The App Store has blurred the line between sequels and updates. Stick a number after the name and that’s usually a guarantee you’re getting something more than your average free level pack. As last week’s To-Fu 2 proved, though, that’s not always the case.
Then there’s the option of adding a colon to the previous title and an extra word to show that it’s a follow-up to a familiar brand – like Angry Birds: Seasons, or Cut The Rope: Experiments.
Burn The Rope: Worlds joins the latter group, taking the pyromaniac tendencies of the first game and…well, in truth, not doing a great deal new with them.
Level upContent-wise, there’s little to complain about here, with 100 new stages and new modes to boot. But, if you’re expecting any significant tweaks to the mechanics, you’re sadly out of luck.
Now, Burn The Rope was a popular game, so more of the same might not be a problem for many. Your task remains to burn as much of a length of rope as you can, tilting your iOS device of choice to keep the flame burning upwards, lest it fizzles out.
Reach a junction and the flame will split: so you need to manage your fires carefully. Naturally, they won’t always be travelling in the same direction, so you’ll need to tilt left and right frequently to keep them burning simultaneously.
InsecticideColoured bugs crawl along the ropes, and burning them changes the colour of your flame, allowing you to set fire to strands of a similar hue – otherwise normal flames will come to a dead halt.
That doesn’t necessarily mean instant failure, as you only need to burn 60 per cent of the rope to earn a bronze medal for the stage. You can only afford, however, to leave a few tiny threads to nab the elusive gold.
There are a few new bug types this time - some helpful, some less so. Combustible bugs will instantly destroy any rope in the vicinity, as well as spark fresh flames for previously unlit ropes.
Splash screenWater bugs, meanwhile, should be expressly avoided unless you want your fires to be doused with an explosion of H2O.
A new casual option removes the coloured ropes to make things easier for newcomers, while the curious Endless mode adopts a Snake-like formula, where every bug you burn increases the length of your flame trail.
Disappointingly, the first game’s most significant flaw has not been addressed. It may be an authentic approximation of fire’s capricious nature, but the lack of any kind of visual feedback means you’ll fail levels without really knowing why.
Unfriendly fireOccasionally, flames will keep burning despite being completely upside-down, then at other times, they’ll die when pointing sideways for no more than a split second.
This means that while successes feel hard-earned, there isn’t the same level of satisfaction as with other puzzle games. Awarding a bronze medal for a fairly poor performance feels like your efforts are being patronised slightly.
It goes without saying that those who enjoyed the original will find less to complain about, but it feels that some better visual (or even aural) feedback would make Burn The Rope: Worlds a much more enjoyable game.