It wasn’t so long ago that Snake was at the cutting edge of mobile games. Millions got addicted to steering that long, black chain of squares around the screen in search of more black squares.
Now you can recreate those early days of mobile gaming on your iPhone, with A Snake. The principle of the game is much the same as the original Nokia classic. You have to guide a snake around a field, collecting as many hearts as you can without hitting the walls or doubling back on yourself.
Controlling your serpent in A Snake isn’t as easy as it was in the old days, when four keys were used to move him around. This time, you have to tap the left side or right side of the screen to turn the snake. This proves far from easy, and learning how to master the controls is a long and frustrating process. What’s more, A Snake doesn't have any option to change the control system, so you’re stuck with this rather cumbersome and confusing way of moving.
Once you do master the controls though, there’s plenty of fun to be had with A Snake. There are two game modes – Crazy and Classic. In Crazy, there are multiple hearts and power-ups on screen at once, whereas Classic is a more sedate version, with just one heart appearing on the field at a time.
Graphically, A Snake is nothing special, but then neither was the original. It’s a shame there isn’t any music or more sound effects, though.
Just like that classic cellphone game, A Snake can get very addictive. You’ll need plenty of perseverance to get used to the controls, however.
