PAX East is full of indies, especially at the properly titled Indie Megabooth. Jungle Rumble is one of the unique gems based right here in Boston. Jungle Rumble is a rhythm based RTS for iOS and Android, using the beat of the music to move the uniquely designed characters through a jungle to collect bananas, and defeat the opposing tribe.
The story for Jungle Rumble is as simple as can be. When your tribe is attacked by rival monkeys you fight back, only to later find out that they have been forced out by humans cutting down their trees. Later locales in the game turn into suburban and factory areas. These areas also correspond with the music changing to the location.
During my 15 minutes with the game I experienced a slight learning curve. Its one of those games that when you get it, it clicks perfectly. Using a simple four beat pattern, you move your monkeys through a grid based map of a tree. Using a separate four beat pattern, you throw coconuts at the enemy to take them out.
Once I got the hang of this, later levels added more monkeys for me to control, as well as more enemies. Having to keep rhythm while also looking at where the enemy is going isn’t as complex as it seems. The complexity lies in the verticality of the game, something that took me by surprise. The screen slowly crawls up leaving, any monkey on the bottom to fall off. After I’d gotten the hang of this, I formed a natural beat. I even found myself swaying to the music a bit.
Jungle Rumble is slated for release Early 2014 on Android and iOS.
