We all have those everyday chores that we dread. I mean, doing laundry, running errands and cleaning the counters aren’t exactly my idea of fun. One of these chores that we run into rather often is grocery shopping. This isn’t enjoyable, right? Well think again.
In Hidden Variable’s game Bag It!, you will find fun in perhaps the most annoying part of grocery shopping — packing up the bags. As you will soon learn, this is an art waiting to be mastered. Can you stand up to the challenge? Read more about it after the break.
Down to Shop
As the name of the app explains, the purpose of Bag It! is to bag groceries. Sure, call it a boring concept, but it is an awesome game. Essentially, Bag It! is a fun twist on Tetris in which you need to bag groceries in a strategic matter in order to amass optimal points. Of course, we will talk about this more later on in the post.
Load up your groceries then shake the bag to decide if you've done a good job
Controls are very simple; all you need to do is tap and drag an object to move it to where you want in the bag. You are also able to rotate the objects by tapping on them and twisting your fingers; this control could be very difficult to use at times, and most of the groceries prefer to stay right-side up.
Bagging Them Up
Bag It! features several different puzzling game modes that offer tons of different challenges. At the moment, there are seven unlockable worlds, each of which consist of several different levels. You’re like a kid in the candy store grocery store — your options are limitless. While in some levels you may be filling the bags, in others you might be destroying its contents. Also, Bag It! is constantly being updated, so there is tons of new content to come.
Some levels make you destroy groceries or rotate them so they fit
Initially, only the first and most basic world of the game — Got Spilt? — is available to play. In this world, you will learn the basics of the game — that items need to be placed strategically so nothing breaks (putting watermelons on top of eggs is never a good idea to start with), rotating objects so they fit in the bag and the like. If you do your job well, you will be awarded stars. If you complete the objectives listed in the pause menu, you will be awarded medals. Both stars and medals go towards unlocking new levels and worlds.
However, after you play the game for a little while, you will unlock the next few worlds which add their own twists to the game. For example, in the world Udder Mayhem, the goal is to destroy what is in the bag; Fresh Squeeze forces you to fit all the groceries into just one bag without breaking any groceries. The grocery characters don’t miss out on this fun, either. In the latest update, Hidden Variable added the character Fizzy, the queasy 2-liter who will blow up on you if you shake him too much.
New challenges are always added to the game
I have to note that I have never really seen in many other games the effort to integrate so many types of gameplay like Bag It! possesses. When you play with this app, it feels as if you are playing 4-5 different games while keeping a unified environment. This is especially amazing to see in an app that just costs $3.
All in all, the gameplay is challenging and addictive. In order to move on, you actually have to play the game (or pay $0.99 per level to unlock them). The fact that levels are locked until you reach certain milestones can become quite annoying when you reach those particularly difficult levels, but this makes you want to reopen the app time after time in order to show those groceries who’s boss. In Bag It!, there is always room for improvement, which gives the app tons of replay value.
The Packaging
One of the most enticing things about Bag It! is the awesome graphics. The cartoon-style artwork fits this game perfectly, in my opinion. It captures a more fun edge to the game; without it, I feel as if it wouldn’t be nearly as fun. The theme is also carried throughout the entire game, so you always feel as if you’re at the grocery whether you are browsing the shelves or doing some bagging.
The grocery store theme is carried out through every page page of this application
Colors are very bright and vibrant, and each character has its own personality. You can tell that the designers of this application didn’t put the artwork together overnight, which undoubtedly adds another wonderful aspect to the game.
The Verdict
Clearly, Bag It! HD is perhaps one of the best games for iOS. Addictive and challenging gameplay makes it an instant hit and a go-to application. Bag It! also offers tons of different game modes that will suit everyone’s fancy. Pretty pixels also grace this game, making it an instant thumbs-up for those who are picky about their app design. And to take it over the top, it’s universal so you can have some grocery-filled fun anywhere you go.
The only things that don’t allow me to give this application perfect marks are very minimal. First, the inability to rotate the groceries easily can impede on your performance and can become extremely troublesome in those timed levels. Also, the fact that most of the levels are locked until you earn enough stars or medals can be quite annoying, especially if you are not the best at the game. Still, Bag It! is one of the best applications that currently graces my iDevices, and there is no reason it shouldn’t be on yours, either.