Have you ever wondered what the life of a human cannonball was like? Well, I’m sure you’d expect it to be full of bumps, bruises, and high-flying action. Well, that’s what the life of Igor is all about in Ongoz Games’ Circus Pain, a fun trajectory-based puzzle game for iOS systems with a great presentation and solid physics.
The game follows Igor’s journey to stardom and has you traveling to through six different venues giving you over 50 levels of human cannonball puzzles. Each level involves moving his cannon, aiming it, and adjusting the power gauge to control the force of the shot so that he makes it to his landing net. It may sound simple, but once you encounter bumpers, electric panels, and curves, things will get a bit tricky. Physics plays a big role in the game so depending on how fast Igor is flying, he will bounce differently from the surfaces he hits. The puzzles get harder over time and you’ll have to rely on trial-and-error to get through certain levels too.
I’m not sure how small some of the response areas for the cannon or the power gauge are, but I sometimes found my taps not registering as I played. This aside, the game plays flawlessly and it also provides you with a level restart button at the top of the screen to save you some time if you think Igor won’t make it.
Circus Pain has only one music track that repeats itself, but I didn’t find it too annoying at all. It actually has a smooth vibe that fits the circus theme of the game. Igor grunts whenever he gets hurt and you can change the tone of his voice too. In fact, the more Igor gets hurt before he reaches the net, the higher the score you’ll get for that level. The different venues you’ll visit are each unique and range from a rundown farm to a modern Mega Dome. The game’s graphics are nicely drawn and you’ll appreciate the little details like the mixture of people in the audience or the hilarious cut-scenes showing Igor make his way to the top of his career.
If you’re in the mood for some physics challenges mixed in with some hilarity, look no further than Circus Pain. The game is also compatible with Open Feint, so you can unlock achievements as you play. The main game can be cleared rather quickly, but after you clear all the levels, you can always improve your score by finding new ways to hurt Igor before reaching the net. It’s not called Circus Pain for nothing!
A copy of Circus Pain for iOS was provided to us for this review.
