App Review: The Room Two
A year after the first The Room puzzle adventure game comes the highly anticipated sequel. The Room took to the iOS store and earned itself some well-deserved awards, selling over 1 million copies worldwide, but can the British based game developer, Fireproof Games deliver a follow-up of such high quality that it excels it's predecessor? Well as it turns out, yes it can!
Gameplay
The Room Two is a three-dimensional puzzle/adventure game with a creepy twist. Similar to the original, each development stages the player in a new room with a few more puzzles to solve. Having been a huge fan of the previous game and noticing that the new addition to Fireproof Games had edged its way into the editor’s choice list with score smashing results, downloading the next game was a no-brainer. Even if the cost seemed a bit excessive for an App store game.
The Room Two is an upgraded version of the previous game; The Room 2.0 would probably be a more suitable title for a game that has been developed far beyond the qualities of the first. Unlike the first game, each level faces the player with multiple puzzles, boxes and doors to open to progress into the next room; where the first had players attempting to solve individual layers of the same box for each room. Parts of the new puzzle are exceptionally pleasing, solving specific sections of the puzzle ends with the reconstruction of a model ship and other puzzles have you loading, aiming and shooting a crossbow at a target. This all adds to a more adventurous and satisfying puzzle game experience.
I felt that some aspects of the puzzles could lead to be overwhelming and confusing but the game counteracts this possible negative with multiple hint options. The game will offer a hint if time has passed without progression; four of these hints can be presented if truly stuck, but thankfully the answers aren’t handed out too easily. The gameplay of The Room Two offered 3-4 hours of non-stop puzzle solving fulfilment. However, it is a game best approached with lack of knowledge as the surprises are unexpected, adding to the magic of the game and to the many reasons that it works so well.
Graphics and Sound
The graphics are seamlessly beautiful and flow naturally with an artistic feel. The boxes in particular have a realistic look to them due to the three-dimensional graphics; the details are unbelievably developed for an iOS game. In order to take full advantage of the graphics, it would be best saved and played on an iPad, preferably with retina display. All the objects throughout the game hold extreme amounts of detail adding to the overall quality of the gameplay.
The Sound on the other hand is almost unnoticeable. This was a relief for me, it seems to be a regular occurrence with App gaming that I actually have to mute my device to fully enjoy a game. Instead of a loud soundtrack, The Room Two contains an eerie backtrack with intelligent louder sounds suitably paired up with the interactive elements of the game. Interacting with machinery and objects is punctuated by dramatic sounds that stand out from the backing music and add to the overall quality and the games realistic nature.
Overall
Fireproof Games have succeeded in creating a quality follow-up of the original The Room game. There are more puzzles, more rooms, longer gameplay as well as higher quality graphics and sound; all of which adds up to a brilliant and outstanding game. I was highly pleased to find that I couldn’t find any faults within the game, the developers have spent a lot of time and care on removing any of the negatives of the first title and creating a broader and better 2nd instalment.
Pros:
-Stunning graphics
-Multiple puzzles throughout each Room
-Sound isn’t overpowering
-Exceeds its predecessor
-Fun and quirky object interaction (model ship, crossbow etc)
Cons:
-Price is slightly on the higher end of a typical iOS App, but unquestionably worth the money.
Overall: 4/5
Game developer: Fireproof Studios Limited
Release date: 12 December 2013
Last Update: 02 January 2014
Platform reviewed: iPad
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