[05.21.12] All new character and more coming to 'Bag It!'

Hidden Variable

About six months ago, a relatively unknown studio, Hidden Variable, launched their first mobile game to immense success. On May 25, Bag It! is getting a very expansive update, featuring new levels, all-new achievements, new modes, and best of all, a new character.

Meet Fizzy. He’s an adorable little soda bottle who’s a bit of a loner with explosive tendencies. Put him under too much pressure, and next thing you know, you’ll have cola and carbonation all over everything in your grocery bag. Working him into your grocery bag is going to be one of the toughest challenges to date for Bag It! That’s right, harder than fitting Crusteau into a bag upright or finding a safe place for Sir Eggward and Nacho during a game of Ultimate Bagger.

All of this extra effort will be well worth it, though, because for the first time, achievements are being added to Bag It! as in-game achievements on Android or via Apple’s GameCenter. In addition to these achievements will be 16 new levels across the Standard, Rampage, and Puzzle game types. Top it off with 3 revamped Endless Modes and you’ve got yourself one expertly packed bag of content.

If for some reason, everything you’ve seen here hasn’t been enough to convince you to drop some money on this game, you’re not out of luck. Hidden Variable has also released a free ‘Lite’ version of Bag It! which will give you a small 16 level sampling of the full game so you can try it out for yourself. Once you do, you’ll realize that the mere asking price of $1.99 is incredibly generous, especially with all of the new content being added this month.

The expansion will be a free upgrade to the full version of Bag It! and is expected to hit iOS and Android on May 25.

Bag It! Lite (Play Store, Amazon AppStore, iTunes AppStore)

Bag It! Full (Play Store, Amazon AppStore, iTunes AppStore, Barnes & Noble)

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you!

[02.14.12] Review: 'Bag It!'

Hidden Variable Studios

Bag It! for Android

Rating:

5 Stars

Amazon bagged another game for the free app of the day for Feb. 14, 2012 with Bag It!. It’s a new-comer on the market and the first game out of Hidden Variable Studios, but don’t count it out quite yet. It’s climbing the charts quickly despite being only a few months old. The puzzle genre is oversaturated, but Bag It! Brings something fresh to the table with its unique gameplay and adorable graphics. This game challenges you with the mundane task of bagging groceries but does so with specific challenges in mind. It might sound like a complete bore however its instant success make it seem likely you’ll be in for a nice surprise. Take a little Tetris, throw in a little Toy Story, add a dash of the travel-game classic Rush Hour and you’ve got yourself Bag It!.

The Fun Stuff:

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a common saying and it makes a lot of sense, however there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little innovation from time to time. One of the greatest things about Bag It! is the original gameplay. It’s incredibly refreshing to play something so different and so well designed for a change. The app as a whole is very well refined and it’s likely you won’t run into a single problem while playing. Graphics are outstanding across the board whether you’re in the menus or playing the game.

Each food item is given a character with unique personalities and appearance. The background music creates a nice ambiance when blended with the sound effects and it’s the perfect environment for puzzle solving. If you ever find yourself getting frustrated with the puzzles and want to let off a little steam, you can unlock a different mode where your challenge is to crush as many items as possible. There’s also an endless bagging mode and a puzzle mode where many items are already bagged for you, however you have to move and rotate them to add in the last few while not allowing a single item to be crushed.

The Frustrating Stuff:

If we’re going to be nitpicky with Bag It!, there are two more neutral things to gripe about. It has OpenFeint integration – which some people use and love, however others who don’t will probably find it annoying. Likewise, it’s a game that requires you to play to unlock all of it. You can’t just jump straight to any level or any game you want. Again, some people prefer this method because it gives you a reason to play a game. Others will likely find this frustrating when they just wanted to jump in and get a quick fix on a random level.

Bottom Line:

Bag It! is, hands down, the best game to hit the market in quite some time. This is definitely a game that can appeal to anyone and everyone. Drop everything and take advantage of this free deal today, unless you’d rather wait to pay and support the developers – it’s much deserved for this masterpiece. If you missed out on the deal of the day or don’t own an Android device, it’s 100% worth paying for and downloading.

Bag It! was created by Hidden Variable Studios and is Amazon’s free app of the day for 2/14/12. It typically sells for $0.99. It’s also available for $0.99 on iTunes and from Barnes & Noble for the NookColor.

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you!