Slice?

There’s a new toy in the house, and it’s called the iPhone. After 6-8 years with a SLVR and an Alias, the smartphone has simplified life. No more looking up directions ahead of time, taking down addresses and numbers, or calling ahead; yes, the smartphone has allowed a mystical transition into the world of “get in the car, -then- look up where we’re going.” It’s a bit scary, actually.

Anyway, I did have the opportunity to play a game called Slice It! on my friend’s iPad a few months ago, so of course it was a purchase for the phone. The trailer is pretty silly, actually, and I think if I’d seen the tralier first, I might have been wary of the game :):

Slice it! is a puzzle game where your objective is to, with a specific number of cuts, create equal slices of some given shape (either equal in shape or in area). It’s a fun game that requires some out-of-the-box thinking; making three pieces with two cuts seems intuitive, but three pieces with three cuts or four pieces with two cuts might be more mind-blowing (or impossible. I just made those numbers up). This is the one video I could find that isn’t a review, but just a guy or girl playing through the first few levels:

Why do I like this game?

a. It falls in my favorite category, puzzle games (of all types). Professor Layton, Braid, Hearts, Cargo Bay, Limbo. They’re all different kinds of puzzle games, but they’re ultimately about figuring out how to get around.

b. Slice It! involves cutting things. When I was young I used to love cutting paper into all sorts of fun shapes and pieces, or just into little confettis. And now I can do it all without little tiny scraps of paper flying around! Wait, that might actually be a downside.

c. I’m a tremendous origami geek. 1000 paper cranes? Check. Kusudama balls? (http://paperunlimited.wordpress.com/2007/02/28/ for examples) Check. I think that somehow, somewhere, this slicing of paper into equal sizes and shapes is related to folding and creating shapes from paper. Really.

The game is really new for me, and I’ve only gone through level 1 (the first 20 shapes). It’s a lot of fun, and if you’re into puzzles, it’s a great game for only a dollar.

I also strongly suggest I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MBIES 1N IT!!!1, which also only costs a dollar (on XBLA, however). Cheers!