Cut the Rope: Experiments is a sequel to the massively successful puzzle video game, Cut the Rope. The latter having made it to the top of App Store’s charts and late last year, the game was recorded to have been purchased over three million times.

There are plenty of similarities between the two Cut the Rope games in terms of gameplay and presentation, but the latest installment has new experiments and not boxes. Some new gameplay mechanics are also the highlights of this 2011 release. One evident issue in this version is that stages could have been released as free updates of the original instead of producing an entirely new game. This is of course the opinion of sarcastic gamers because there were only few changes in major game elements.

There may be some truth to this grievance but we can not blame ZeptoLab if they want to make a few cents out of the sequel. At $0.99 tag price, the developer is pinning their hope that previous buyers will embrace this game like what they did to its predecessor. That will amount to millions of dollars if the concept works out. Griping should stop if gamers would learn that Cut the Rope has 200 levels now. That is a clean two levels per penny computation.

Some gamers who haven’t played the game might be wondering of the buzz about it. For a brief orientation, it is basically a physics puzzler. Like a soccer game, your objective is to shoot a piece of candy to the goal and the goal is the mouth of Om Nom, the cross-eyed creature who loves candies. What a resemblance to soccer! There are of course obstacles in the game that could be of help or headache to you. Through the touchscreen, you can cut the rope where the candy is attached. They can be stopped from floating by popping bubbles. There are also air cushions to lead the candy to a particular direction.

At this point, you might be looking for the challenge. Collect three stars from every stage. That is the challenge that will keep you repeating Cut the Rope: Experiments, even if the stages are pretty easy to clear. In the first 25 levels of the game, you will already be exposed to the basic mechanics of the game enough to make victory in the remaining levels possible. New objects will appear after a few stages like the rope shooter. Through this, there is no need to target because it instantly connects with the candy of the stage. Another interesting prop is the suction cup which set up the most complex puzzles in the game. With it, you will be required to place the candy and other obstacles with precision. Tap once and it will be detached from the wall. Tap twice and it will stick back.

The fresh levels are refined, but a vital ingredient is missing which could justify their existence. Cut the Rope: Experiments would have benefited more from it. It could be a new gameplay or story mode. Well, ZeptoLab better listen to its $0.99 market niche.