After reading some of the negative reviews for today’s Free App of the Day, Herd, Herd, Herd TM Deluxe, I figured I’d just give it a try myself and see if I agreed with the reviewers who were saying this game’s controls are not sensitive enough, or that it’s difficult to see the playing field while using your finger to play the game.
After all, those reviewers mentioned trying to play the game on smartphones, not a Kindle Fire, and I generally use a stylus instead of my finger on my Fire. Besides that, all of the game’s available power-up packages are free along with the app for today only, so I figured if I got the game AND all the power-ups, I’d have the best shot at doing well with it.
I downloaded the app this morning, plus all the available, free power-ups, and gave it a whirl. The basic premise is that you must “herd” chickens, sheep and cows through various mazes by swiping the screen just behind them in the direction you want them to go, while avoiding obstacles and collecting stars. Difficulty increases with each level, and completion of levels unlocks new types of mazes. The graphics are very well-done and the animations are funny.
Here’s the game’s official description:
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It’s Ei-Ei-Uh-OH! at Farmer Jed’s Haywire Homestead – the animals are makin’ a break for it, so you better wrangle ‘em in quicker than a hiccup! Use all kinds a herdin’ skills to scoot cluckin’ chick’ns, springy sheep and balky bovines back to their pens while avoidin’ coyotes, foxes and chick’n poxes! Things aren’t exactly OK at this corral when the terrain gets tricky; bridges collapse and the fences give you a shock, so be careful herdin’ or yer livestock won’t be live very long!
PLEASE NOTE: This app lets you purchase digital content using actual money. You can configure parental controls for in-app purchases, which will require your Amazon account password or a 4-digit PIN, by going to the Settings menu from within the Amazon Appstore.
Git a herdin’ sheep, chick’ns and cows through endless barnyard bedlam in over 70 levels.
Outsmart varmints like foxes and coyotes while dodging avalanches, pitfalls and ‘lectric fences.
Unleash the Super Lasso, Big Bopper or Harvest Moon when things ain’t lookin’ up.
Earn achievements and git a leg up on your fellow farmers on Game Circle.
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The free power-ups include the above-mentioned Super Lasso, Big Bopper and Harvest Moon. The Big Bopper keeps foxes stunned longer than usual when you ‘bop’ them, the Super Lasso makes the usual lasso a bit longer, to contain more, and the Harvest Moon adds more time to your clock for the level. To download them for free (remember, they’re free today only), from the main menu select Shop and then tap the “Buy Now For $0.00” bar beneath each item.
When I did this, it took a few moments to complete each transaction and I initially got a message saying “Purchase Did Not Complete”, but that was followed by a confirmation message and the power-ups “buy now” bars were gone. However, the power-ups only show up for appropriate levels. So, for example, the Big Bopper power-up isn’t available unless you’re doing a level with a fox in it.
The game already comes with one UFO power up, which allows you to simply skip a level and still get full credit and all available stars for it. After you’ve used the provided UFO, you can go to the Shop menu and ‘buy’ a free 3-pack of UFO power-ups — again, it’s free today only, so use that one free UFO on the first level you can’t beat and then get the free 3-pack.
My Take
Well, I’m not ashamed to say I am not very good at Herd, Herd, Herd TM Deluxe. I don’t think it’s a problem with the game controls, though they are sensitive and it does take a few tries to get the hang of where your fingertip or stylus should be placed and how much force should be applied. Also, the animals you’re trying to herd do not simply travel in a straight line as you swipe along, but this makes sense since they’re supposed to be goofy, none-to0-bright critters and it adds another dimension to the challenge of keeping them on course as you go.
Hand-eye coordination under the pressure of a tight time limit has never been my forte, and that’s what this game is all about. However, since it’s appropriate for all ages I bet my kids will LOVE it; some of their favorite console video games involve precise movements with exact timing.
I give this app a rating of 3/5 stars for myself, but I bet people who enjoy this type of timed challenge game would rate it much higher. Since it’s the Free App of the Day, why not go ahead and get it plus all the free power ups, then decide for yourself?