Desperate times call for desperate measures. Just ask the Moops (Out Now, $4.99), who must turn to a bumbling pair of pest controllers for help when the normally idyllic town of Moopsville is thrown into panic by a sudden infestation of bizarre, over-sized bugs and other icky critters.
If the hilariously bonkers premise and the fact that the characters and setting sound like something straight out of a Dr. Seuss story hadn’t already clued you in, Moops is a quirky adventure firmly geared towards its intended, young audience.
As such, the platforming elements of the game are pretty lightweight and not all that challenging or interesting, but there’s still enough good stuff here — from an exciting array of mini-games and unlockables to the lush visuals and enjoyably daft humor — to make taking a trip to Moopsville worthwhile all the same.
Moops follows the exploits of Flunk and Dunk as they traverse the topsy turvy hills and valleys of Moopsville, bagging as many pesky pests as possible as they go. During these segments of the game, you take control of Flunk, whose job it is to bludgeon roving critters into submission with his trusty whacking stick, while your partner, Dunk, trots along behind you and sucks up felled enemies with a backpack vacuum cleaner. Sadly, exploring Moopsville and hunting critters is never all that enjoyable thanks to clunky and unresponsive controls and the fact that environments — however visually impressive they may be — feel empty and lack atmosphere.
While the game’s platforming sections are fairly bland and uninspired, Moops does come to life whenever a citizen flags you down and you enter their home to go toe-to-toe with the hordes of critters who lurk within. Every time our hapless heroes cross the threshold, one of Moops’ five different mini-games kicks in. These fun and fast-paced distractions range from frantically flicking critters into a giant furnace to trying to squish as many as can while they scurry around and hide in boxes and under bits of furniture.
Overall, Moops is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the mini-games are action-packed and a lot of fun to play, while on the other, the platforming segments are a wasted opportunity and slogging through them to get to the good stuff soon starts to feel too much like hard work.
iFanzine Verdict: Moops is an intermittently enjoyable adventure. If the platforming side of things wasn’t so uneventful and underwhelming, this could have been a must-have title for younger iOS gamers.