TUAW First Look: Parachute Panic for iPhone

I love iPhone games. Zen Bound, Frenzic and Peggle are among my favorites. Each feels right on the phone, from the utilization of the touch screen to the graphics and sound. Best of all, there's no definitive end, so I can continue to play for as long as I like.

Earlier this week, they were all knocked down a peg as Parachute Panic [App Store link] became my favorite. It's part Defender, part SketchFighter 4000 Alpha and a lot of fun. The goal is simple: Allow paratroopers safe passage from an airplane to the deck of a ship. As they fall, you must deploy their chutes (some open on their own but most don't; I'd have a word with the manufacturer) while avoiding rotating helicopter blades, abducting space aliens, electrical storms and hungry sharks. Additionally, you've got to alter the wind direction to ensure they hit the target and not the open sea.

The graphics are absolutely charming. The paratroopers are stick figures and the ships, aliens, sharks, etc. resemble simple sketches done with marker. Everything is on a background that looks like a crumpled sheet of grid paper, like those we used in elementary school. An acoustic guitar plays gentle broken chords during gameplay.

Speaking of the gameplay, that's also a treat. To deploy a stubborn chute, simply tap the plummeting trooper. Defeat helicopters and aliens by tapping them 5 times, and alter the wind direction by swiping left, right or down to speed things up (pro tip: Swipe up to pause the game). At first it's easy: land two troopers on a stationary ship without interference from enemies. Then the ships start to move and get smaller, their numbers increase, the paratroopers pour from the planes like water over Niagara Falls and enemies abound. Careful attention, wind manipulation and parachute timing will get you through.

I've only got one request here, and that's a way to compare scores with friends. Some of my buddies are kicking my butt, and the competition would be more fun with a site set up for (among other things) trash talk, similar to Frenzic.com.

Is it worth 99 pennies? Positively. Check out the gallery of screen shots below.


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