Prepare to be taken on an enchanting world full of gems, wonderful sceneries and stunningly haunting soundtrack.

Glyder ($0.99)

The game takes iPhone gaming to new levels with its great control (yet difficult to pick up) scheme, wonderful art design and high production values. Glyder also carries a zen-like feel all through out the game… think Soaring Over California ride in Disneyland. That ride gives us chills everytime we hop on it. You can literally feel the wind beneath your wings, and the joys of flying freely. Imagine that without Disney’s effects, and you get Glyder. It’s wonderfully put together, and well damn worth more than what Glu Mobile priced the game at.

Mission

To collect as much crystals as you can without the pressure of time. You need to have Eryn fly around different worlds to collect all the gems before you can move to the next level.

Controls

We were going to use No Pain, No Glory as the tag line, but it feels too overused. The point we’re trying to make is this: Glyder is super awesome, but it has the most difficult to master controls on an iPhone game we’ve ever played. Trust us, we’ve played a dozen and this one frustrated us the most. After you get used to the controls (IT IS SOOO WORTH IT), prepare to immense yourself in one of the most amazing experiences the iPhone had to offer.

You can fly by holding your iPhone parallel to the ground. You tilt up to pull Eryn up, and you tilt down to dive (and pick up speed).

Sounds easy? NOT!, at least for us.  There are two things you need to be wary about: speed and altitude. You cannot increase altitude (fly higher) if you are slow. Glyder then automatically asks you to take a dive to pick up speed then pull up to gain altitude:

The problem we had came from a misunderstanding between the game’s one page control screen and us. We thought you have to dive really low to gain speed but such is not the case. You can simply flip up, down, up down, up, steady… up up up. You maintain speed and altitude if the iPhone is completely parallel to the ground.

Finding Crystals

Crystals and gems are hidden all over worlds. Some are very close to the ground (meaning you have to fly at a really low altitude without crashing), and some are ridiculously hidden at tight spaces:

You then need to find Thermal blue arrows which will boost you automatically to higher altitudes:

Red blobs of speed pickups can also be found to avoid having to increase your speed manually:

Other Features

Glyder asks you to interactively fly to the next world upon finishing levels. You can see Eryn buld thrust and see worlds miles and miles away. This is where the zen like feel comes to play in full effect. It’s like you suddenly had wings and is flying with your character. A regular boring map is also available upon request ;p:

Achievements and a crystal tracker are also added for accessibility:

There are also colored landing pads where you can momentarily rest upon getting exhausted from flying around.

Suggestions

Provide a beginner’s level. The first level was a full on regular level. There are some really low crystals to pick up, and some really high ones. Why not edge in on the action slower? Have a simple world with simple gem locations and have pop up helps every once in a while.

Make the landing pads checkpoints. Right now, when you die/crash, you start off the main pad. We think doing checkpoints is something that can be really helpful without sacrificing the game’s difficulty.

Conclusion

There’s no question… you’d be insane not to get Glyder for this amazing price or even for $4.99 upwards. It’s really something to be seen and played. This is hands down Glu Mobile’s best game ever. It warrants a home on your dock.