PopCap has launched a new experimental label, named 4th & Battery, that allows its designers to basically go nuts with creative little games. 4th & Battery’s first game, Unpleasant Horse, is now on the iPhone App Store for free.
I’ve given the game a couple of runs over the last two days, and it’s pretty fun and simple. As a goth horse with wings, you simply tap to clouds, birds, and flying ponies to move forward and score points. Clouds act as platforms, birds give you a feather that allows you to do an extra jump in mid-air, and ponies are there to land on and demolish.
You see, the bottom the the level has grinding buzz saws that kill you, and the ponies you land on, in a splattering of guts and horse irons. So you move around while trying not to fall to your death, and try to land on ponies to force them downwards into the pit of doom. Then you jump off at the last moment and hunt some more ponies.
The game is score-based, without any online leaderboards at the moment. To be honest, it also could really use a Replay option when you die, and it becomes a bit repetitive after a few games. It’s still worth checking out to get an idea of what 4th & Battery will be up to in the future, so it’s a good thing it’s free!
