With the App Store thriving and games coming out left, right and centre it's really easy to miss a great and fresh game. 'Bag It!' from Hidden Variable Studios offers a new twist to the puzzle genre by...packing groceries bags.

Think of it like Tetris...but with food. 

With self checkouts booming as the faster option when at the groceries, it usually ends up just trying to fit as much as you can into one bag. 'Bag It!' trains us in the art of bagging.  Bag it!  With style!

What Bag It! Got Right

It seems that bagging groceries in Bag It! is a lot more fun than bagging groceries in real life.  Who would have thought?

 In the early levels of Bag It! you are taught the simple skills on how to place objects into the bag like, “snooty Sir Eggward to the happy-go-lucky Sunshine”.  With their own unique characters and relationships, you'll never look at your groceries the same way ever again! 

Like in real-life weight plays a big roll in Bag It!  A watermelon being one of the heavier items in the game will obviously crush most items placed beneath it. Hidden Variable Studios did a great job on this with the characters displaying a sign of stress, or a time that indicates the weight on top of each item.

Great game modes - With six game modes to complete, each level is rated out of three stars, awarding ribbons if you complete extra requirements such as not breaking any items or keeping every item upright. By completing the objectives and collecting stars/ribbons you unlock more game modes, which will keep you bagging for a while. Such game modes are;

Standard Mode: Meet all the characters and master your bagging technique.
Single bag, multi-bag, time trials and more! 

Puzzle Mode: Challenging puzzles of all kinds to test your skill! 

Rampage mode: Break as many items as you can! 

Endless modes: Play for hours and beat your friends’ high scores! 

Ultimate Bagger – See how many bags you can complete without breaking a single item!

Endless Rampage – Crush as many as you can before time runs out! Combos earn you time bonuses!

Power Surge – The scanning laser has gone berserk! Save as many groceries as you can!

Once you have packed all the items or ran out of time Bag it! tests your skills in a balancing game, which has you finishing off the level by tilting your device back and forth trying not to crush anything in the process. 

What Bag It!Got Wrong

Just give me a hint! - I’m no whiz at puzzles but my god some of those puzzles in Bag It! are too dam hard! The problem is that it ranks on how fast you complete the puzzle, which effects your star rating. I know that this is a bagging game, and time is of the essence in Bag It!  I found myself taking my time trying to solve the puzzle and when I eventually completed it, I just restarted the level and did what I did before. It’s no major flaw in the game, but helpful hints would be nice to see in some of the more difficult levels.

For example once you rank down to two stars a small hint/clue is given on what you should do and so on if it takes longer.

I personally find the star rating a great way to rank players in games but it is well over used in many old and new games. Bag It! offers a fresh new game to the App Store with unique characters and personalities, which can effect your overall score if bunched correctly. Bag It!  is a grocery game and you as the bagger I think should be ranked on tips on how fast or how well you pack the items. If you were to break an item it will effect your overall tip and score as well. Thus getting rid of the star rating, that's just my opinion though. 

The Final Verdict

I don't think I have packed so many groceries bags in my life and to be raked on how well I pack the items as well. Bag it! does have its flaws but it's nothing to put down this great game, which takes every day packing of groceries and makes it into a game. 

The guys at Hidden Variable Studios did a great jobs with the art work and sound, which I think really makes the game just pop out. Without those elements you wouldn't have a great game in our hands right now.

Grab Bag It! now on the App Store and test your skills at bagging groceries. 

By Ritchie Plunkett