OVERALL RATING		3.0
Presentation		3.0
Control		3.5
Gameplay		2.5
Fun factor		2.5
User Rating		5.0

While the name of this game might peak the interest of some of you sadists out there, Smack Me! is actually the name of this iPhone reflex game that tests and tunes your reactions to commands that appear on the screen.  It’s a game that starts of slow, but eventually reaches a feverish pace.

Initially there are only three commands given by the game’s host, a robot name Ito.  He asks you to smack him (tap the screen), pinch him (perform the iPhone “pinch” motion), or shake him (shake the iPhone).  These are the three basic commands in Easy mode, but two more are added when the Medium mode is unlocked.  These are to freeze him (don’t move the phone) and to lift him (raise the phone).  These are also available in Hard mode.

Ito gives a new command once the first is performed, and depending on what difficulty you’re playing, the time between them differs in quickness.  If you don’t answer on time, the game is over.  The pace early on is good to get you involved, but it eventually gets very fast and it becomes difficult to score 100% even on easy mode.  Once you reach the higher difficulties, it’s almost impossible to get through because there’s hardly a margin of time given.

I can live with that because this is what the game is all about, how quickly you react, but one of the main issues I had with the game is with the command to lift.  The game uses the accelerometer to detect motion and it works just fine when you have to shake it, but the accelerometer just doesn’t seem sensitive enough to pick up on the lifting motion and therefore results in a loss, and quite honestly, I don’t want to see my phone flying high into the air cause I lifted it too quickly and strongly.

One thing I did enjoy about the game was that it had a very nice retro vibe to it with the graphics and sound used.  Very 80’s and very simplistic, but I guess for a game of this type, it fits just fine, though quite possibly anything would have fit.

Smack Me! is very short on modes and concept but if you’re creative enough, you can find other ways of playing it such as what the developer recommends by playing it with no sounds and just looking at the screen, or playing without looking at it and just listening to the audio.  This is quite a stretch for extending the game play, though I’d prefer doing shots when someone loses.  With the $2.99 price tag I can probably find something a bit more useful. (Update: The price has dropped to $1.99.)