Co-Written By: James Isabel

Illusion Labs ain’t Illusion Labs if they’re not to bring us totally unique and expertly designed games, this game is no exception.

Labyrinth 2 ($4.99)

The original Labyrinth became one of the initial staples of the (then) just beginning AppStore. What with the finesse in design, absolutely perfect physics supported with sounds, it’s not one to be missed.

Turn the book a year later and Illusion Labs has completely redesigned the “genre” again. Cue the copycats to follow.

Presentation

The original Labyrinth looked good, but somehow Illusion Labs has made it better. First of all looking at this game you can’t really make it anym0re 3D, but the subtle improvements made to the game such as seeing the sides of the walls as you tilt the game really make this look awesome. Instead of a game where you a rolling it into 2D lines on the screen it’s almost like there is a real ball in your device.

Along with the classic wooden layout of the original we get a new Metallic setting as well as some awesome new toys to play with in the levels. With these new features, it really shows how good the physics are in this game. The ball reacts accordingly to what happens to it with some level of realism. This is an extremely good thing, especially with a game that needs so much precision as lag would be the ultimate game breaker here.

Controls

Much like the other ball rolling game I recently covered, Super Monkey Ball 2, the controls are super easy to pick up but will take a long time to master. You tilt the device to control where the ball goes and obviously the more you tilt it the faster the ball will roll. Instead of the view we got in SMB2 you are looking down on the game with the whole level in front of you.

Again, while the process seems easy enough you will find that this game requires a heap of precision and timing to finish quite a lot of the medium and harder levels. There are many dangers on the levels and knowing the key amount to tilt your device is crucial to success, making once again another game that is quick to learn but will take hours to master. This seems like the key area of Illusion Labs games I have found.

Gameplay

The aim of a Labyrinth game is to work your way through the maze to the end point of it. In Labyrinth 2 on the iPhone they can add in lots more effects and features than we could ever imagine in a real life game. In this version you have to avoid dangerous holes that send you back to the starting position as well as many other obstacles such as pinball bumpers, cannons, fans, trip wires, magnets and much more. Most of these features are new in Labyrinth 2 and require some getting used to their effects when triggered.

The base set of levels in this game rounds off to around 200 in total. They come in level packs and are classified as easy, medium or hard. The aim is to beat the levels as fast as possible to get the best time. Beating level packs and lots more lets you unlock achievements, which slowly unlocks new balls for you to roll around in the game. For the first time all these levels can be played in a brand new local multiplayer mode. This lets up to four players roll to victory each aiming for the best time.

To make your own levels you have to get a code off the game and head to LevelPack.com where you can then add any of the obstacles and features that we find in the game itself. With this in the game Illusion Labs have created ultimately unlimited fun and levels for us to play, giving you more bang for your buck.

Conclusion

Labyrinth 2 is an excellent game that has received glowing reviews from the public, being in the top 20 paid games and still retaining their perfect 5 star average. This is one of the smoothest and best casual games out on the App Store. I can easily play this for 5 minutes or be hooked on it for over an hour.

Especially with their brilliant custom puzzle system and the ability to download other peoples’ levels is a great addition to this game. For $4.99 I can easily recommend this to anyone as you will find all aspects of the game both challenging yet also enjoyable. Don’t hesitate, just buy this now.