QUICK LOOK

• Android game
• The game has been downloaded 2 million times
• Motion control
• Similar to Doodle Jump on the iPhone

So, you may have heard (since I never shut up about it) but I finally have a fancy new Android phone – a sexy little Xperia X10 Mini Pro – all of my very own! Of course, I’m using it only to make my life more efficient: installing dozens of to-do apps and calendar reminder systems and such. NOT! I’m spending my time finally getting the chance to play all the Android games everyone else has been talking about for ages already.

One of my favourites so far has been the adorable – and strange – little game, Abduction! There’s no doubt that the developer was locked in an unventilated room filled with paint thinners when he dreamed up the concept. You are a bouncy cow. Your herd has been abducted by aliens. You have to bounce up little floaty platforms of ground in order to rescue said herd. If you miss a platform, you fall to the ground and die a horrible squelchy death (thankfully off-screen). 

The bounce of your cow (jeez, how often do you hear that phrase?) is controlled by tilting the phone left and right. The control is pretty accurate, and there’s definitely something more satisfying about playing with motion control than just hitting buttons.

It sounds simple, and the game certainly follows a ‘cute’ aesthetic with its bright colours and childlike graphics. But don’t be fooled: the game is friggen difficult. It took me a good hour before I managed to complete the first level (there are around 120) playing in medium difficulty. In fairness, this may well be because I have the fine motor co-ordination of Bambi on ice. Nonetheless, the difficulty is part of what makes the game so addictive – you always feel certain that next time you’re going to make it through the level.

The gameplay is a little more complex than I’ve described (although not much). You get extra points for catching cows that are falling through the air on parachutes. There are also surprise boxes dotted all over the place, which can have a number of positive or awful effects like giving you a higher bounce, removing half the platforms, giving you extra lives or making the ground crumble beneath you as you land.

Abduction! is the free trial version of a larger game, Abduction! World Attack – which sells for $1.99 on the App store. That means that quite a lot of the game is locked, but there’s still plenty for you to play around with. Abduction! 2 has also been released, also as a paid game. 

I do have a couple of small gripes about the game, but they’re not major. It seems to be difficult to share your score publicly, although storing your own so you can see how you improve is simple. There are also some minor user interface annoyances, like the fact that every time you die (which you will do often) you are taken right back to the main menu.

But these are pretty unimportant things that ultimately don’t detract from the main experience. Abduction! is great fun and will keep you entertained for hours. And come on: bouncy cows? How could you not love it?

Turn ons

• Addictive
• Bouncy cows
• Uses the accelerometer well

Turn offs

• Addictive
• Every time you lose, you go right back to the menu
• Pretty damn difficult

Price: Mahala