Rodeo Stampede (iOS, Google Play)

RODEO_BOXThe makers of popular mobile games like Crossy Road and Pac-Man 256 have roped in a new free-to-play downloadable title for iOS and Google Play (reviewed on iPad here).  In Rodeo Stampede, you must ride wild animals without getting thrown off, and jump and lasso the next critter in the stampede.  Keep on doing this for as long as you can, and you’ll even befriend these animals and invite them to live on your floating zeppelin zoo! 

There are two main parts to this game, the stampede phase and the simulation phase.  In the stampede phase, you ride animals and steer them around obstacles and other critters by holding down on the touch screen and move your finger around to steer.  Release the touch screen and your rider will jump off the animal.  You must time it correctly so that you’ll lasso and land on another animal.  When you see the next animal in your circle and it lights up yellow, that’s your cue to hold down on the touch screen again so you can rope and ride your new animal friend.

Each critter has their own characteristics as you ride.  Zebras and ostriches can run faster, bigger animals like elephants can crash through other animals and rocks, and you can even rope and ride flying birds!  After you’ve ridden on an animal for a while, they’ll get angry.  Each animal will do different things when angry.  Some will buck around, making it harder to control them, and others will just throw you off entirely.  Luckily you get a warning before an animal gets angered.  It’s Game Over if you jump or get thrown off and can’t land on another animal, or if you crash into a rock or another critter.

When you hop on an animal that you haven’t ridden before, a heart meter will appear and if you can ride on that animal until the meter is full, you’ll befriend that animal and it’ll live in your zoo.  Here’s where the simulation phase comes in.  When you’re done riding and roping animals in the stampede phase, you’ll see the animals you’ve ridden living in a zoo that’s also a flying zeppelin!  The more animals you have in your zoo, the more money you’ll get when visitors come.  You can use money to move to new areas so you can catch new animals.  You can also use money to upgrade your zoo habitats.  These upgrades will help you earn more coins as well as aid you in the stampede phase.  For instance, some upgrades will help you encounter certain animals more frequently, cause them to be less angry, etc. You’ll also have missions in both the zoo and the stampede phases that you must pass in order to progress.

I really like how imaginative this game is, and the blocky graphics make it look like a classic arcade title.  It even reminds me of one of my favorite Activision Atari 2600 games: Stampede (even though the gameplay in both titles are totally different).  But unfortunately, it’s the free-to-play aspects that bog this title down.  It takes too long to earn enough coins to progress, and you must also wait too long to get new missions and zoo visitors.  Sometimes you can view an ad to double your coins, which I always recommend doing since it takes so long to earn them.  I know that’s the nature of free-to-play games, but in one of their other titles, Pac-Man 256, which was also free, I never felt like I had to wait very long to play with some of the perks.  It’s a shame that Rodeo Stampede isn’t like that, but it’s just too repetitive to warrant playing for too long anyway.

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Kid Factor:

Violence is minimal and cartoony.  You can run into rocks and other animals, crash into critters with bigger animals, and smack into the ground when thrown off.  But the blocky visuals keep things from looking too graphic.  Reading skill is helpful for some of the text, and parental supervision is recommended for the in-game purchases.

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