Totemo ($.99)
Version 1.12
REVIEW – “This puzzle game puts a new twist to the traditional match 3 style.”
Totemo is a great game in that you get very addicted very quickly. I started playing to try it out and I was initially intrigued by the look of the game and the story line but it was not long before the gameplay completely sucked me in. It starts off easy and before you know it you are solving complex puzzles and looking for the right way to release the spirits.
When you first start the game you have the choice between survival mode and story mode. I would suggest starting off with story mode because it really helps you get into the game and it starts you off with easy puzzles and explains all the nuances of the game. The object of the game is to solve logic puzzles set forth to you by your witch doctor guide. As you solve the puzzles you learn that you are setting free the trapped spirits of an ancient tribe. The game gradually tells you more about the tribe as you continue through the game and you really start to become intrigued and interested in the story which is rare for an iPhone game. 
The game starts off simply with you only having to match two spirits in order for them to disappear. There is a catch though, you can only match spirits who are in the same row or column (but they do not have to be directly next to each other). Then as you play other spirits are added, star spirits for example count as two spirits, and eventually you will move on to having to match three spirits.
As far as iPhone games go this is very complete with 60 different levels for you to enjoy and between each level you get to hear from your witch doctor guide as he tells you more about the tribe that used to live there. After each grouping of levels you get new challenges and backgrounds, which really make you feel like you are playing a computer game instead of simply an iphone app.
I was a little disappointed in one thing however and that was the fact that you could not create multiple accounts on the game, this is not a big issues but one that does bother me. There are times when I like to show off my games to friends and it is always easy to just hand off the iPhone and let them play the game through. Though they can easily open my account and start at the beginning and play through, it does not quite feel the same as starting your own game.
Survival mode once you get the hang of the game is quite fun and exhilarating. You start off with 30 seconds and a logic puzzle before you. Once 
you solve the logic puzzle you get more time and another puzzle to solve. If you make a mistake then you simply shake the screen to reset the board and start again. The only limit to the number of times you retry a level is the amount of time you have on the clock. It add a great little element to a game that was already complete to begin with and allows veteran players a new challenge that allows them to work quickly without being slowed down by story mode.
If you can’t tell by now I really enjoyed playing the game and I am already addicted and while I love the elegance and the story that is involved in story mode, I get a thrill out of seeing my time rack up in survival mode. Really for $.99 you cannot go wrong with this game. I can promise you I will definitely rack up more than enough play time to justify the expense.
-Stephanie S.
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Developer – hexage
URL: www.hexage.net
DEVELOPER NOTES
Unloose the spirit. Break the spell.
TOTEMO is a game designed to soothe your mind and train your brain.
Uncover the mystery hidden between the realms in a unique puzzle game. Travel to enchanted places of the past with your witch doctor guide and solve over 60 logic tasks.
Play at your own pace. Think hard and weight carefully your next move, or just stroke your moves intuitively and let the solution emerge in front of your eyes.
Play the survival mode for extra challenge, make your stand against the time and write your name into the on-line leaderboards.
“It carves a new path through the well-trodden Match-3 territory and puts on a lot of polish as well.”
- SlideToPlay.com
“By the time you realize you’re in love with Totemo, now, you’re twenty levels in already.”
- DroidNews.net
“Puzzle fans will absolutely love this title as it is one of the more complete games on the App Store, and the visuals are more than I could ever ask for.”
- NoDPad.com
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© 2009, StephanieS. All rights reserved.