I will start by explaining why I downloaded this. I loved Tiny Tower, I love teddy bears, I photo photo editing applications... It seemed like an adorable mix of all those things. And yet somehow... I do not like this application very much at all.I have been trying to figure out where this app went wrong. I was sure that I would enjoy it considering it had so many elements that I am generally attracted to, in an application. So let's go over the various elements and see if we can figure it out.
When you start the app up you get a cute little story as to why Kuma is living in this building. It seems like a nice idea. However, this story plays every time you start the application up. If you switch apps for a moment and switch back, you will have to skip passed this story again, rather than just viewing the screen you left the application on.
Kuma lives in a one story building and you must add floors with the coins you collect through playing the game. Your goal is to make the building very big so that it is worth a lot of money. Why?... I... I don't know. Apparently Kuma is elitist.
There are many tasks you will need to complete for Kuma. They are generally very easy, but the payout for them is incredibly small. You will do them mainly for experience. As this will cause Kuma to gain levels. So we now have 2 goals... Build a tall home worth a lot of money, and level the bear up by completing tasks.You can also earn experience by arranging the furniture, buying items, feeding Kuma and so on. That bring me to another point...
Kuma does not need to eat. Eating does not give him energy... He will not die if you do not feed him. You need to purchase the food and it has no benefit in any way. The only time you will get anything from it seems to be when your task says to feed him. Then feeding him will complete a task.
Kuma will make comments while he is wandering around his house. I feel like the phrases written for Kuma were written either by or for someone around the age of 10-12. He discusses passing gas, television shows, and so on. I find it to be more annoying than fun. He also wanders about, passing gas and laughing about it. Why does he do this?... I have no clue. I really wish there were some sort of "personality toggle" where you could give him a personality that is more fitting for what you would enjoy.
The application isn't very old so there is not really a large selection of items to use for decorating the home or dressing your Kuma. But much of what is available seems nice. Some of the more expensive items are interactive. Kuma can 'use them'. however, it doesn't tell you which are which. You cant find out until after you have purchased the item. And some items are really... not as interactive as you might want them to be. When you click an item and it has a "Use it" bubble you can click it and Kuma will go perform an interaction with that item. For the bed, he takes a nap... For the loo, he sits and reads a paper. For the bath he washes up. However, the bookshelves sometimes say "Use it"... He just stands in front of it. He doesn't face it. He doesn't read a boo... Apparently Kuma is confused as to how to use a bookshelf. Why even bother putting the interaction feature there if you have no interaction assigned to it?The mall... Clicking the mall button takes you to the additional parts of the game. You can purchase clothing or furniture here. You can purchase treats as well. However, I think they went over board. They added too many extra features to the mall. There's a place where you can read "inspirational messages" a place to see your horoscope, a place to play 2 mini games, a place to buy coins, a place to edit photos, a place to invite friends, a place with jokes and riddles, a magic 8 ball, facts & trivia, achievements page, news, settings and so on... This application is completely overloaded with useless junk. Yes, some of those things are nice, but does it really need all that? No. Pick something you want to do with the app you create and stick to it! It's a ruddy cluster of useless tid bits. I suggest getting rid of the entire "Kuma Chat" section, Kumas Korner (You can get this information from the main page already), Photobooth (Make is a separate application), The Treats place (Take out the eating feature all together, there is no point to it), along with several other things.
The options for this are very limited, but I believe that is because they set this up as an extra feature rather than just making the photo section it's own app. Why not have a whole collection of Kuma applications, rather than forcing everything into one. The frames are cute, as are the stickers. there just aren't many to choose from. Many have to be purchased with the coins earned from playing the game. To the left you can see a sample photo done in the application.
There are also 2 mini games for this application in the arcade part of the mall. Playing these games will earn you coins if you do well. There is also a high score section. The games aren't bad, but I feel like they may be better off as their own application as well. Though I admit it is a fast way to earn extra coins.
The first game is Protect Kuma San. This takes place in a forest. There are items that pop up here and there and several spiders. Kuma wanders about the screen and the spiders approach him quickly. You can click the items such as coins and treats to earn extra points/coins. However, they are small and often I have clicked directly on them several times and the game does not recognized that I have. The spiders move quickly and often Kuma is at the edge of the screen (Since you can't control his movement), so he gets attacked quickly. Once his life bar is empty, it's game over. It's a fun game, but I think it could use a little tweaking.The second game is Kuma's Clutter. it shows a messy room and gives you a list of things to find within the room. This can be difficult on iPhone because of the screen size and how small some of the items are. I don't know about most people, but with my limited eye sight, I find this game to be more frustrating than fun. I can barely make out what half of the items are. You are timed and get coins depending on how many items you find and how quickly you found them. if you are having trouble the hint button will show you where one of the items is. However, it will deduct points from your total score.
In closing I believe the main problem with this game is that there is too much going on. they went overboard with the additional features' that it almost makes the game more of a hassle than a joy. The Kuma character is visually cute and I enjoy dressing him up. However, his attitude/personality I personally find to be unattractive. I don't see a real goal in the game. There are so many different things you're supposed to be doing, it makes you confused on what it is they really want you to do. Score high in the mini games, complete the tasks, get your achievements, level your bear, make your house worth more, build floors, furnish the floors, feed the bear, and so on... I think the application had the potential to be really great, but somewhere along the way the original concept and idea got lost and buried until unnecessary fluff.
Sorry, Kuma... You're not getting a high score from me. Maybe if the app creators rethink this application and make some changes, I'll redownload it... But for now... I'm deleting it off of my iPhone.
Rating: 2/5
- Free
- Category: Games
- Updated: 13 September 2012
- Version: 1.1.2
- Size: 20.5 MB
- Language: English
- Developer: W3 Innovations, LLC
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