Math is fun and creates billionaires
Zeptolab is a mobile gaming company started in 2010 by self-taught Russian twins, who surprisingly were making games since the age of 10. What was I doing when I was 10? Well, it’s shameful to put it in writing but definitely not training to be a brilliant developer. I’ll stretch this a bit (the idea) and say that it pays to be great at Math and science, one of the (good) things Russians are famous for.
Zeptolab’s success was marked by the release of “Cut the Rope”, a fun physics puzzle with the same addiction rate as Angry Birds. Since I’m a man of few words and long thoughts (or few thoughts and long words?), here are some interesting facts about Zeptolab in general and Cut the Rope in particular:
- Zepto-lab. Zepto is a prefix in the metric system meaning 10 to the power of -21. So 0.000000000000000000001, the rate of bugs in “Cut the Rope” as Zeptolab likes to explain. Told you Russians are in love with Math.
- Om Nom. The central character in “Cut the Rope” is Om Nom, which is not a deformed frog but a cute lab-created monster. Unlike other monsters, Om Nom is fun, joyful and loves candy (in fact it has to be fed with candy only).
- 700 billion. “Cut the Rope” has over 400 million installations since October 2010, its original release date. It’s estimated that every 1.5 seconds Om Nom eats about 10,000 candies, thus with a bit of a stretch I say that to date, Om Nom ate more than 700 billion candies. No wonder he has missing teeth.
- Cut the Rope 2. Since the original “Cut the Rope” release, Zeptolab launched “Cut the Rope: Experiments” and “Cut the Rope: Time Travel” too, in total over 750 playable levels. “Cut the Rope 2” brings 120 new levels and has undergone a major redesign in terms of graphics, characters and levels. The gameplay is the same easy one and main reason of why the game became so popular.
KISS gameplay
Simplicity of gameplay is a great selling point in Cut the Rope, a thing that was kept in the newest version too. But a little about the goal in this game. Om Nom, the central character, likes candies and can’t actually live without them. Each level has a certain number of elements that combined create a physics puzzle, one where you have to slice ropes to get candy down to Om Nom.
Rephrasing that so I understand too what I wrote: you swipe your finger sideways to cut ropes to play the game. Sometime is a regular rope that holds a candy at the other end, other times is a series of balloon wires – the idea is still the same, swipe to cut, candy in mouth. Ignoring my Russian accent and “enthusiasm” (although I’m not Russian, even if I sound like one), you can see Om Nom in action in the video below:
For old users (old as in having played Cut the Rope previously), the great news is that design improved in “Cut the Rope 2”, there are new characters, 120 new puzzles, a map, achievements, bonus items and of course, badges. Zeptolab released “case files” for each of the new characters, so indulge me with the presentation of the new NOMMIES friends below:
- Roto. A cross between a rabbit and a “helicopteryx-helecopteryx”, Roto’s special ability is flying with its long years that spin. You’ll encounter it in the forest levels and is tiny in comparison with Om Nom. It flies by rotating its ears and can carry around items heavier than itself. You’ll use it when you want to carry Om Nom to a location where candy can be caught best.
Roto flys you up in the air
- Toss. This one is no mystery as its name reveals the special ability it has, tossing you around. Its “scientific” name is “spiralem frontem” but if you ask me I’d say it’s a cross between an elephant (with the trump on its head) and a frog. Very helpful though as it will help Om Nom jump higher to collect stars and falling candy. Toss is a girl, so the spring-shaped limb located on its head is not something … else. Like all species of the Nommy family, Toss likes to eat sweets and you’ll encounter her in the City Park levels throwing anything that falls on her (candy, Om Nom).
Toss is friendly and helpful
- Boo. A little scarier, Boo lives in the underground levels and its special ability is terrifying defence. Meaning when used it will scare the Bejesus out of Om Nom by jumping at him. Looks more like a purple star to me, one that has eyes and large teeth. You’ll use its ability to scare Om Nom into jumping higher than he could otherwise.
Boo will scare Om Nom to unbelievable heights
- Lick. Aside its unfortunate name (though not uncommon in the world of candy, still, I would’ve called it Tongue) Lick has an incredible sticky tongue that helps him catch small insects. It is also very helpful for Om Nom as it will help him climb on its tongue on the levels where he has to move a bit (i.e. Sandy Dam levels). He looks to me like a little funny pig that has a chameleon tongue.
Lick’s tongue will stick
- Blue. This character is like a box with teeth and eyes. Its special ability is multiplication through a form of asexual reproduction. The case file for it says that they multiply through a process of fission, but nonetheless they are very useful in levels such as junkyard when Om Nom has to go up fast.
Multiply the blues by fission
And the candy will flow in rivers…
Cut the Rope 2 comes with 120 playable levels, though I’m sure that soon other expansion levels will come (for special occasions such as Easter). These levels are distributed on an interactive map which makes it easier to figure out what your progress is. The combination of new graphics, sounds and background music makes it a pleasant experience especially on tablets which you can get a feel of watching this official video below:
The game is freemium, which means that there are in-app purchases. You can purchase customization items (i.e. hats, candy type, finger traces), hints, helpful abilities and other items that can help you finish a level faster and advance through the map. In my opinion that defeats the purpose, as I’m the type that will play for the fun of playing not to get my 99-th badge, but they have to make some money too off their work, something that I agree with.
So, some PROs about Cut the Rope 2:
- It’s free without displaying ads and the in-app purchases are not in-your-face like in other games (“angry” games if you get the hint)
- Beautiful HD graphics, characters, environments, beautiful everything
- Same easy gameplay as the first game
- Great physics puzzles that can train your brain a bit
Trying hard to find some CONs about Cut the Rope 2, so here are some things that could be improved:
- By default Om Nom eats candy, which honestly might encourage some kids to grab a lollipop ( a thing I’m trying not to teach my kid). Maybe if the default would be fruit, instead of customizing it yourself, would be kid-safe
- I’m actually mad at Zeptolab for releasing iOS titles first, and Android ones a couple months later so this counts as a CON too
It would be difficult for me not to recommend this game as I enjoy and will enjoy playing Cut the Rope 2. At some point you get bored of playing a game, but this is the case all throughout the mobile gaming industry and that’s why sequels are released. So I highly recommend the game.
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