Bugz by msbaylor. (Visit the thread for video and more pics. For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum!

Bugz has to be one of the most entertaining games I’ve played (and really the only one I’ve completed all the levels on).

The game play here is simple – you create an explosion, for lack of a better tem, which if the bugs hit it, they in turn explode creating a chain reaction. From level-to-level, you must “clear” a certain amount of bugs off the screen via the chain reaction you create using only that one initial tap.

For your first time through, the game will walk you through on how to play it.

Levels:

I found the early stages harder than the later stages, as there were more bugs to hit. Well except maybe for the last few, where you had to clear all of them or all but a couple. There are 102 levels, which are really segmented off into 4 different sections (if you will.) The first section only deals with clearing a certain amount of bugs from the screen. The second section is the same, but you have to also include the one or two of the silver-colored bugs in the chain reaction. In the third section, small flowers are introduced, where they move around the screen. If the bugs get to close to them, they will slow down or even stop, which might throw off your chain reaction. And in the fourth section, you are given a time limit in which you have complete the level.

If you have a Wifi connection, you can view the leader board and/or submit your score to the leader board.

Overall I found the game play quite addicting. I beat the game within 3 or 4 sittings (within about 3 hours). So for me it was a quite quick, but even though the game play was quick, the game grabbed my attention and submerged me into the game (which all great games should do). I’d really like to see more levels added as well and some increased difficulty in the upper levels.

Pros:

• Entertaining and colorful game play.

Cons:

• Only 102 levels
• Early levels seem harder than higher levels.

Forum Review Rating

[Bugz is available from the iTunes App Store.]

David Perry of Didev Studios wrote in to tell us about Bugz for the iPhone, and was kind enough to send along some interesting insights into the game, developing for the iPhone, and the App Store.

On the origins of Bugz as a PSP game:

Bugz was originally conceived about 2 years ago as a PSP game. It took me around a year of coding, design, graphics and audio work before I made a release into a competition that was being run at the time. Bugz was well received in the competition and received first place. The public seemed to like Bugz and it’s quirky cuteness.

On moving Bugz to the iPhone:

Recently I decided to look at iPhone development and Bugz was an obvious choice as a first project. The initial version of Bugz for the PSP only had 17 levels – this would obviously need expanding for the iPhone version. Whilst contemplating the iPhone port of Bugz, I asked a friend to join me on the project, he accepted and Didev Studios was born.

On the re-development:

The port to approximately 5 weeks and I use the term ‘port’ loosely. The game was pretty much re-written specifically for the iPhone, only the original graphics and audio were retained. The iPhone really is a great device for developers to create for. The SDK is feature packed and comes with great documentation and samples – all that a developer could want.

On the App Store and marketing for the iPhone:

I’m happy with the way things have gone so far, Bugz sales are increasing slowly and feedback from users has on the whole been great. The one thing that is hard is marketing your app. Any released app is quickly lost in the App Store and external marketing is a must in order to get potential users interested.

Bugz is available in the iTunes App Store.