Sometimes, one does not create a game with the intention of creating an epic masterpiece. Sometimes, it's nice to just have a small, highly addictive game to kill time, have fun and get a good highscore. Well, that's exactly what Cider Attack is. We've seen a couple games created with that intention in mind, and with varying degrees of success.
How did the cider turn out? Find out after the break!
In Cider Attack the player controls the Mane 6 (along with Big Macintosh and Applebloom) as they try to make as much of their high-quality, trademark cider as they can. The player is assigned points for every barrel they create (although they are only assigned once ten barrels are created), and accidentally making lower-quality cider will decrease your highscore. Additionally, the player must produce the cider within the time limit, or else the game ends.
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| No Pinkie, Applejack's tail is not scented. |
Cider (well, the Apple family's brand) is apparently made in three simple steps, and the gameplay revolves around this. In the first part, you first play as either Applejack or Fluttershy and buck the apples from the tree (shook from the tree if you are playing as Fluttershy), and then you switch to Applebloom/Pinkie Pie and catch them. This is the meat of the gameplay (simple though it may be), and arguably the most crucial step to getting a good highscore. Not to mention that it's the most fun of the three steps, and involves the most skill. However, the apples always seem to fall in the same pattern, which makes this step far too predictable.
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| Lovely! |
The second step gives you control of Rarity (or Granny Smith), and has you select which apples to put into the cider. Just toss in anything that isn't brused! This part is quite easy, although if you are in a rush to beat the clock it could become a living nightmare (and leave you with the worst-tasting cider ever manufactured). For the last step, all you have to do is hold down the "S" key for Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh to grind the apples into tasty, tasty cider. In my opinion, that part wasn't even necessary, and could've been easily combined with step two, but it does make things more hectic if you're running low on time.
I seem to have noticed a trend going on lately that has people in need of sprites for their pony games using the sprites from the
Desktop Ponies project, and even though they are pretty good sprites, I am getting rather sick of them. I mean, can't someone just draw their own sprites for once? Anyways, other then that (and mind you, the sprites aren't BAD, just a little overused) the graphics are decent, considering that it's a quick flash game, but the background is kind of fuzzy, which detracts from the overall look of the game. The music, while not original, is quite fitting, and thankfully does not get annoying after long periods of playing the game, which is particularly useful for this kind of game.
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| Couldn't you two have just done this during the second step? |
The Apple Family's Cider Attack aimed to become a simple, addictive game, and it succeeded in it's goal. It's main objective was fun, and that it is, nothing more, nothing less. It's well worth a couple plays, or maybe more if you wish for a really high score. Even though it's most certainly fun, I cannot give it a very high rating, and thus I give it a 5.
(See what I did there?)
