RATING AND CONTENT
Recommended for ages 9 and older
Quality: 3 out of 5
Ease of play: 3 out of 5
Violence: 3 out of 5
Sexy stuff: 0 out of 5
Language: 1 out of 5
Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 0 out of 5
Consumerism: 2 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)
APP DETAILS
Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad
Price: $2.99
Release date: March 31, 2016
Category: Action Games
Size: 214.00 MB
Publisher: Cartoon Network
Minimum software requirements: iOS 7.1 or later
Parents need to know that Flipped Out — The Powerpuff Girls Match 3 Puzzle / Fighting Action Game sets the sisters from the TV series on a mission to save the town by mixing two modes of play — puzzle and action — to defeat an army of monsters. There’s lots of dialogue about beating up the monsters, some of which glorifies using fists rather than brains to solve problems or emphasizes one of the character’s forgetfulness. In the settings menu, users can turn off music, sound effects, or narration and choose to play in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Portuguese, Korean, or Japanese. All users must accept the privacy policy and terms of use before they can begin playing; read it carefully for details on the kinds of information collected and shared.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In Flipped Out — The Powerpuff Girls Match 3 Puzzle / Fighting Action Game, the girls feed their new pet, Sea Buddy, too much chow and accidentally release a bevy of monsters on the town. Help the girls save the day using two strategies: In “sugar” mode, drag the girls around the screen to push matching monsters together and make them explode, or in “spice” mode tap and drag to punch, kick, head-butt, and fight the monsters into oblivion. Simply flip the screen from landscape to portrait to change mode of play. Collect stickers, points, special powers, and more along the way. Play and earn high scores to progressively unlock levels in four locations.
IS IT ANY GOOD?
This combination puzzle/beat-’em-up game may be most appealing to die-hard fans. There’s a lot going on here, from irreverent dialogue and storylines to a complex system of gaming rules, features, and moves. It can take time and effort to get into the story and really learn how the game works, which may be a big plus for some but off-putting for others. The concept of flipping the device’s orientation to change the mode of play is interesting and gives kids a nice choice for how they want to play (though they do earn extra points if they flip at the “right” time according to the game). The puzzle portion depends lightly on strategy, whereas the fight portion is all about beating monsters up. On a technical note, game controls in the fight mode work pretty well but aren’t particularly intuitive in the puzzle mode. Also, some things happen without warning or explanation in the midst of gameplay and can be confusing, such as pauses that tell players to swipe or tap. All in all, unless you like the TV series and want an opportunity to interact with the Powerpuff Girls, you may not be impressed.
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Common Sense Media is an independent nonprofit organization offering unbiased ratings and trusted advice to help families make smart media and technology choices. Check out our ratings and recommendations at www.commonsense.org.
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