Drug-fueled action app Intake doesn’t deliver many highs

If you’ve ever wanted to tap nervously on the screen, listen to repetitive dubstep, and watch colorful pills fall in front of your eyes, now there’s an app for that. Intake: Be Aggressive is a self-described “psychedelic shooter” for iPad that carelessly toys with the concept of club drugs, but without the trippy fun.

I expected more from Cipher Prime Studios, the makers of Splice: Tree of Life and Pulse: Volume One. Intake: Be Aggressive is a very simple tapping game where two different colors of pills fall from the top of the screen, and your job is to tap on them to chain together a combo. You can tap the space at the very bottom to switch colors and prevent the chain from breaking.

It’s a passable concept, but placing the color switch at the very bottom feels a bit awkward. Since you’re supposed to keep tapping the bottom of the screen during each fast-paced round, this slows down or limits your responsiveness. I’d have preferred multiple control options like moving the switch up higher, or making better use of the iPad’s multitouch functions.

Despite the drug theme, Intake’s gameplay isn’t euphoric or addictive.

It’s meant to feel like a rave, but clubgoers would never tolerate Intake’s repetitive audio and over-the-top flashing lights. The music consists of a brief dubstep breakdown and kids chanting “be aggressive!” over and over again, and the nonstop light show could give you a pounding headache.

If you can endure the game long enough, you’ll earn enough “milligrams” (the game’s collectible currency) to unlock new power-ups, background music, and lives. You can also buy them using in-app purchases, which seem excessive given the $2.99 download price. Despite the drug theme, Intake’s gameplay isn’t euphoric or addictive.

Intake is meant to make you feel overstimulated, so the choice of pills and tablets are questionable. If Candy Crush makes your mouth water for sweets, what is Intake’s intention? It’s not a great game, so you should probably just say no.

Game Name: Intake: Be Aggressive The Good: Easy to learn with a decent scoring mechanic. The Bad: It’s not a lot of fun to play and goes overboard with the flashing lights and looped music sample. The Verdict Intake: Be Aggressive is tough to take with its weak gameplay, repetitive music, and a questionable club drug theme. Buy from: App Store – Intake: Be Aggressive – Cipher Prime Studios

[rating=game2]