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Release Date: Released to App Store on May 8, 2013
Developers: Happy Sprites
Publishers: Happy Sprites
Platforms: iOS
Genre: Action General
Players: 1

Boom! is a game developed by Happy Sprites, made solely for iOS. It was released on the app store on May 8, 2013. Boom! is a challenging, but fun game that you can spend countless amounts of time versing your friends, competing through the world cup or trying to save Boom's beloved Pinky in singleplayer.

The story begins with Boom's friend Pinky being captured by the evil wizard Belzaar. Boom must now race through the 81 levels in the game on his motorised wheel to save his friend. As Boom passes each level, a more challenging one is waiting around the corner, along with more challenging stages. Each time Boom becomes closer to freeing Pinky, the evil wizard Belzaar seems to be one step ahead of him, taking Pinky just out of Booms grasps and placing her into a new level, or stage.

To complete a level, you must ride your motorised wheel to the cage containing Pinky and touch it. Through the various levels, you are presented with unique challenges and difficulties. Each testing your skills of riding his motorised wheel through situations with physics present. As you progress through each level, they become more difficult - requiring more thinking. The levels are part of stages, each stage containing roughly 25 levels within them, they also contain 2-3 bonus Super Star Levels. These levels are unlocked by earning stars hidden within the levels of the stages. Currently there are 7 stages, unlocking the next one in line is achieved by completing all levels of the prior stage. Within the levels, you get a rating out of 1,2 or 3 medals. Achieving higher medal levels require you to obtain certain things within the level, usually they are beating a certain time, collecting all or a particular number of coins, sometimes even things that require you to fail the level in order to obtain. Once a medal is obtained, it cannot be lost, even if you don't make it to the finish.

Within each levels, coins are placed along your way, along with hidden bags of coins (Each containing 1000 coins) placed on random levels. To collect these coins or hidden bags, you must simply touch your motorised wheel with the coin or bag. Coins then can be used to purchase new outfits, different seats and new wheels. Most outfit give you a special ability, unique to only that outfit. All these things purchased with coins can be used in multiplayer to show off to your friends.

Multiplayer is where Boom! becomes interesting. Basically multiplayer is broken up into 2 separate parts; one being a 'world cup' and the other being versing your friends. When you verse another in multiplayer, whether it being the world cup or between a friend, you see a faint version of the player you are versing racing through the same level. This is a great way to give an incentive to beat them, as you literally see them racing besides you through the level.

The world cup is a random selected level, with a twist of obtaining something difficult. When you join the world cup, you are placed into a certain group, dependent on the time you join. World Cups generally run for a few hours, constant competing for the top spot is always happening, if you don't keep up, you are quickly placed into the bottom of the group. Being in the top 3 of your world cup group has its advantages - based on your position you are given a generous coin prize, this becomes very useful when aiming for the more expensive outfits, wheels or seats within the shop.

The other part of multiplayer (versing friends), is a very competitive, on numerous occasions you see your friend beating you by such a small amount. You are given a few tries to compete against your friends, after your few goes you are asked to either give up, purchase another few tries with coins or to use real money to purchase more goes. After either selecting to purchase more tries, or giving up, you are presented with a score of how many times you've won and how many times your opponent has won. I found this part of multiplayer the funnest, and had countless hours of versing my friends and seeing who was the better Boom! player.

The graphics within Boom! are not the best, however they are good enough to enjoy the game without worrying about them. The different outfits, wheels and seats are detailed nicely, as well as the characters themselves - even making worried faces when you spike your wheel or loose. The individual levels also has some nice detailing within them, although its quite basic and bland, its still enough to standout. The actual look of the games interface is done very nicely, on the starting page, you see your customised 'Boom' racing through a level based on the stage you were last playing on. If you were playing on the snow stage, for example, you see your personalised 'Boom' zooming through a snowy looking level. This little addition adds a very nice feel to the game, and I've found is a great way to check out your characters new things you've bought for it, without actually starting a level.

The controls on Boom! are incredibly basic. The only controls are arrows facing right and left, the only function of these is pressing the repeatedly to speed up your character in the respected direction. The more you press left or right, you see a set of bars being filled up on the top of the screen each time the left or right is pressed. There is also a pause button, used for various things. Although the controls are extremely basic, they are very simple and easy to learn, as well as master.

Gameplay: 8/10
Graphics: 9/10
Controls: 7/10
Overall: 8/10