Critter Crunch's graphics, animation, and sound really set the bar high.

Who needs another Bejeweled knockoff?   Not me, that’s for sure.  In fact, I passed Critter Crunch up when it first arrived in the App Store for that very reason.  So why even bother with it?  Well, as it turns out, this game offers so much more to the genre than matching similar shapes and colors.  Critter Crunch really steps it up a notch by bringing character and original (not to mention addicting) gameplay to the table.

Capybara Games is no lightweight.  A quick glance through their website reveals an impressive portfolio of mobile games.  But this is their first foray into the iPhone scene.  And with Critter Crunch tipping the scales at $7.99, it’s not an easy sell — especially with the App Store’s economy leveling out from the initial high prices.  With all the other quality games in the App Store to choose from, is Critter Crunch’s overweight price tag worth it?

The first thing you’ll notice when you open Critter Crunch, even before you begin playing, is how polished the game is.  The attention to detail here is outstanding.  Even the game menu is among the best I’ve seen on the iPhone.  The minute you see and hear beautiful graphics and sounds you’ll know that this is the real deal.  Capybara Games didn’t cut any corners here, and it really shows.  The one complaint I do have about starting up the game is that it ignores the silent mode switch on the side of the iPhone.  This is not a good game to pull out if you need to play quietly, as you have to adjust the volume (via the hardware buttons on the side of the phone) after you launch the game.  I don’t want to make too big of a deal out of this though.  It is easy enough to turn the volume down, and hopefully you’re not playing games while in class or a client meeting anyway, right?

Biggs' job is to feed the smaller critters to larger ones.

Gameplay consists of your chubby little character (whose name is Biggs) feeding cute little critters until they explode.  Really.  Until they explode.  It sounds slightly disturbing, doesn’t it?  But in fact, it brings a certain amount of morbid enjoyment.  I laughed out loud the first time I saw what was going on.  Besides, these critters are seriously hungry.  If you don’t feed them fast enough, they’ll drop down and eat Biggs instead.  You’ll meet new baddies and pick up new items as you progress.  As these elements are added to the gameplay, the amount of strategy you have to apply to do well increases.  Where some games impose elements of strategy on you awkwardly, Critter Crunch really shines in that each new item is fun to play with and adds depth to the game.  Again, the graphics and sound effects here really take the game to a whole new level.  These creatures are so cute, and it’s funny to see the expressions on their faces as the bigger ones munch on the little guys.  The sound of Biggs slurping and spitting out creatures, and the “crunching” sound made by the larger critters brings the game to life.

Tutorials are easy to follow and reveal new game features.

As you play the game, you can unlock Puzzle, Time Trial, and Survival modes.  This adds a great deal of replay value to the game.  When you open it for the first time, however, you’re only presented with Adventure mode.  Almost until the end of Adventure mode you’ll be seeing tutorials about how to play the game and about new characters and also items you can pick up.  These tutorials show their faces pretty frequently in the first dozen levels or so, but much less frequently after that.  It’s actually a pretty brilliant method of getting you accustomed to the features of the game.  You’re given the option to skip any of these (or even turn them off via the menu), but I highly recommend you go through them.  You’ll be missing out on important aspects of gameplay if you pass them up.

After you’ve unlocked Puzzle mode, you’ll get a break from the normal gameplay every once in a while for a Puzzle level.  This is a welcome break in the fast pace of the game, since you can take as long as you want.  Puzzle levels involve clearing the trees of all critters within a set number of moves.  This is easy at first, but gets progressively more difficult.  The good news is that there’s no penalty for losing a Puzzle level.  If you don’t quite clear all the critters in the required number of moves, you’ll be given the opportunity to skip the level or to try again.  Similarly, Time Trial levels appear every once in a while after you’ve unlocked that mode.  For me at least, these were a little more challenging, but you’re still given the opportunity to try again or to skip the level with no penalty either way.  Survival is the mode I found myself coming back to most often after I beat Adventure mode.  Unfortunately, my saved game status was erased with an update to the game a while back, but I believe the data erasure issues were resolved with the 2.1 iPhone/iPod Touch firmware.  Even with my progress wiped out, I’ve still found myself coming back to the game, which says a lot for its replay-ability.

While a little on the expensive side, Critter Crunch provides fun that keeps you coming back.

Critter Crunch is really a top notch game.  It is among the most polished and fun games to be found in the App Store.  Even my wife (who for some reason doesn’t “get” most games) loves Critter Crunch.  There’s still the issue of the hefty price tag, though.  With so many quality games becoming available every day, it’s hard to justify spending $7.99 on just one of them.  Don’t get me wrong — in my mind there’s no doubt that this game is worth at least that much.  Capybara Games certainly put a ton of effort into this game, and it really glows because of that.  If you’re craving an original, addicting game that is easy to pick up, and if you like this genre of games, then I would say go for it.  In Adventure mode the game lasts for quite a long while, and the additional unlockable modes mean you won’t be bored with it any time soon.  Critter Crunch lands squarely at the top of my list of favorites.