Lisa James
Shape Water is a fun and challenging game from Shape It Or Break It, the popular Tetris Online game maker. The object of Shape Water 5E is to fill a pentagonal pattern with straight edges. You do this by clicking on the Shape you are aiming to make. While you are shaping, a series of little balloons appear in the lower right corner of your screen. Line up all five of them on one corner of the grid, and if any line falls between you and the chosen Shape, it will become visible, and you lose your progress.
You start each level by choosing one of three spells: Waterball, Gust, or Rain. Depending on which level you are on, either the guts or the rain spell will be available to you, and you can choose between the three by selecting the appropriate button in the menu. In the fifth edition of the Shape It or Break It game (also known as the 5e version), spell casting times have been increased for some spells to be a little faster than in previous versions.
Each level of Shape Water has different shapes to click on. The first two you will recognize since they always appear in the center of the screen. As you move on, however, these shapes will change. For example, at level ten, you will see two circles that are the same size as the other two, rotating in opposite directions. These circles are your basic boats, and you need to line them up correctly before using them to create a straight line between the two opposite points of the rotation circle.
Some levels include a propeller-shaped island to click on. Again, since it changes as you move across the map, you need to memorize where it is before using it to turn your boats around without losing your progress. Once you turn your boats around the island, however, it vanishes. And since this island can only be accessed by crossing a bridge across it from the left side, you will need to memorize which side the bridge is on to cross over to complete the level.
One of the best features of Shape Water 5e is the water current simulation. The physics engine has been specifically designed to make boats run into each other, with many different effects depending on their current speeds and directions. For instance, some boats will easily slide off the islands’ sides as they pass, while others will be easily dragged along the water currents to hit other boats or be stuck themselves. You will find that moving quickly against the current will have other effects, too. Larger ships might find that they are buffeted around and moved to opposite directions by the strong current. If you take a quick look at your ships, you will notice that most of them stick to the middle of the current rather than out in areas where the currents are strongest.
Although it may seem like a simple game, Shape Water is very challenging. You need to know how to maneuver your boat’s through the levels and learn about how to maneuver your engines and other elements of your boat. A little bit of clicking here and there can mean the difference between scoring well and scoring poorly when it comes to these games. Fortunately, the challenges do not get too difficult, which is great because most people who start out playing the game will probably lose sight of what makes each level more difficult.
Like many other Shape Water games, this one has a single playing level, and each level gets progressively more difficult as you move up the ranks. It does get to the point where you will have to decide whether or not you want to continue playing the easy versions of the levels or move to a harder one. You will notice that, as you move up in level, the levels will become less challenging, though that transition period is short. That means that you will probably want to play the easy version of the game on the first couple of levels, then the harder one on the following levels, and so on.
Shape Water 5e is yet another game that will work wonderfully on the iPad. The graphics are superb, the controls are simple to learn and use, and the overall gameplay will leave you satisfied, whether you are playing alone or compete against a friend or competitor. The game is free to download from the iTunes Store, and the controls are intuitive and smooth, so it should prove very easy to be one of the best water game downloads on your device.
