by Nick Caramico

 

Flying up the iTunes Charts, Tiny Wings has become the most popular app in a very short time. Beating out favorites like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, Tiny Wings is a relatively simple game that is great for occupying your time.

The idea of the game is very simple, you play as a bird who had tiny wings and therefore cannot fly. In order to feel like a real bird, your character has to slide down the slopes of hills, into the valleys, and propel up into the air off another hill. This bird is very little so it is also running from darkness that is creeping behind.

The controls are extremely simple: touch and hold the screen with one finger and your bird will slide down the hill. Release your finger while ascending a hill and the bird will fly. Timing your holds and releases just right will give your bird big air and fly farther across the hills. While it may seem too basic to be enjoyable, it is addictive and fun. While there is no real “winning” you want to try and farther and farther each time.

While sliding on the mountains, and bouncing from island to island (the equivalent of a level) your bird can collect yellow coins that give you extra points as well as blue orbs that will shoot the bird higher into the air. Get several jumps perfectly in a row and your bird will go into a “frenzy”, gaining massive points if you can maintain it. Propel the tiny bird high enough and you will touch the clouds.

The most impressive part about this game is its visuals. Each island changes every time you play. Crazy color combinations and backgrounds will be unique each time you turn it on so you will never get bored of looking at the same thing twice.

In the bottom corner is your daylight meter which is constantly creeping closer to night time. Performing big jumps and completing an island will give you a few more rays of sunlight to keep your bird and adventure going.

This simple app has the ability to become the next big iPhone gaming craze. Hopefully future updates will give players a little more incentive to keep coming back to play, but it is hard not to get caught up in this visually spectacular game with just enough story to keep you occupied. Tiny Wings is available for $0.99 in the iTunes App Store.

[iTunes Store Link]