Smack Me Review

Smack the robot, win a prize! That's the message behind Smack Me, a new reflex-testing game that's a cut above the rest of the games you'll find in the genre. It's a fun little diversion, and good for a laugh among friends, too.

Smack Me is basically a slimmed-down version of WarioWare adapted to the iPhone. A sassy robot pops onto the screen and orders you around in a heavily synthed voice. You quickly have to do what it says or lose. The actions are all very basic—stuff like pinching and tapping the screen, shaking and lifting the phone, or keeping it still—but the further you go, the faster and preachier the robot gets. There are three progressively unlockable difficulty levels, and the last one is not so easy.

The gameplay's fine, although we wish there were a handful more actions to further mix things up. The presentation is the real star of Smack Me. The robot mascot chirps along to a wicked chiptune soundtrack, and the graphics are outrageously stylish and pretty funny in their own right. There are several graphics for each action, placing the robot in a rocket ship, giving him a lobster claw, and the like. That extra bit of effort on the part of the developers goes a long way.

Smack Me is a great way to waste a few minutes, or settle disputes among friends. $2.99 isn't cheap, but if you like reflex games, it's worth it. This is the one to buy.