Alex Riviello | APPS | 07.12.2012 @ 1:00 pm
The Game: Where’s My Perry?
The Device: Droid X and rooted Nook Color
The Price: $0.99 for iOS and Android
The Basics: It’s become quite a popular mobile gaming trend to take popular apps and populate them with animated film characters. We’ve got Angry Birds Rio, Temple Run Brave, and now Where’s My Perry?, a take on the popular Where’s My Water? game with the cast of Phineas and Ferb.
The original Where’s My Water is- no joke- one of the singular best games you can pick up for your phone. I find it more addictive and enjoyable than Angry Birds, even though it takes obvious inspiration from that game. Simple and addictive, you use the touchscreen to dig through dirt to get water to an alligator who’s in dire need of a shower. It starts off fairly simple but new obstacles and substances that affect that water (toxic waste, poison, etc.) cause you to completely rethink how to play the game. Beating the level is easy, filling all three rubber duckies scattered around each level gets tricky, and there’s even hidden objects to find that unlock bonus levels.
It’s all about the water, since the game’s realistic physics make you feel like you’re completely in charge of what happens in the game. Don’t let the cartoony look fool you- your wins are earned and your failures are your own fault.
The Review: First of all, if you’re unfamiliar with Perry, he’s a platypus secret agent from Disney’s Phineas And Ferb. A disclaimer- I’ve never watched the show that this is based on, but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the game. Fans will probably get more out of it because there’s certainly some inside jokes. Familiar characters include Perry’s boss Major Monogram and the mad scientist Dr. Doofenshmirtz who’s trapped Perry. There are short animated clips at the end of all four included Missions (each of which features 20 levels) and some sadly repetitive audio clips featuring the characters during the levels.
Glance quickly and it’s easy to confuse Where’s My Perry? with its forbearer, since the graphics and layout looks the same. The game’s incredible 007-esque spy soundtrack is the first clue that something’s different though, and there are some changes to the gameplay, even though the core concept is the same.
You’re still trying to get water to certain point, but instead of the crocodile taking a bath Agent Perry gets freed and sent to the next level. Instead of trying to fill rubber duckies with water you’ve got lawn gnomes. The main differences occur in gameplay, which feature more mad scientist gadgets. Laser beams can either freeze the water or turn it to mist, and you’ll have to cleverly transition between each of water’s states to get it where you need it to go. Other hazards like lava and some sort of black ooze also hinder your progress.
Since it’s based on a Disney kid’s cartoon you probably won’t expect much in the way of challenge, and you’d be right. But it’s important to remember that the original game started off fairly easy as well- it wasn’t until later updates added whole new modes of play that the game started to really get tricky.
They’ve promised many more free updates to the game, so picking this up is an easy decision for fans of the original looking for some more levels. If you have to pick one, pick the original, but after you’re done Perry will be waiting. Silent, billed, and laying eggs.
The Final Grade: A-