Game Review: Granny Smith

THE PROS

+ Simple yet challenging gameplay mechanics, bringing back the old school
+ Fantastic visuals and sound
+ Gameplay never feels the same with each level run

THE CONS

+ $1.00 price tag feels like cheating the developer for such a brilliant game

We Australians have all heard of the legendary Granny Smith apple, with its bright green skin and sweet but sour taste that packs a punch in every bite. But who knew that the cultivator of these green beauties is also a thief chasing, death defying stunt woman with her own video game?

From Mediocre Games comes this wacky side scrolling Android exclusive, where players assume the role of Granny Smith, in the effort to stop bandits on roller skates from stealing her precious and delicious apples.

Armed with her cane, super-granny cloak and rollerskates, Granny Smith sets out to snatch the apples in each level before the thief does, whilst also making a bit of gold coin profit along the way, which can be used to purchase additional characters and booster items in-game.

The controls are really simple, and yet they allow for enough complex gameplay to make the game fun and enjoyable. There are two buttons on either side of your touchscreen, represented by icons in the shape of a cane and an arrow.

The cane button allows Granny to hook on to long corded surfaces such as power lines to slide along while while the arrow allows Granny to jump. Using these two controls, you’ll find yourself dodging ground objects and gliding along power lines at high speeds, performing frontward flips and extreme tricks that only extreme skaters could.

However, the controls would be nothing without the intense and challenging level design, with each carefully crafted level keeping you on your toes as you speed over large drops, through brick walls and the like. One of the great things about the level design is the physics of the different structure materials. Each type of material emulates the damage behaviour of that material type, so if you’re going through a wooden wall — you’ll see splinters and planks fly everywhere, and if you’re going through a brick wall, then you’ll see bricks break with mortar dust clouds.

The visual and audio presentation is superb, with a bright and delightful color palette coupled with relaxing yet catchy background tunes that resembles something close to 1940’s jazz music. The quality of the sound effects is amazing, with each sound being as crispy clear as the next. For the record, I’ve been playing this on my Samsung Galaxy S II, so the sound quality may vary depending on the handset.

Granny Smith contains approximately 36 levels across three differently themed worlds, with more content on the way. Upon the initial purchase of the game, you’ll have access to the three available zones that take place in a suburban/farm themed area, a metropolitan themed area complete with a zoo, and an industrial ship dock area.

The last thing I want to talk about is the Vintage Replay feature (seen above), which replays your level attempt with an old sepia toned filter and film grain lines. Throughout the replay, you will see a number of different camera angles and effects being used that you don’t see whilst playing. If you’re one of those people who like to create Let’s Play videos, then this feature will be of great benefit to you.

Overall, Granny Smith brings good old fashioned side scrolling fun to Android devices, perfect for if you’re sitting in a doctors surgery or travelling to work in the morning and have a gaming itch to scratch.

Granny Smith is available for download on Google Play at the cost of a single dollar — and if you were to ask me if I think this title is worth it, I’d tell you that the developer is being far too generous because I would easily pay triple that.

Written (beautifully) by Matthew Raspe!