'Aquaria' Kills It With Graphics But Not So Much With Controls

Aquaria is a role playing game (RPG) created by Bit-Blot (and sold by Semi Secret Software) for the iPad. This game is amazing in its graphics and artwork. The underwater fantasy world has the player yearning to find the next dark cave or sunny patch of open water to see what new creatures will be found. The way the water ripples and the plants flow are masterfully done. However, the controls are frustrating at best. The narrative starts with the player learning that Naija is an underwater creature who has lost her memory. The object of the game is help Naija remember her past by rediscovering the underwater fantasy world of Aquaria. The player quickly learns that “verse” or song is Naija’s main weapon and ability.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqY9mDOw-UI&feature=player_detailpage Aquaria trailer Click here to watch on YouTube 

Once the player discovers how to navigate Naija through the underwater tunnels, the next step is to figure out how to make her sing. If the player holds a finger down on Naija, an orbit of colorful shapes will appear around her, the different shapes create a different tone in a song. This is where things get tricky, the player has to be able to navigate Naija, hold down on her and discover a third hand to play the notes around her in order to make her perform the desired song, which creates the desired action. As in many RPG's, there is a key that shows a list of “quests” that the player has to complete to help unlock Naija’s memory. Unlike most RPG’s this game does not show where each quest is specifically located on the map. The game becomes difficult to the point of infuriating when Naija follows the “beacons” shown on the map to an area where a certain object or song is to be found, and there is no indication of where is should be, what it looks like or if it has been found already, thus leaving the player in limbo until a stroke of genius (or luck) sends them in the right direction.

This game has great graphics that are truly a pleasure to experience, however the controls and the map left me wanting more. If this game could be given a key pad and a mouse that controlled the character it would be a much more fun to play. Regrettably it was hard to be able to make Naija swim and sing at the same time, which in turn got me killed by my fair share of crabs. AppPicker Rating: 3 / 5 Stars App Store link: Aquaria Other apps by Semi Secret Software