Skipping Stone (Mobile)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 4.0 stars Excellent
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 8.1 (4.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Keith Stuart
• Reviewed on: 09/06/2005
• Originally published on GameSpot: Skipping Stone (Mobile) Review

The concept of Skipping Stone is so simple and so ridiculously childish that you'd think it wouldn't be a fun game at all--and you'd be completely wrong. If you've been charmed by WarioWare, or older cult classics like Bishi Bashi Special, you're in for an idiosyncratic treat here.

Skipping Stone captures those lazy summer afternoons spent skimming pebbles across twinkling waters. The first step during gameplay is to get the pitch right. The strength of the throw is governed by a power gauge that whizzes up and down, requiring deft timing to achieve a full-bodied lob. Next, just press the fire button every time the stone hits a sweet spot on the surface of the water--if you miss the spot, your power gauge drains and the bounce height reduces. When the gauge reaches zero, the pebble sinks, and it's game over. The longer you keep the stone skipping, the higher your score.

There are two very subtly different game modes: distance and splash. They're self-explanatory really--the former encouraging you to clock up the kilometers, the second counting your bounces. You can also amass combos by making consecutive sweet-spot hits, and this bumps up your scores a bit. An online high-score table would have been a nice addition here.

Although it sounds idiotically primitive, the straightforward design masks a playing experience of real depth and compulsion. Importantly, the balance is perfect--a topped-up power meter is great for longevity, but it means a longer drop between bounces, which makes it tricky to establish a rhythm. Conversely, when you're on your last sliver of power, the bounces are low and superfast, allowing the calm, collected gamer to tap away for ages, skimming along the edge of oblivion. In this way, however well you're doing, the game is always challenging, always testing your reflexes.

Then, of course, there are the power-ups and forfeits. If you hit the sweet spot a number of times in succession, a question-mark box appears onscreen. Get the spot again, and you'll access one of nine pickup icons. The sneakers, for example, increase dropping speed, the clock slows it down, the spring boosts your power gauge and gives you a higher jump, the weight decreases the height, and so on. These are the little alterations to the flow that keep you thinking.

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