Review: Where's My Head? iPad game

Where's My Head is a great time-waster for anyone remotely interested in physics, skeletons, or killing time. Users who tick all boxes will fall in love. Even after finishing most of the levels in the free version of the game, I've replayed some of the stages and I'm tempted to cough up and buy the paid-for levels.

The game is fairly easy in the beginning, but gets increasingly complex. However, users are sure to be hooked from the start because of the game's cute animations, and well, because the object of the game is to reattach a skull to a skeleton's body.

As already mentioned, the object of the game is to reunite a skeleton with his missing skull. This is done by slashing ropes, and is based on physics laws. At each stage, the user is presented with a physics problem, which needs to be solved in order to attach the skull to the skeleton.

In the first stage of the starting level, only gravity comes into play. The skull is fastened to a rope above the skeleton. Slashing the rope releases the skull, which then falls down and reattaches to the skeleton.

After the initial stage, the physics problems get progressively more complex, involving force, momentum and speed. In later stages, some of the ropes have a lit fuse, which explodes the skull if users don't slash the rope in time. Slashing it too fast doesn't help, either, because the rope is usually needed to solve the problem. The effect is that users have to solve the problems and slash the ropes as quickly as possible, or risk exploding the skull before it is attached to the skeleton.

Points are earned in the form of gold coins that are collected when the skull comes into contact with them on its way to the skeleton. This becomes increasingly difficult to do, and I suspect that it may be impossible in some of the later levels, unless users cough up for the extra features.

After users have finished the first four levels, they have to purchase the full version, which is only $0.99. The full version includes 120 different puzzles, compared to 36 in the free version. Additional features, including an easier 'Kids Mode' and a 'Magnetic Head', which makes it easier for users to collect gold coins, also have to be purchased.

Slashing the ropes works incredibly well with a touch-screen interface. Fans of Fruit Ninja will probably get a kick out of Where's My Head. The difference is, whereas Fruit Ninja is all about speed, Where's My Head requires some brain work.

The graphics in Where's My Head are fantastic. Every level has a different setting to add variety, including a prison, a ship, a desert and a jungle in the free version. The scenes are not intricately designed, but they have been illustrated with bold colours.

The animation of the skeleton and skull really enhance the gaming experience. The skull has one eyeball, which slides from socket to socket. At times, the skull sticks out its tongue; for example, later on in the game, when a veil makes the skull levitate, it sticks its tongue out if it wants the veil to be taken off.

However, my favourite part of the animation is the way the skeleton, when reaching out to catch its skull, goes limp if the gamer makes a mistake, dropping the skull out of its reach, or letting it levitate to a point of no return off the screen. When the skeleton goes limp, it looks like it sags its shoulders in exasperation - of course, it's actually died, or some other equivalent, given that the skeleton was technically dead to start with.

While love affairs with mobile games tend to be short and sweet, gamers will probably enjoy playing Where's My Head from start to finish.

I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys gaming on their iPads. Users can also get a lot of fun out of the free version before buying the additional features and levels.

Personally, I would have preferred it if the designers threw all the features in with the free version and just made additional levels paid for. But that's just coming from a (greedy) user's perspective. The truth is, this game offers a lot more in the free version than most mobile game apps.