Oh man. Things just got real. MAPPY by NAMCO has finally found its way on to the App Store
and now a whole new generation of gamers can experience the bizarre madness of this classic
arcade title.
Your goal as Mappy the Police-mouse is to recover the items stolen by the infamous cat-burglars
the Mewkies and their leader Goro (or Nyamco if you're used to the Japanese name). Unfortunately
this also means you're going to be a walking snack for the cats as you roam around each
house, but as luck would have it you have the magical ability to flip open doors to
either temporarily knock out or remove enemies altogether. To reach a specific level you'll
need to make use of trampolines scattered throughout the level, pushing left or right
when you reach the height you require.
Several control options are available, though they essentially break down in to virtual
stick/button or swipe/touch combinations. The final 'Navigate' system can make life
easier for newer players by directing Mappy by simply touching where you want to go, though
this can be risky as Mappy's AI won't take in to account the possibility of running in
to Mewkies.
It's surprising to see Mappy being released with almost no changes to the presentation
of this very old game (circa 1983), especially considering Namco's addition of an entirely
new game mode, 'Scramble'. In this mode you'll need to eliminate all of the cats on the level
by collecting various power-ups instead of stolen goods to make the task easier.
Fans of old-school games will enjoy the opportunity to take their revenge on the cats that may
have stolen the quarters of their youth, but even newer gamers might find themselves sucked
in by Mappy's challenging gameplay.