If there’s one thing kitties love, it’s their nom noms, so when the hot air balloon delivering a massive order of junk food to Tombo Fatcat’s treetop tower crash-lands, accidentally jettisoning its load of ketchup lollipops and whipped cream tacos (eww), he immediately leaps into action and embarks on an epic rescue mission-cum-feeding frenzy.
Welcome to the wacky world of Tomodomo Oy’s App Store debut, Fatcat Rush (out now, $1.99), a refreshingly original and gut-bustingly hilarious side-scrolling adventure that sees you dashing and smashing your way through a series of vibrant, spiraling 3D levels.
Amusingly, each of Fatcat Rush’s 15 stages takes its name from a different mealtime, so you start off at the base of the colossal tower with ‘Breakfast’ and work your way upwards, enjoying ‘Elevenses’, ‘Main Course’, and more as you go.
As is the case with the vast majority of these auto-running platformers on iOS, gameplay is kept pretty straightforward, but is a whole lot of fun nonetheless. As Tombo trots along of his own accord, the idea is to rack up a high score by scarfing down as much of the gross sounding grub as possible. Needless to say, you do this while leaping from platform to platform and dodging environmental hazards.
Two paw-shaped virtual buttons positioned on the bottom-left and right of the touchscreen take care of jumping and slide tackling and smashing open crates of grub respectively. When tapped at the same time, they trigger a super-jump, which is useful for nabbing hard to reach nomables and making it to the upper tiers of the given level. You start off with three life-hearts and you’ll find plenty more energy-restoring health shakes and other power-ups scattered around each stage, so there’s little danger of failing a level completely and having to start from scratch.
All in all, FatCat Rush is a daft but hugely likeable side-scrolling romp – perfect for snack-sized, easily digestible gaming sessions. Graphically the game’s a real treat, boasting lush visuals and smooth animations, while the catchy soundtrack and cheeky sense of humor only add to its appeal.
On the downside, Fatcat Rush isn’t all that challenging, and you’ll likely breeze through its fifteen levels quite quickly. In-game achievements, Game Center goodies, and unlockable oufits (including Super Mario-style duds!) do help boost the game’s longevity, but I’d still love to see an endless mode and a side-order of mini-games added in future updates. Overall, though, Fatcat Rush comes recommended and is only likely to get bigger and better with time.
iFanzine Verdict: At this point, your iDevice is probably already absolutely stuffed with cute side-scrollers (I know mine is), but do yourself a favor and make some room for Fatcat Rush in your collection quick smart. Trust me, the snappy gameplay, lush visuals, and toe-tapping tunes on offer here add up to a ton of fun!