Storm In A Teacup

Developer: Cobra Mobile
Steam Release: Jan 2012
Hours Played: 6.6
Similar To: Dyna Bomb / Freedom Fall / Gunman Clive / Mutant Mudds / Paper Monsters
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips



GAMEPLAY
A precision-platformer differs from the puzzler in that time is of the essence. Sure, you could calmly complete levels at the rate your Grandma plays but getting into the spirit of its time-attack nature reaps its own reward. This game pushes you in that direction by only recording your time if you complete levels under tough conditions. Here, the main skill to be developed is the ability to use momentum effectively by lifting yourself upwards with the use of a button acting like a thruster. The snag is that this ability is limited and runs out when the gauge in the top-left corner is full. It replenishes constantly when at rest but becomes exhausted often. Consequently, much of the control comes in the form of mashing the thrust button in an effort to have enough energy to propel yourself up onto that ledge up ahead. 


BALANCE & PACE
Levels come loaded with plenty of obstructions and hazards such as deadly spikes, rolling barrels, evil clouds, strong air currents and snapping dragon heads. There are also lever pushing elements as well. The game will only record a time if you: (1) do not die; (2) collect the difficult-to-find sticker and (3) collect every sugar lump that's scattered around the level. There are usually about two or three checkpoints along the way so if you do fail you aren't forced right back to the beginning again. However, under such circumstances, your time will not be recorded. For hardcore players hell-bent on three-starring each level, this will mean immediately retrying from the beginning which requires bringing up a menu and a few key presses. Unfortunately, there is no hot-key to restart the level from the beginning for you.


PRESENTATION & DESIGN
The artwork is like fuzzy-felt lovingly hand-drawn to create landscapes in a stylishly produced picture book. Deaths are also a highlight, being accompanied by tiny black fragments that slowly explode. Sound is subtle with the most striking being a pleasant chime as you pick up sugar-cubes. The recurring tune is the most sugary-sweet piece of pap to issue forth from a set of speakers and unless you actually want the aural equivalent of Chinese water torture is best switched off. As a previously released mobile game, navigating the menus is by keyboard only. You may also Customize the appearance of your avatar if you wish. Options are fairly limited, deliver only basic tweaks and I found the menus to be unresponsive.  



PROGRESS SYSTEM
Hitting Play takes you to a screen offering four modes: Original Game, Bonus Levels, Survival and Challenge. There are 40, 10 and five levels respectively but Challenge remained unlocked so I'm unsure how many levels there are in that mode. There are 40 levels in the Original Game mode where you'll spend most of your time. In this menu there are four screens of 10 levels which you scroll through to survey progress and select a level. Each level is represented by a star with information underneath: a tick shows completion; a sugar-cube shows all have been collected; a target shows the sticker has been collected and there is a time if you satisfied all the conditions. The Bonus Level level-select screen operates in the same way while the five levels in the Survival mode screen indicates the most sugar cubes collected in the time.

CONCLUSION
Storm In A Teacup is a well-designed game that has enough variety and challenge to keep you coming back for more. Having the best time recorded only if those three conditions are met is a harsh but necessary feature but I really would have liked for there to be a timer or stopwatch ticking away in the corner so I could check how I was doing on the fly. Doing a time-attack, when time is of the essence, is not so much fun when you have no idea if you're on the right track. Finally, best-times have so much more meaning if you can compare your record with other users of the game. Having a leaderboard consisting of the times of other real people, therefore, would have been a welcome addition.