Every once in a while there comes a game
that just completely embraces its’ medium. This isn’t about blockbuster titles
but instead it’s about taking what’s available and making the most out of it.
Every platform has these games; Goldeneye for the N64 redefined the FPS genre,
LittleBigPlanet reinvented the platformer, and Zen Bound, while not as
expansive, is no less impressive.
You’re not going to find a written
description of Zen Bound that does the gameplay justice. Even on the creator’s
rhetoric ridden website it’s difficult to grasp what exactly the ‘game’ has you
doing. An oversimplified description relates that you have a rotatable wooden
object to which a string is tied that stretches out somewhere off screen. The
objective is to wrap a predetermined length of string around the piece of wood
by rotating it with your finger. As the string touches the object it paints the
surrounding area. Paint the entire object to get 100% and move on to the next,
more complex item. Sounds rather bland, right? Wrong.
There’s something so relaxing about finding
the best method to wrap up a flock of seagulls in string that it really defies
description. On the one hand it feels like a game you might have played with
your toys as a kid but on the other hand it’s really only possible on a device
like the iPhone. Zen Bound takes the touch-screen controls and actually gives
the impression of a real object being manipulated. There’s no time limit and
while percent-completion is tracked, the game doesn’t push you for highscores.
With its melodic, almost sublime soundtrack, it has the appeal of a relaxation
technique that you can take up any time.
And the presentation is through the roof.
While wooden objects are hardly pushing the graphical capabilities of the
iPhone, the ‘string physics’ are surprisingly accurate and the intricacies of
some of the animals and objects are superb. The game divides itself into two
categories, one a series of wooden toy-like animals and the other more complex,
contorted shapes to really push your skills. Each category has its own tree.
Completing a predetermined percentages will result in either one, two, or three
flowers blossoming on the particular branch where the ‘tag’ for an object hangs.
Complete branches to move up the tree. You can scroll up and down the tree by
dragging your finger and the animal/object tags hanging from branches will sway
with the momentum. The level of polish here has Zen Bound positively shinning.
While you might have scoffed at the notion
of putting an iPhone game in the same category as Goldeneye, in my opinion it’s
fully warranted for no other reason than both games maximized the returns from
the respective mediums. Zen Bound presents a mechanic practically unreplicable on
any other system. It’s quite possibly the first iPhone game that can only exist
on the iPhone and that provides an almost hobby-like experience that can be
thoroughly satisfying, especially considering the $5 price tag.
Check out the Zen Bound website for a video of
the game in action.
