Draw Something Review (iPhone)
Draw Something, the latest mobile pictonary game from OMGPOP, has had its fifteen minutes of fame. But what a whirlwind fifteen minutes it has been. From its rapid rise to fame, even toppling the number one Angry Birds, to Zynga’s purchase of the struggling OMGPOP. The Atlantic Wire has a great article chronicling the strange story.
As for the actual game, it is basically two-player Pictionary. The first player chose a word from a selection of three, then proceeds to draw it on their mobile device. Once done, the picture is sent to the second player where they have the chance to guess what the word is. Once guessed, the roles are reversed. And though I love Pictionary, Draw Something just never seemed as satisfying.
My favorite feature, in fact the reason I kept playing, was watching the drawing process. The entire progression is recorded and then replayed for the person guessing. I loved seeing how different people drew various solutions. Some even created a slide show by drawing one picture, then erasing it and drawing another. It really was entertaining to watch and then to guess.
Everything else just felt like a chore. Drawing on the incredibly small iPhone surface using only my fingertip produced results much like I imagine drunk and blindfolded Pictonary would.
These horrible results made me want to spell out the answer, which the game allows. That’s correct, the game relies solely on a users own moral fiber to follow the (completely unspecified) rules.
And the word choices are rather uninspired and limited. Repeats show up fairly quickly. This seems like a ploy to get users to purchase more words (thanks Zynga), but here is the thing, Zynga has added branded words into the lineup. Who in the end is really paying for these words? I’m guessing Zynga just gets paid twice.
But the most off putting thing about the game are the bugs. It seems like half of my drawings get lost and the last update deleted a third of my colors. I have no more blue!!
Clearly I am not a big fan of Draw Something. What I really wanted was “Watch Draw Something: Guessing Included!”
Release date: February 2012
Website: http://omgpop.com/drawsomething/
Developer: OMGPOP
Platform: iPhone
Genre: Mulitplayer Drawing Puzzle
