Bedeviled 1 - A Little Hell on Earth Never Hurt Anybody.

“The most diabolical sliding puzzle game ever.” Boy, does this newly-released game for the iPhone and iPod Touch ever live up to its name. Yet, as much as it frustrates me, I still can’t quit playing Bedeviled 1 developed by Moshofsky/Plant Creative Services. I love it for the sliding tile game like the little handheld plastic one I used to have as a child. You remember the ones, right? Little colored plastic square with the white numbered sliding tiles that always seemed to get stuck at an angle while sliding them around? But Bedeviled 1 factors in an interesting twist to the classic, a rolling ball against a solid background. The ball appears to be broken up and moving in pieces across the screen. You must move the tiles in order so that the ball is pictured whole as it moves around the screen in response to the direction you tilt your device.

I can’t quite get the rolling ball feature. I get that it’s supposed to bounce around the screen in an uninterrupted path, but I just can’t seem to “see” the whole picture to accurately move the tiles in the correct order to complete the picture. Even in DAMNED (cheat mode- which labels the tiles by letter-number sequence) I still can’t get the last two tiles in place.

Oh, well. It’s still a fun game to pull out and fiddle with every once in a while. Many people will purchase this game and get how to play it right away, I’m sure, and think I’m a major simpleton. But, my forte is role-playing games, or word and (to some degree) number puzzles. I say the best games can’t be completed in one sitting. The longer they take and the more involved they are, the better I like them. Even though Bedeviled 1 doesn’t have a plot, it still takes time and a fairly high level of strategic brain functioning, which earns it a thumbs up in my book. Wish I could listen to my iPod tunes while playing, but no such luck. At least not yet, perhaps the developers will include that feature in future updates? (hint, hint)

DAMNED option (displays row and column badges on tiles)

If you don’t want to spend even 99 cents on a game you might not be able to figure out, then try it free by downloading Bedeviled 0 first. The free version features: ball collision and sliding tile sound effects, HELLFIRE feedback when a row or column of tiles is correctly placed, automatic saving of the game in progress, and game completion count of time and number of tiles moved. Should you decide to spend the cash to purchase the full version these additional features will be at your disposal: in-game move and time counter, DAMNED option (displays row and column badges on tiles), game sound toggle option, ball size option (smaller makes it harder, larger makes it easier), ball speed option (faster is harder), ball bounce option (bouncy is harder). This app will take up 15.1 MB on your iPhone or iPod Touch (2nd generation) and requires iPhone OS 2.2.1 or later.

Check out a  game play video for a visual sample of Bedeviled 1.  You can also follow @BedeviledGame on Twitter to hear about plans and updates with regard to the game.

My official verdict is that I don’t really get the game. But, I’m still interested in working on it … and it’s saying a lot that I haven’t given up and deleted the dastardly app from my iPhone gaming collection. At just 99 cents, it’s a great deal for a game that’ll take some serious time and brain cells to conquer.

You can buy Bedeviled 1 HERE.