My parents used to own a border collie, a breed famous for their sheep herding abilities. I remember once watching the dog try to herd my sister into a corner — successfully. Scamp, that dog’s name, was the first thing I thought of when I found Sticky Sheep.
The concept is similar to what Scamp was bred to do. You’re a dog, and you have to herd sheep into these target zones. But it’s not just as simple as running and going. No, this game has a very Angry Birds-esque mechanic to the whole thing, which makes it a lot of fun to play. Don’t believe me? Let me herd you towards that more button.
The Hustler
As the opening cinematic shows, you’re a dog who needs to herd these sheep into a specific area, but the problem is that they’re kind of jerks and don’t really want to move. To make sure they see the errors of their ways, you don a helmet and get ready to bash some heads in, bouncing the sheep across the pen until they hit their target destination. Those guys are jerks.
Seriously, they kind of deserve what they get.
The mechanic here is similar to any minigolf game you’ve probably played over the past few years. Slide your finger behind the dog to show an arrow that points away from your finger, and it changes in color from red to green depending on the amount of power you’re putting to the dog. You hit the sheep just like pool balls, and try to aim them towards a blue target in the field, with the center being the highest scoring area.
Obstacles & Variations
The game would be pretty boring if there weren’t a few hurdles to pass along the way, and just like any good game of miniature golf, you’ve got them. The courses themselves vary in shape, going from the relatively benign squares to complex forms with electrified fences. There’s a lot to deal with.
And this is one of the easy courses.
You’ve got a few bad guys to deal with along the way as well. Black sheep are the first on the list, and if you get one of them into the target, the game is over. I already mentioned the electrified fences, and those are no joke; hit one and you’ll have to restart. There are also speed zones and bumpers, and both amp up the bouncing level a ton, turning sheep (and you) into a projectile. It takes some careful planning to get around those obstacles.
Throwing the Nuclear Switch
The sheep in this game aren’t all white or black, there are a few variations on the theme as well. You’ve got a ram that’ll show up; he can burst through rocks that are in your way. Or the glowing green nuclear sheep, those rebound about three times as fast as their bleached counterpart, plus they can be seen at night. Spooky.
Also, they can do complex trigonometry. Fancy.
As the game unfolds, there are switches and buttons that cause doors to open and close accordingly, or turn off the electric fences. Sometimes you have to hit these just right, or else you’ll fry and have to start the level over. This game isn’t easy folks, and it doesn’t get easier just because you want it to.
But Is It Fun?
It should come as no surprise that this game evokes a bit of that Angry Birds spirit, because the mechanic is very similar — pull back and let the feathers (or fur) fly. To me, these are the best types of iPhone games because I don’t have to use a stupid virtual joystick, and I can just use what’s readily at hand (see what I did there?). That’s much more fun.
They were going to call it Angry Dog, but it doesn't have the same ring to it.
That said, the limitations of the screen size are a bit frustrating, so it’s not surprising to me that the game is built for both the iPhone and iPad. With the bigger real estate, I can see pulling back the hammer on the dog as being a bit more enjoyable, and there being less requirements to zoom in and out to make sure you can find your shot. It wasn’t enough of a problem for me to stop playing, far from it. But it is a bit irritating.
The "Boast" to Facebook tag is a bit irritating, too.
There is one complaint that I read in the reviews of the game, and although it doesn’t bother me, it should be noted. Whenever you do really well, a quote comes up that contains what some consider to be a curse word. To me, it’s a word I practically used coming out of the womb, but some mind find it offensive. What is it? Well it’s spelled just like the word “Pass” but without the “P.” See, not that bad, but just a head’s up.
Fin.
Sticky Sheep is one of those games that requires you to think and strategize, but hits the difficulty scale right on the head. You can pick it up and play it whenever, or just spend an hour losing yourself in a world of colorful sheep and ticked off dogs. It’s a lot of fun.
The only real downside to the game is the screen real estate, but if you’ve got an iPad as well, then you’re paying $0.99 for two apps in one, so there’s no harm there.
So should you buy it? Yup, you should. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go maim some sheep.