It’s interesting how the mobile and console gaming scenes are very different experiences. I want console games that deliver epic adventures with multiple hours, shiny graphics, great writing and immersive gameplay. With mobile gaming, I want a quick short fix to help me through specific situations; normally where I’d be staring at a wall during a commute, or waiting at the doctor’s surgery. But that said, the mobile market has crossed over to the console world quite a few times with the odd bit of success. Hoggy2 is here now, and it hopes to make a difference and get your attention. Does it?
Hoggy2 is the long awaited sequel to the 2010 hit, Hoggy! You now take control of Hoggy and Hogatha, two very cute slime creatures, on a quest to rescue their children from the Moon Men. Yes, you heard me… the Moon Men. That’s just about the start, and the end, of the story arc, but we do know that Hoggy is good and Moon Men are bad… or at least they are a little bit understood.
For those who haven’t played the first game – and I’m guessing there are a few; I was certainly one of them – the gameplay is easy to get a grasp on, but it can at times be pretty tricky to master. You are presented with several levels to conquer and to do so you have to eat all the fruit on that stage, seeing you rewarded with the gift of a golden key. The more keys you get, the more doors you can unlock and so you can hopefully rescue your little slime children. But how does it work?
In case you didn’t already know, slimes are very sticky, and so whenever you jump, you stick to the ceiling. If you start the level on the floor and press the jump button, hey presto you’re on the ceiling and vice versa. You then negotiate various enemies or obstacles to progress through to the delicious fruit. You might find a horrible creature patrolling some fruit and it is left to you to find a way to bypass them by zipping from ceiling to floor. Or you might stumble upon a little acorn to eat, turning the creatures blue so you can gobble them up too. Yep, that does seem very familiar, what with the fruit, the eating, and your foes turning blue.Â
The levels are entertaining and good fun, at least across some short bursts of gameplay. The easiest stages will take you no time at all to complete – sometimes as short as around 20 seconds – while the trickier ones will last a fair bit longer. But with Hoggy2 it’s all about that quick burst of gaming goodness when you fancy something else in between the bouts of your longer console gaming fixes with other titles.
It all plays out across three different modes. There is a kid’s mode which features 20 levels, that are fairly straightforward, including a boss battle that will cater for either the little ones or the inept grown-ups – like me. Then there is the normal mode which features up to 200 levels, all of which will challenge your brain cells as the test of your skills is increased and things get ever more taxing.
There is also a ‘create your own level’ feature, where you can do exactly that and develop your dastardly tasks for the slime creature to escape. I was sceptical about this feature to start with, but it is a lot of fun and it’s certainly something that the kids will enjoy it.
Each of the pre-determined levels are unique and hand-crafted, coming with a visual style that is very old school in its look and design, just with a bit of a modern twist to proceedings. Yes, Hoggy2 looks like a mobile game with a console shine, but that’s completely fine when you take into account the low price point and how it all works in sync with the overall nature of the game.
In fact, Hoggy2 on Xbox One is a game that has a lot of heart and is a hell of a lot of fun. Yes, it’s basic in its looks and concept, but what it does do, it does very well. I’m not usually the biggest fan of these types of ported games, but the price here allows Hoggy2 to get away with it, especially when you take into account the short bursts of gameplay fun and creative level designs that are in place.
Should you be in the mood for some old school puzzling with a slime based creature who can stick to walls and defy gravity, then Hoggy2 is the game for you.Â
