Rescue the Marshies with Coco Loco for iOS

Coco Loco is a new game iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch developed by Twiitch and published by Chillingo. I must admit, when I first saw the game, I thought "OH NO! Another Angry Birds clone! But, then I was pleasantly surprised. The game’s UI and game mechanics do seem very similar to Angry Birds. It’s based on the goal of rescuing creatures called “Marshies”, a marshmallow tribe who are at war with the Cocoa Bean Guardians of Aztec Land. The Guardians have taken a lot of the Marshies captive (you didn’t see that coming), and it is your job to rescue them.
Image courtesy Chillingo Ltd.
Image courtesy Chillingo Ltd.

Coco Loco is a new game for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch developed by Twiitch and published by Chillingo. I must admit, when I first saw the game, I thought "OH NO! Another Angry Birds clone!" But, then I was pleasantly surprised.

The game's UI and game mechanics do seem very similar to Angry Birds. It's based on the goal of rescuing creatures called "Marshies," a marshmallow tribe who are at war with the Cocoa Bean Guardians of Aztec Land. The Guardians have taken a lot of the Marshies captive (you didn't see that coming), and it is your job to rescue them. So instead of birds, we have little marshmallow guys and gals. The game has interesting physics to it, as you are dealing with flinging the Marshies towards various obstacles on each level in an attempt to free their friends. Obstacles (which range from hot chocolate to jelly) change the way you interact with the game's environment and at first seem like an obstacle to your rescue efforts. In fact these obstacles are often the key to rescuing friends, as you can use the Marshies to knock down blocks and shape the direction of the liquids to knock down more blocks and buildings (and free more Marshies, of course).

The game's environment is pretty responsive, and new compounds are implemented such as jello, which turns into red dissolving water when broken up. The gameplay as you progress through the levels seems intuitive and organic, as something new and creative happens in each level. One interesting innovation is the use of hot chocolate. The player is able to shape the path of the hot chocolate to free yet more Marshies. The type of Marshies you use do appear similar to the Angry Birds model, with ninjas that cut through glass and exploding bombs to get through the harder surfaces like stone. I found it oddly satisfying to blow up the jello in the game.

The game currently features four worlds: Rolling Hills, Temple Morning, Temple Sunset and Cavern World. Each world is made up of fifteen levels. After each level, you are awarded a star rating from one to three. Collecting 3 three stars on every level offers another challenge to concentrate on for players. An amusing physics puzzle game for all ages from Chillingo for just $.99.