‘Rock Paper Missiles’ Is An Oddly Compelling Roshambo-Style iOS Game [Review]

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Rock beats Flamethrower. What, what?
Rock beats Flamethrower. What, what?

Here’s an interesting little iOS game for you: Rock Paper Missiles is an evolved version of the classic Rock, Paper, Scissors hand game played by millions of kids across the globe. This game, though, is different in two ways. One, it’s a universal app on iOS, which means you can play it on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad.

Rock Paper Missiles by Danny Perski
Category: iOS Games
Works With: iPhone, iPad
Price: $2.99

Two, it’s got missiles, flamethrowers and grenades.

Rock Paper Missiles is also gorgeously designed, with a monochromatic red-and-white color scheme that really complements the stark and confusing nature of the gameplay.

When it starts out, you’re only given the classic rock, paper and scissors. Your task, should you accept it, is to figure out how to beat your opponent (cleverly played by the software itself), who gets things like rifles and meteors. You’ll get to see your enemy’s three choices before you pick the weapon you’ll use in the mini-battle. When you choose, the game will tell you if you’re a victor or a loser.

Tear gas. Why does it always have to be tear gas?
Tear gas. Why does it always have to be tear gas?

It’s baffling and interesting, and always feels just out of reach, unless you’re one of those logical people and start writing down the rules on a separate piece of paper. But you’re the kind of kid who ruined the curve in math class, so you just go sit down.

Once you win a few rounds of Rock Paper Missiles, you’ll level up and get more weapons to use. Then it gets even more complex and confusing. Maybe you should start writing this down. Nah, you know what? We can do this in our heads.

Two, it’s got missiles, flamethrowers and grenades.

After a few seemingly random defeats and victories, you’ll level up, get even more weapons, and ratchet the complexity even higher. Hooray!

There’s a multiplayer mode, which is fantastic, because really the best way to play roshambo is with other kids. I mean players.

The only issue here is the price. While $2.99 may not be a lot of money in reality, in the iOS marketplace, it’s premium. While I may think that three bucks is a solid deal for a fun, well-designed, good-looking game, most gamers won’t. It would be great to see how many downloads the game might get were it priced at 99 cents or (gasp) free for a limited time.

Until then, though, Rock Paper Missiles is a clever, irony-tinged twist on an age-old game mechanic, with a pretty face on top of it. Why not give it a try?

IMG_0257
Product Name: Rock Paper Missiles
The Good: Gorgeous visuals, baffling yet interesting weaponry and roshambo mechanics, nice sense of irony.
The Bad: A bit on the pricey side.
The Verdict: Once past the higher price for the iOS market, Rock Paper Missiles is a fun little time-waster with a great look and feel. Very stylish.
Buy from: App Store

[rating=game3]

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