Review: Kickin’ Momma

Kickin’ Momma sounds a lot more like a headline you wouldn’t want to read in your local paper. Or depending on how you feel about children, maybe you would. Joking. Instead, it’s actually an iPhone/iPad title that very competently challenges one of the most addictive casual games this side of Angry Birds: Peggle. In this bizarre clone of the wildly successful timewaster, you aid a decidedly un-beautiful monster momma put together a gorgeous piece of jewelry..by kicking her own children down into gem-filled pits in order to collect enough prized jewels to create something stunning.

And surprisingly enough, it works. Punting the little blue guys is satisfying and simple; just as you’ve likely come to expect with anything that comes with a little “i” before its name as the console. You need to slide your finger to control your trajectory, how much force you’re going to put into your kick, and let go to see where the little blue runt will bounce — and how many gems he’ll collide with along the way. Several different types of pegs will offer other power-ups – some will shower you with bonus points in order to hoard enough points for another kick (another ball in Peggle) and plenty will explode as soon as you come into contact.

However, rather than simply making these pegs disappear, you need to ensure the gems fall to the very bottom of your screen so your monster Mommie Dearest can scoop them up for her nouveau-riche evening decor. When you manage to rack up a decent score, you’ll be treated to some very familiar-feeling fireworks, but unfortunately, no Ode to Joy. Alas, such is the life of a clone! What you do get, however, are some great production values and a high attention to detail that is not often found in mere imitations of the real thing. Impressive idle animations, eye-popping color, and giddy background music cue up one impressive little copycat that does well to stand on its own right.

So if you’ve exhausted those long nights of study at the Peggle Academy and need a new drug to get you through those long periods of waiting at the doctor’s office or on your commute, then you could certainly do worse than Kickin’ Momma.

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