iCilada Review
iPad App
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iCilada Review

Our Review by Jordan Minor on January 6th, 2012
Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar :: GRIDLOCKED
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Putting everything together in this puzzle game is harder than it looks.


Developer: NeoCode Software
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.2
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2

Graphics / Sound Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar
Game Controls Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Gameplay Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar
Replay Value Rating: starstarstarhalfstarblankstar
Playtime Rating: starstarstarstarblankstar

Overall Rating: starstarstarblankstarblankstar


Anyone with even a hint of obsessive compulsive disorder will either absolutely love or be driven utterly mad by iCilada. It appeals to that instinctual desire to make everything fit into place perfectly. Unfortunately, as a game, it winds up being more frustrating than fun.

iCilada presents players with a green, 4x7 field full of circles, squares and crosses. At the bottom there are a handful of white pieces of various dimensions with circle, square and cross-shaped holes. So naturally the player's job is to fit all of these pieces onto the grid. All pieces must be used and there can be no spaces left unfilled. Rotating the pieces can reveal potential new places to fit them but players must be careful as just because a piece can fit in a place doesn't mean that's the place where it belongs. This leads to satisfying victories but many false starts.

These puzzles are no slouch either. In fact, finding the solution is a matter of trial and error more than anything else. There are so many different ways the puzzle can go that more often than not it feels more like homework than a game. The humorless, clinical visuals only add to this cold atmosphere. Credit must be given to the music though which sounds eerily similar to an instrumental version of Michael Jackson's "Remember the Time." For those that can endure however there's a lot of game here to conquer. Depending on the player's luck, each puzzle can take a fair amount of time to complete. Then multiply that by the fifty puzzles included.

Games that are nothing more than sheer tests of logic certainly have merit. However, there's no harm in dressing them up a little. iCilada could have used a makeover.


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iPad Screenshots

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iGridlock screenshot 1 iGridlock screenshot 2 iGridlock screenshot 3 iGridlock screenshot 4 iGridlock screenshot 5
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