Where’s My Perry Review: Licensed Riff Adds Quirkiness To App Store Favorite

App Name:	Where's My Perry?
Platforms:	Universal
Publisher(s):	Disney
Version Reviewed:	1.0.3
Genre(s):	Physics puzzle
Release Date:	July 13, 2012
Price:	$0.99
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Disney Interactive scored a big hit with Where’s My Water?, and so it’s not surprising that they might create a new iteration. What is surprising is that they chose to do so via Phineas & Ferb, their hit Disney XD animated series. The resulting game, Where’s My Perry? , does a good job of keeping the style and challenging play of Where’s My Water? while leveraging some of the quirkiness that has made Phineas & Ferb such a hit.

Phineas & Ferb is a cartoon about two boys who build wacky, fantastical machines. But instead of focusing on the boys, Where’s My Perry? wisely focuses on the most important secondary character in the cartoon: Perry the Platypus, who is the boys’ mild-mannered pet by day, but who is really a secret agent.

Perry spends each episode of the series fighting the evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who is always trying to take over the world. In Where’s My Perry, Dr. Doofenshmirtz has trapped Perry in a never-ending series of travel tubes. Each level, the player must help Perry escape by getting water into the system‘s “hydro-electric backup,” thus opening an escape hatch and letting Perry move on. It’s a bit of a convoluted set-up, but it’s definitely in keeping with the show’s zany plotlines.

In terms of gameplay, Where’s My Perry? is very much like more levels for Where’s My Water? It’s got the same touch controls, the same level structure, and the same addictive gameplay.The particulars of the experience have been tweaked to fit the Phineas & Ferb aesthetic, of course. Instead of rubber ducks, you’re chasing garden gnomes on each level; the buried objects are all secret agent files; and algae, purple poison, and green ooze are replaced with things like ice lasers, steam lasers, and explosive concoctions. I really liked some of these changes, especially the ice and steam lasers; they add a neat element to the game.

In general, the use of Phineas & Ferb assets are well-done in this game. Many secondary characters appear throughout the game, including some of the one-off animal agents from other episodes and even Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s beloved Balloony. I will say that, for those not familiar with the series, some of the humor and references will likely be missed, and might even just come off as weird and not funny.

If I had to compare this game to any other in the App Store, it would actually be Angry Birds: Rio. Like that game, Where’s My Perry? more or less successfully adapts the formula of the original to the flavor of the license without ruining the game experience. It’s not original, but that was never the point. Using Perry instead of Swampy is a way of delivering more of the same while making it feel different.

If you’re a fan of Where’s My Water? and you’re craving more levels, and if you won’t mind the shift into oddball humor and secret agent animals, then you’ll probably want to pick up Where’s My Perry?

Our Score: 4 out of 5

About the Author

Writer@Large Brian P. Hudson is an educator and freelance writer currently living in Dearborn, MI.

 

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