Dice Pile, a game about throwing dices. Yep it is that simple but it kind of grows on you the longer you play the game. Dice Pile is a game developed by a Japanese company name Evolve. It features two modes, all of which are played in the same way (gameplay mechanic) with different rules and scoring system. The whole game as said in my very first sentence, is about throwing dices.
The main gameplay mechanic is the throwing of the dices. It is extremely simple and it utilizes a simple yet effective physics engine to determine the landing of the dice. For both modes, you are given dices to throw. To throw, you simple press on the dice at the left of your iPhone and simply flick it off towards your right. Depending on the angle and the speed at which you flick the dice, the place it lands varies. What makes it very interesting is the way the dice lands. If it lands on the corner, it flips a few times back or forward. This thus results in luck playing a little part in the game.
With that said, what exactly do you have to do with the dices? Basically, for the first mode you have to try to score as much as you can. To score, you have to throw the dice and make sure it lands within a target area. The closer to the centre means you get a higher multiplier. You can then stack the dices up to get even higher scores as they would multiply/add among each other. You are given a total of 18 dices and to get the highest score, Â you have to strategically stack them up (if you manage to master the way of throwing the dices). Check out the video below as it gives a much clearer explanation of the game mode.
The other mode is called the Chain Mode. All you have to do is to stack as many dices as possible within a target area within a target time. You are given 3 chances to miss per throw and every time you successfully throw a dice within the target area, your chances are replenished. So speed is the key factor and you have to memorise the strength and angle at which you throw the dice. With that in mind, you can start throwing the dices away and watch them fall. It is really addictive for me to see the dices drop, roll or stack. Don’t know why but it is fun.
The graphics are clean simple and good. It fits the gameplay of throwing dices. Simple shades of black, white and red with a soothing background makes throwing dices a comfortable and fun action. The game provides a highscore system that doesn’t actually works very well. I mean it functions as a highscore system but there is no way to input your own initials or anything. They simply upload your score and that is it. No way to put names like “Yeah try beating that” or something.
With all that said the game is fun but it doesn’t last for very long. You can be sure to have short bursts of the game but never a long time kind of thing. As in throwing dice sounds stupid, but in actually fact is kind of fun but how long can you be actually throwing the dices? For $0.99 this game provides a unique gameplay that most people might enjoy. For me, I sure did and now I feel like throwing the dices again.
Link to the game: http://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/dice-pile/id339003693?mt=8
Gameplay Video
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