Got a few minutes to burn? Like fast-paced Windows Phone puzzle games? Then you need to check out Flat Out in the Windows Phone Store.
The game is simple to pick up but may drive you nuts trying to master it. Flat Out challenges you to trace a circle within a sequence of gems by connecting gems of the same color. Sounds easy on the surface but you are racing a clock and the circle patterns aren't always obvious.
Available for low-memory devices, Flat Out is an appealing, somewhat addictive Windows Phone game that can help you pass short bits of time. Heck, it might even stand up to longer gaming sessions.
Uncomplicated Layout
Flat Out greets you with a very brief main menu that will list the number of gems you've collected and your total high score. Swiping up at the main menu you will reveal several hexagon options that will take you to game play.
First up is your tutorial lesson that does a nice job of walking you through the various aspects of game play. From there you will go to the Easy Game section and as your total high score increases, additional gaming sections will become unlocked. Additionally, as you earn gems during game play you can spend your loot to unlock more gaming sections.
Flat Out has only one setting, muting the sound, and that option appears at the bottom of the screen just prior to you hopping into a game and during game play. Speaking of which…
Game Play
Your gaming screen for Flat Out has your fuel level displayed at the top of the screen (acts as your timer) along with your score.
In the center of the screen, you will find a collection of various colored hexagons. You will need to tap/hold one of the hexagons or gems and trace a circle within the pattern by connecting gems of the same color.
You can connect the gems horizontally, vertically or diagonally but you cannot back trace your connection. If you lose contact with the screen, your lines disappear and you will have to start from scratch building your circle. Once you build a circle, you earn points and a new pattern appears.
As you might guess, the more gems involved in creating the circle, the more points you earn. The fuel gauge at the top of the screen will quickly deplete but you can replenish the fuel supply slightly by completing a circle. The further you go in the game, the faster you burn fuel and in return, the faster you will need to create circles.
Overall Impression
You might be surprised how hard it can be to identify a circle within a pattern of multi-colored hexagons. For the most part, Flat Out comes across as a fantastic time waster of a game that will keep you challenged. I also have to give the developer kudos for the ad support. It is done in such a manner that the only way I noticed it had ads was reading the change log where better ads were put into play. They sit at the top of the screen on Flat Out's menu and score summary pages but not on the game screen. It's how it should be done with all ad-supported titles.
There is one problem however, in that playing the game on a Lumia 925 the screen sensitivity sucked. There were times you could tap your finger through the screen and it wouldn't register then there were times everything worked great. Just to be sure it wasn't the device, I experienced similar results with a Lumia 520.
The menu layout was neat, game play swift and challenging and overall I think most will enjoy Flat Out. The game is rated at 3.5 Stars in the Windows Phone Store and I think it would be a lot higher if the developer could iron out the screen sensitivity issues.
- Flat Out - Windows Phone 8.x - 7MB - Free - Store Link
