Sprinkle Junior

The original Sprinkle is so good we gave it a well-deserved perfect score. With this in mind, we strongly suggest downloading that game instead of its bizarre and largely disappointing follow-up, Sprinkle Junior.

Currently available for $1.99, the game plays similar to its predecessor. A bunch of aliens' houses are on fire, and it's your job to douse the flames using a water cannon while at the same time solving puzzles to make sure the H2O reaches its destination.

That said, the wonderful mechanics are alive and well, and we applaud developer Mediocre AB for dreaming up some interesting scenarios, like having to remove a giant hamburger from the screen, or feeding a monster cubes to proceed to the next stage. It's clear the game has a lot of potential.

Sadly, that's all it has. In theory, it was designed for kids as a way to pass the time. Puzzles are easy, ridiculously so, and players cannot run out of water.

Problem is, there are only 22 stages, and older gamers will breeze through them in roughly 15 minutes. Yes, the game's for children, but it insults their intelligence. We don't know about kids today, but growing up, we spent our younger years beating Metal Gear, The Legend of Zelda and even Super Mario Bros. 3, games that gave adults a hard time.

This? Amateur punk stuff. We could beat Sprinkle Junior with our eyes closed. No, seriously. We could, because the game's so pathetically simple that all you do is hold the water button and things usually work out, sans having to touch and drag something.

We see what Mediocre was going for, but come on. Kids are much smarter than this, and if you still intend to create a game tailored specifically for them, come up with more than 22 measly levels.

Review code provided by Mediocre AB.

Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod touch (3rd generation), iPod touch (4th generation) and iPad. Requires iOS 4.0 or later.

Download Sprinkle Junior