Ramp Champ Review for iPhone and iPod Touch

By on Aug 28, 2009 at 12:30 pm

rampchampRemember the arcade, skee ball machines and having a pocket full of tickets so you can cash them in for some worthless stuffed animal from behind the prize counter? If you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, developers from The IconFactory has just the game for you. Ramp Champ takes you back to the carnival so you can redeem those tickets and get that big prize you never got because you ran out of quarters.

Review
The concept is simple. You are given a number of balls to roll up a ramp into a playing surface with a series of cute targets to knock over. Depending on the location and the size of the target, a numerical score is assigned. Once the last ball is thrown, you will be given a set amount of tickets, depending on your total score.

High scores equal more tickets in your pocket. The prizes are cute and you will quickly find yourself saving up to purchase your favorite item. Prizes range from a kazoo or pencil to big ticket items like a die cast UFO, a goldfish in a baggie or a teddy bear.

Ramp Champ has four different virtual skee ball machines. Clown Town has a carnival theme, Breakwater Bay is underwater, Space Swarm is reminiscent of Space Invaders and The Icon Garden pays homage to Iconfactory’s roots in icon design.

Controls are similar to Paper Toss. Flick your finger up from the bottom of the screen to roll the ball and depending on how fast you flick and which direction you swipe will control the power and aim of your shots. The accuracy from left to right is fairly easy to get a handle on; it’s the velocity that will end up frustrating you.

Ramp Champ manages to transform your iPhone/iPod Touch into an arcade and completely immerses you in the experience. It is a visual delight with its carnival-type atmosphere and music. The artwork is fantastic and the prizes keep the game interesting.

If you simply can’t get enough, Ramp Champ has two additional add-on packs, both priced at $.99 a piece. Each pack contains 2 new ramps, 6 new goals, 18 new prizes, and shiny new trophies. I don’t know if I would actually pay $1 for add-ons. As with every game I’ve tested thus far, add-ons had always come in the form of a free update.

Recommendation
Ramp Champ is a well-developed game. It is both creative and fun to play. If you are a Paper Toss fan and interested in tickling your nostalgia bone, then I would recommend picking up a copy of the $1.99 game at the iTunes App Store today.

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  • http://mikelightman.com mikelite

    any comments on gameplay, controls or accuracy? all the appstore reviews say that the controls make the game frustrating & barely playable

    • Jason

      It’s written above… “Controls are similar to Paper Toss. Flick your finger up from the bottom of the screen to roll the ball and depending on how fast you flick and which direction you swipe will control the power and aim of your shots. The accuracy from left to right is fairly easy to get a handle on; it’s the velocity that will end up frustrating you.”

    • http://molaro.wordpress.com molaro

      No way! The initial release did have some memory issues that caused the game to crash and during the game you would see some stuttering. But the IF pushed out an update within days of the issue coming to light and since then everything has been smooth. The only limitation is your own finger!

  • Jason

    It’s written above… “Controls are similar to Paper Toss. Flick your finger up from the bottom of the screen to roll the ball and depending on how fast you flick and which direction you swipe will control the power and aim of your shots. The accuracy from left to right is fairly easy to get a handle on; it’s the velocity that will end up frustrating you.”

  • http://iconfactory.com IF Webmaster

    A quick note to let you all know that Ramp Champ 1.0.1 has been released in the App Store. This update fixes problems with the application crashing associated with high memory use as well as improves performance on old devices. We recommend everyone upgrade to the new version. Thanks!

  • molaro

    RampChamp is an awesome game. Ever since I added it to my iPhone I have been addicted. It’s challenging enough to keep me interested, yet simple enough that my kid can play it as well. And at $1.99 you can’t go wrong! Easily the best app of any sort I have purchased so far! Thx IF!

  • http://molaro.wordpress.com molaro

    RampChamp is an awesome game. Ever since I added it to my iPhone I have been addicted. It's challenging enough to keep me interested, yet simple enough that my kid can play it as well. And at $1.99 you can't go wrong! Easily the best app of any sort I have purchased so far! Thx IF!

  • molaro

    Also, a note on the in-app purchasing. This app is the first I have installed that offers this feature. I’m not sure if the credit goes to Apple or the Iconfactory, but the flow was slick and simple. I was able to purchase both the additional game packs with easy. I purchased them on different days and the app remembers what I bought and what I still can but which was a nice touch. While I am still finding the challenge of the original games a little tougher than the expansion games, the graphics in the expansion games are really cool and worth the purchase if nothing else. Again, for a total of $4 (game plus extras) you cannot find a better iPhone app!

  • http://molaro.wordpress.com molaro

    Also, a note on the in-app purchasing. This app is the first I have installed that offers this feature. I'm not sure if the credit goes to Apple or the Iconfactory, but the flow was slick and simple. I was able to purchase both the additional game packs with easy. I purchased them on different days and the app remembers what I bought and what I still can but which was a nice touch. While I am still finding the challenge of the original games a little tougher than the expansion games, the graphics in the expansion games are really cool and worth the purchase if nothing else. Again, for a total of $4 (game plus extras) you cannot find a better iPhone app!

  • Nicole

    This is the most addicting game on my phone right now. Ramp Champ has great replay value as well. Once you've gotten all the goals, it looks like you're finished, but you've still got to collect all the prizes too!

  • Nicole

    The best part about Ramp Champ is definitely the beautiful artwork. This should be no surprise, as this Ramp Champ coming from the Iconfactory.

  • Nicole

    Though Ramp Champ is a great game, it could still be improved upon. There definitely should be a feature be able to move the prizes and trophies to a different page, like apps on the homescreen. There is also a bug where if you hold a prize or a trophy and switch to the next page at the same time and let go of the prize or trophy, the prize or trophy gets stuck on the screen. You are still able to play the game except for the fact that there is a prize or trophy floating on your screen.

  • Alex Chen

    Hey guys it's Alex Chen. I think Ramp Champ is the best app so far in 2009. Each level with awesomeness make people more addicted every second. RAMP CHAMP IS THE BEST APP IN THE WORLD!

  • Alex Chen

    I think the best part of Ramp Champ is the wonderful artwork. Icon Factory makes really nice games.

  • Alex Chen

    I think Ramp Champ has really god features. From the awesome artwork to good details. I think Ramp Champ showed Apple how good they really are. Like a real carnival I just wish I could go to the Ramp Champ carnival.

  • Barbasol

    It's the Achievements (er, I mean Goals) that keep me playing, so I wish there were more of them. There are 3 for each ramp and the third one is quite hard, requiring you to throw all 9 balls perfectly. I have the goals done for about 1/2 the ramps but I'm still working on that 3rd one for the rest. My one feature request would be to add more Goals! They don't even have to be harder, it's just nice to see them flash on the screen when you do it. Each ramp could easily have 5 or 6 goals, imo, or more! It could also be a good excuse to fit more hidden stuff in… e.g. something could happen if you hit a particular thing 9 times in a row, etc.