iPad App Review
Type – Paid App
Category – Games
Released January 29th, 2011
If you like trivia or quiz type games then you’d better take a look at the newly released LightsOut by Velvet Rock Apps.
Unlike most trivia games for the iPad or iPhone, it’s based around a countdown timer of 10 seconds for each question, so it’s great if you have 5 minutes to spare and need a quick gaming fix. Basically the principle behind the game is to keep your lights lit for as long as possible. In single player mode you start with 3 lights and in 2 player mode each player has 5 lights. The single player game is simple, answer questions that appear in less than 10 seconds, the faster you answer the more points you’ll score. Answer incorrectly or don’t answer at all and one of your lights will go out. Once all your lights go out the game ends.
It’s the same principle in 2 player mode but as you have an opponent you’ll get the option to turn one of their lights out which can be a very satisfying feeling! The countdown timer also works well in the 2 player game as it has two advantages, 1, you don’t have to wait for 2 hours whilst your opponent decides on which is the correct answer and 2, there’s a feeling of pressure to answer more quickly than your opponent. If both players answer correctly it’s the player with the fastest time that gets to choose whether they wish to turn one of their own lights on or turn your mates light off. Watching a friends face drop as you turn his/her light out is fairly amusing although it’s not long before they are doing the same to you!
The variety of questions in LightsOut also seems to be very good as well. There are apparently over 750 questions which is a good amount and no question ever repeated in the the same game when we were playing it. We did of course see some repeat questions when a new game was started but it was very rare, and because you need to answer so quickly you generally can’t remember the answer anyway! LightsOut doesn’t offer any in-app purchases to buy more questions but hopefully this will be something that will be added in the future.
Conclusion
We think LightsOut definitely deserves a look, especially at its price point. At only $2.99/£1.79 it’s a bargain and a game everyone will enjoy. We had some good laughs with it and would certainly recommend it. Velvet Rock Apps is clearly a developer to keep an eye out for to see what they might produce in the future. LightsOut is brilliant, a great twist on general knowledge games.
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