One of the last games of September I plan on reviewing is RGB Express, and I think this one definitely had a shot at making my list of the Top iOS Games of September — but I just got to playing it a bit too late. If you’re expected high speed chases in an intense driving game, you may want to look elsewhere. RGB Express is a color coordinated Puzzle game with a heavy emphasis on timing, attention to detail, and intelligent route building.
Don’t underestimate this one by it’s inviting looks, as some of the later puzzles will leave you scratching your head for a while before you can figure it out. There are a ton of different levels in RGB Express, and the difficulties vary from so easy a 2 year old could do it, to the point where it seems nearly impossible.
- Price: $2.99
- Platform: iOS only
- Genre: Puzzle
- Developer: Bad Crane
Subtle tutorials, calming Visuals
RGB Express has the sort of appeal that is inviting to all sorts of gamers, whether it be a kid playing on their parent’s iPad, or a regular Joe looking to solve some puzzles. Regardless of who you are or how you got there, you’ll quickly find yourself routing delivery trucks, eager to unlock the next City. Everything in the game is very smooth visually, and the frame rate stays perfect throughout.
My one problem with the graphics, is that there was absolutely no real scenery changes, just the residential neighborhood type areas. On the one hand, its nice that the game offers so many different levels, but it’s not as great when you pretty much know what to expect visually. Still, the route lines are smooth, the trucks look great, and just about everything you see in the game is pleasing to the eye.
One of the things I really liked about the game, was how it allowed you to learn how the game works without making you feel like you’re sitting through a boring tutorial. Every time a new concept was introduced, there would be two or three levels at the beginning of a new area that would pretty much show you how to do it, without saying “do this”. It also gives you the option to jump around a bit, and skip past certain areas where new concepts are revealed — giving you more of a challenge when they just randomly show up.
Every level you complete rewards coins, and coins are used to unlock new Cities. Typically, the more coins a city costs to unlock, the more difficult it is to complete. However, it’s impossible to go too far ahead into the game, since you don’t usually have enough coins to unlock a level that is more than four skips ahead.
Addicting Gameplay with plenty of content
The core concept of this game is to make sure the right trucks deliver the right packages to the right place. Some levels have one red truck with three packages and three destinations, whereas others may have one red, one blue, and one yellow truck each with their own package. Players need to route the trucks so they pick up their package and delivery it without crashing into another truck or doubling up on a route.
Once you’ve completed the first four cities of RGB Express, the game starts to get a lot more interesting. Fortunately, you can breeze through these first levels in just a few minutes if you want, by simply clicking the fast forward button after starting a route. Most of the concepts in the game are pretty self explanatory, but there are a couple of somewhat unspoken rules — such as trucks can only cross paths, but not travel on the same path another truck is using.
After you’ve mastered the art of route building, the game starts to implement more factors into how the routes must be built. Eventually, there are switch operated bridges that you need to properly navigate around and through, and even more things that start to make your head spin. There’s also the white trucks, which are able to deliver any color package, but must pick them up and deliver them in a specific order. White trucks deliver the last package they picked up first, and there’s no changing this order.
RGB Express has a whopping 240 levels to play through, and Bad Crane plans to release even more levels via free updates. Even though most of the puzzles can be worked out in less than a minute, some of the later ones could have you building routes for upwards of 5-10 minutes, and overall I’d say there is a guaranteed 5 hours of Gameplay packed into this game — depending on how good you are at it.
Mildy frustrating UI, but still a fantastic game
The UI is pretty good for the most part, but every so often it seemed a bit stagnant when trying to alter routes I had previously created. It just seems like there’s a bit too much tapping required when you should be able to just drag the routes backwards/forwards without selecting it. Clearing routes is very easy, since you can just double-tap a truck, and I don’t believe I had any problems simply making a route. Regardless, it’s not like the game is unforgiving when it comes to attempting a failed route — even if your trucks crash into each other, just try it again.
Whatever Interface woes I encountered were certainly not enough to keep me from spending several hours routing trucks in RGB Express. It’s not even that the UI is broken, it just takes a bit of getting used to, and once you’ve played for 30 minutes or so it’s easy to be efficient. The main menu is very easy to navigate, and since the levels are broken up alphabetically and numerically, it’s very easy to remember a certain level you enjoyed.
Verdict – 4/5 [B-]
RGB Express offers easy to learn puzzle concepts that quickly evolve into something much more challenging. There are 240 playable levels (with more to come, apparently), and a non-linear campaign that allows you to jump around and try out more difficult scenarios earlier if you dare. At times, the UI can seem sluggish, but this isn’t very frequent and not at all a major hindrance to the overall Gameplay performance. Overall, it’s a great puzzle game for all ages, and well worth the $2.99 price-tag.
Click here to check out RGB Express on the Apple App Store!
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