nice little casual game – basic in concept and fun to play.

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