The Blogtastic Blogfest That Is Getmeoutofthis.net!

Back when iPhone games were a young market, one indie title stood out: Edge. Everyone was talking about it. I really kind of paid it no mind. Then a certain jackass started suing because he’s a jackass, and it got taken down. Then put back up. Then taken down again. About the second time it got put back up, it was on sale, and I said, “Hey, I guess I could figure out what that is.” I bought it. I tried the first level. I didn’t get it at all. I never played it.

Until recently, of course.

I was depressed and had only my iPod recently. I needed something to do, so I gave it another try, and you know what? The game is pretty fantastic. I’m on the last few levels, and I’m glad I picked it up.

I feel I have to start by mentioning the music. I’ve gone on record as not giving a shit about iPhone game music, because if I’m playing a game on my iPhone, I’m going to be wanting to listen to a podcast while I do it. However, I ended up actually listening to the music in this game, and it really is fantastic. There’s just enough tracks so that when one comes around again, you’re ready to hear it, and they are some fantastic chiptune songs. Just listen to the music in the trailer I linked above, and you’ll see what I mean. Smartly, though, the game lets you easily turn sounds off to listen to your own stuff too, so it’s good no matter what.

The gameplay is pretty simple stuff. You move a cube to a goal, collecting little rainbow bits along the way. Your cube can climb up walls the same height as himself, as long as he has clearance behind him. He can also “stick” to surfaces using the edge of the cube, thus giving the game its name. Using “edge time” is the trick to most of the more difficult levels, where you have to balance on the sides of moving platforms to carry you to new areas. The cube also has interesting moving physics which you have to master, as you need to know how fast it’s going to fall forward as you move across the stages.

There are three control schemes available. All work to some extent, but I found that, to use edge time properly, I eventually had to turn on the virtual buttons, as that was the only way I could properly grok the feathering needed to make it work. Give the other schemes a try, but you’ll probably end up just turning the buttons on, too.

The game is basically a time-attack game, designed around mastering levels and moving through them quickly. I have no interest in that, but thankfully, the game is designed in such a way that I can still have fun. The levels are all clever, with neat little gimmicks on the basic ideas of the game that make you smile. When I play, I just want to see what wacky levels I can see next. There’s constant checkpointing, and the only penalty for dying is losing time, so if you want to play as a tourist, like I do, the game is very nice in making that easy. Sure, you’ll get the “D” rank at the end, but you’re still upping your overall game completion, so you’re still getting progress.

The only problem with the game is that you have to complete a level in one go. Some levels, especially when you’re still learning the tricks and keep dying on attempts, can take awhile, so it’s a shame it doesn’t really do mid-level saves for when you need to exit into another app to do something real fast, like change the podcast you’re listening to.

That’s a minor complaint, though. The game is fantastic. It’s creative and fun, and completely worth a dollar. Of course, you’ve probably already played it at this point, seeing as it’s old as hell. Still, if you haven’t, get on the app store and grab it! It lives up to the hype.