I enjoyed Flying Hamster more than I should. It’s one of today’s free apps for the iPhone and iPod touch and I would recommend that you get it. It’s a retro arcade-style sidewinder shooter game and you will enjoy it.
Review, screenshots and download link after the jump.
The story starts off with the abduction of Newton’s girlfriend by an eagle (or some kind of bird, can’t be sure). Newton makes it his mission to rescue her and he invents this flying contraption out of leaves and a belt. Amazing stuff. So that’s how the story begins but the gameplay is surprisingly addictive.
By using controls and buttons, you manoeuvre Newton through a minefield of enemies, shooting them with (what seems quite trite) spit. Along the way, Newton gets to pick up additional ammo like tomatoes, bees, beer, and other weird projectiles.
Flying Hamster manages to be a true arcade-style game by implementing a credit system where you only get 5 credits to complete a level. If you lose the 3 lives indicated at the top left by getting hit by enemy fire or crashing into an enemy, then the game comes to a pause. You can resume the game by using up 1 credit while the 10-second timer counts down to Newton’s demise. Every 30 minutes of continuous gameplay is rewarded with 1 additional credit.
The credit system definitely encourages you to carry on playing Flying Hamsters and I honestly don’t see any reason not to. It’s a fairly simple game with a virtually inexistent learning curve. And it’s fun.
Download Flying Hamster from the iTunes App Store. You might also want to check out other free iPhone and iPad apps which we’ve previously covered.
