Price: Free Score: 8.5/10 Category: Games
As a general rule, I’m not a huge fan of iPhone games that force you to use a Facebook account to play them. I prefer having a couple of different login options, but that’s just personal preference. Looking beyond that one issue, AquaVillage – the Friends, developed by BarunsonCreative, won me over, despite my initial reluctance to dive in.
A big component of my enjoyment of this iPhone game comes from the lush, vivid graphics. Between the hundreds of species of fish, the various farms of your neighbors, and the multiple quests you can embark on, there’s a lot of different graphic elements to enjoy, and you get the feeling that you’ve been dropped into a cutscene from “Finding Nemo.”
Sort of a blissful cross between Farmville and a Kairosoft title, this social networking game lets you construct an underwater town, raise cartoon fishies, and go exploring to find even more rare and exotic species of fish.
With 200+ fish species and nearly 100 building elements, you can completely customize your land without ever getting bored. And of course, you can listen to your own music while playing to increase your enjoyment of the experience.
With a recent update that deals with some bugs and stability issues, AquaVillage has never been stronger. That being said, if you aren’t a fan of social gaming and would rather play something that doesn’t involve the use of Facebook, this definitely isn’t the game for you. But for diehard social gamers in need of a new addiction, you could do a lot worse than this lushly constructed mobile game.
AquaVillage – the Friends is compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.