Toy Bot Diaries Series: Entries 1, 2, & 3

The Toy Bot Diaries Series is a fun platform puzzle game that is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch. It features rich backgrounds and enjoyable sound effects. Although there are no dialogue boxes to reveal what’s happening as you progress through the levels of Toy Bot Diaries by Iugo Entertainment, there are a series of screenshots that develop the plot from one stage to the next.

THE GAME.

Basically, Bot has to overcome increasingly difficult obstacles as he moves through a series of underground sewer areas in Entry 1, the sky in Entry 2, and space in Entry 3. He uses magnetic boots and some swinging, good timing and luck to successfully move past physics challenges and collect data pads to restore his memory (which is revealed through screenshots from which the user is supposed to glean the storyline of the game --- the more datapads you recover, the more of Bot’s memories you get to see).

An added bonus in the 2nd game in the series is a really cool rotating puzzle to navigate and the addition of bombs and sentry guards to avoid. The 3rd game takes you out of the realm of Earth’s atmosphere and blasts you into space, ergo the additional challenge of zero gravity at times during game play as well as black holes to avoid. Very cool. Also cool: you don’t win the game by killing enemies or blowing stuff up, making this very kid-friendly. The end of the 3rd game sees Toy Bot return home to Planet Bot.  And really, at the end of a long voyage (or a hard day at work) don’t we all really just want to go home? It’s a satisfying end to an excellent game trilogy.

Toy Bot, which I first encountered several months ago via the free version, is one of the best games I have come across for the iPhone. I have downloaded countless games and promptly deleted about 85% of them for various reasons. I don’t require a lot from a game--just an enjoyable experience with controls that are fairly easy to use...and a quick little tutorial isn’t a bad idea. But, mainly I don’t want to “feel” like I’m playing a game. I want to get deep enough into the game play that I temporarily forget all about the fact that I’m playing a video game. The Toy Bot Diaries series does this for me – and as a result, these games will likely never be deleted from my iPhone.  I will be playing them over and over for years to come.

CONCLUSION.

Things I like a lot about the Toy Bot Diaries game? Here’s a quick rundown: Unobtrusive game play hints, the magnetic grappling beam, the game's usage of the iPhone's tilt controls, and increasing difficulty of challenges which require more accurate timing. The game utilizes the multi-touch interface of the iPhone along with the a sophisticated physics simulator. For example, you can touch a metallic surface to enable the magnetic grappling beam, tilt the iPhone left and right to make Bot swing, and then touch somewhere else to release the beam.  This type of maneuver is used not only to collect datapads, but to move upward or sideways through areas that Bot cannot walk through in order to reach the end of a particular level. And, yeah, I’m a sucker for the music and other sound effects.  I can’t help giggling when Bot screams “Wheeee!” as he free falls, or “whoo hoo’s” when he passes a checkpoint. Even the sound effect played when you die is catchy! And the music? Well, let’s just say I’ve caught myself humming it unconsciously as I play and have more than once furtively looked around to make sure no one noticed it.

Things I don’t like about the Toy Bot Diaries game? Only one. Well, two:
I am a story line kind of person. I wish there was a storyboard to flesh out the plot a little --- although this is not a major flaw, in my opinion. Perhaps the intent is for every user to incorporate one's own storyboard ideas…
My 9-yr-old son frequently grabs the iPhone away from me when he thinks I’m not “doing it right,” and this may well result in a social worker visit to our home one day.  You don’t grab an iPhone away from an iPhone addict … I’m just saying … it could get ugly …

Toy Bot Diaries is a game that can be played over and over countless times, and each time is as enjoyable as the last. A great game is one that is so  totally immersive that you don’t even notice yourself playing. And at $3.99 each, it’s very affordable, even to purchase all three. You will get your money’s worth, I promise you.

Click to buy Toy Bot Diaries Entry 1, Entry 2 and Entry 3.