Simple, addictive and challenging. That’s how Zaki Gaming describe their first action, puzzle, arcade iOS game 3volution, and it’s a refreshing change to find a game that is actually the same as described! It’s up to you to complete stages and ‘missions’ to evolve yourself from a single celled organism into the ruler of the primordial soup while competing with other players!

The gameplay is relatively simple: you control 3 Helpers (Nustuck, Slotermeyer and Git) and have to get them to cross the line between the other two Helpers. It’s really that simple – point, drag, let go! It’s not quite as easy as it sounds though, with trick shots playing an integral part (especially with the missions) and a host of creatures intent on blocking your game and making it a lot more difficult. There are 2 main kinds of enemies: Goons and Blockers, who block your shots and bounce around the screen. Luckily you can get rid of these little buggers by either hitting them repeatedly or picking up ‘goodies’. The whole point is to evolve through the story and, after you do, you unlock freeplay mode. Each level is on a timer between shots and you have a limited number of lives before it’s GAME OVER!

It boasts an intelligent help and tutorial system integrated into itself that will answer all your questions, and I have to agree. The help itself is simple and to the point, showing you what you’re meant to do, how to do it and offering more hints and tips as you progress through the more difficult levels, and unlike some tutorials/help systems it’s not intrusive or even annoying. If you’re the kind of person who gets annoyed at tutorials however, there is the option to turn the messages off and try learning yourself.

While playing you collect goodies which have a variety of effects. Some can be saved and added to your inventory for later use such as an item that will get rid of Goons. Others have a more immediate effect, such as a score bonus or extra lives! While playing through the game you are constantly evolving your critter by collecting points. You move through many 3volution ranks as well as collecting achievements and competing with all of your friends through a leaderboard! I have to say some of the achievements are pretty easy, popping up quite frequently, while some require more skill such as performing certain shots (I seemed to fluke some of these).

As for graphics, you can see how colourful and vibrant the game is from the images above. It’s all brightly coloured, with a funky and simple design for everything. Even the menus are great to look at and if I’m completely honest the primordial creature you 3volve is actually pretty cute! The music is just as cheerful and lively, with a bubbly backing track for the main menu and a whole host of ‘boops’ and ‘splats’ to keep you entertained while playing. While the sounds aren’t necessary for playing the game it does make the experience a lot more fun and interesting (so don’t worry, you can play this while at work as well).

Conclusion:

Overall I have to say it’s a fun and addictive game. You can easily lose yourself while playing this, saying you will play for 10 minutes and an hour later you’re still enjoying it and it doubles as both a quick game while you’re waiting for the train or a longer more competitive game. It’s currently available on the Apple App store for £1.49 but if you really want to try before you buy then you can get the free 3volution version first which should wet your appetite for it!