Apple boss Steve Jobs might not be impressed when he sees what his often over-zealous censors have allowed through the bedroom door into the App Store boudoir.
Pillow-fighting women, scantily clad women at that, on the iPhone and iPod Touch? Allowed into iTunes, which usually welcomes violence and bodily functions but frowns upon bare flesh – surely not?
I’m being slightly mischievous here because in reality, despite its suggestive title, Pillowfight Girls from I-play isn’t any racier than a saucy seaside postcard or St Trinian’s movie.
There is nothing naughty, sexual or pornographic about the game that will offend any prudes.
That said, there is enough cheeky content to provide some cheap titillation and humour to anyone with a juvenile mind. My inner child, that teenage version of me who lives on in spirit and occasionally still finds farts funny, was giggling to himself as I played my first fight.
Unfortunately underneath the covers Pillowfight Girls isn’t much of a game once its novelty appeal wears off. It soon reveals itself to be a very basic and lacklustre beat ‘em up, with pillows.
Trashy and gimmicky games don’t have to offer much in the way of sophistication or substance. It’s fine for them to be airheads but they still need to be fun and offer decent gameplay, two key things which Pillowfight Girls falls down on.
Control of the young women is via a d-pad in the bottom-left corner, with action buttons to the right for attacks and blocks.
It’s a simple set-up, but for me the controls aren’t very responsive.
Combo attacks happen from time to time but they feel very random. Special attacks involving throwing your opponent on the floor are also possible but are hard to pull off.
Skill seems unfairly stacked in the AI’s favour, with computer-controlled girls seemingly able to do moves which are beyond human players.
Winning fights becomes more an exercise in button bashing than using good timing or deft manoeuvres.
Rudimentary graphics and poor animations mean it’s hard to tell what’s happening a lot of the time.
It’s unlikely anyone is going to want to spend a whole lot of time with this game but if you do want to explore you’ll discover there are three woman to play as and against at the start, with three more unlockable by playing through the series of fights in arcade mode.
Fights are best-of-three rounds, a round ends when a fighter’s health bar is run down.
Away from arcade mode, you can set up pillow-swinging contests between the girls in quick play mode.
The game’s problems are a shame because while this is undoubtedly aimed at the immature (like me) it has the potential to be a fun little brawler.
If you keep your expectations very low then Pillowfight Girls won’t be the worst game you’ll play.
But it’s a long way short of being a good game.
A game involving feathery weapons was always going to be lightweight but I was expecting something more.
The game seems to have been positioned to only trade off its slightly risqué title and characters without offering anything inside.
It doesn’t take itself seriously and provides some amusement for about five minutes or so, but that’s about it.
Verdict: 3 out of 10 – I-play has released some excellent games into the App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch, including Pool Star and Red Bull X-Fighters. Unfortunately Pillowfight Girls isn’t among them and is a poor effort.
Watch a trailer for Pillowfight Girls and see what you think:
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