Catch Color, available for Android through the Google Play store, is a simple puzzle game that manages to reach another level due to the work the developer has put in, expanding the content and gameplay to an impressive level.
At its most basic level, the game sees you selecting between falling blocks of differing colours, attempting to match them to the correct side of the screen. The left and the right sides of the screen are blue and red, and touching either side of the screen will see the block fly towards that side. If you have got the colour right, your score will rise and the game will continue, but if you get it wrong, it is game over.
Now, it may seem as easy as pie to simply select either red or blue, but when you get many blocks falling at once, all at differing speeds, it soon becomes a real test. The blocks can sometimes form larger spinning shapes, which can make it incredibly hard to select the right colour at the right time, especially with modifiers that change the orientation of the coloured sides of the screen.
Here, straight from the developer, are the app’s best features:
– In the Arcade mode you will oversteer with items that will drive you crazy.
– In Classic mode you will fight against the speed of the cubes.
– The Rush mode allows you to take your time and improve.
The developer has just listed the best thing about the game; its differing modes. I am forever complaining about small indie puzzle games never expanding on their base idea, but Catch Color is an exception. The three modes offer very different experiences. The Arcade mode, where you will be spending most of your time, features power ups and modifiers that change things around, Classic mode is a simplified version of the Arcade mode, but with no modifiers and just the clock to beat, and Rush mode has more of a classic puzzle feel to it as you have 30 seconds to beat a level that only moves when you touch the screen.
The three modes, along with local and online leaderboards for each, really make the game far more of a worthy download than it otherwise would have been, and it is a credit to the developer that such effort has been put in to expand the gameplay here. The graphics are very simple; perhaps a little too simple for my liking, but the music is good and reminds me of gaming on the original Gameboy. The game is free to download and play, although you can buy lightning strikes to clear levels and continue, and there is also the option to turn ads off for a fee.
Overall, I was very impressed with Catch Color. The graphics need work, but the three modes, deceptively difficult gameplay and decent sonics add up to a robust little package that you should certainly consider.
