Lab Squab – Free an Imprisoned Pigeon from the Clutches of Evil

Cleanly designed and imaginative with artful animations!

Scab is the center of attention in this fast-paced race to escape the demonic deeds of Professor Pegon. Scab is a squab, more familiarly known as a pigeon. He’s been captured with the intent of being experimented on, and that is something he does not want. Your job, after you download Lab Squab, is to navigate him out of his mess and set him free.

The game layout is a typical runner game moving from left to right on your horizontally held device. I ran Lab Squab on my iPhone 5, and found it difficult to see many of the messages and guides offered. It probably plays best on an iPad or iPad mini. Scab is mounted on a wire at times, and on platforms or tables on other occasions. The venue, scene or world – whatever you wish to call it – changes every time you play the game, helping add variety to what could be considered an extremely simplistic game.

When you first download the game, you will see the main screen from which you can:

• view points
• make in-app purchases
• control the sound
• play a single or multplayer game
• engage in a tutorial

In Lab Squab he scenes are cleanly designed and imaginative with artful animations. The tutorial is helpful, but requires lots of trial and error to fully understand what actions are needed to move Scab where he needs to go to avoid oncoming traps or objects, jump over gaps in his tightrope electric line path, or ascend a bit to collect a few extra points or lives to help him get out of there! The tutorial often says to just “Tap”, but it really requires a tap and swipe. I tried just tapping and ended up falling…game over.

As you progess through the game, the traps that approach become more maniacal and crazy, which means Scab needs to be quicker on his feet, and that means you need to quickly react to what’s coming and tap or swipe so he can jump over, up high, or slide under the enemy. Looking to up your game and see how you stack up with fellow rescuers? Register with Game Center and see how others maneuver and maintain Scab’s safety, all the way to the exit! Multiplayer mode lets you play the game with up to 4 players, sharing scoreboards and more, through complete Game Center collaboration.

When you get really good at the game, you will unlock a hidden bonus game – a treat for those who are avid about their game, are looking for a challenge and expect unrivaled rewards. The only item to note as needing updates would be to cut the clutter in the game’s background. I found the multiple items placed around the screen to be distracting, making it difficult to see what Scab had to do next. It may just be me, but there was too much going on for me to see what I needed to do next.