Escape Agent

I understand the concept of free then pay in the game world but feel the pay request should have some sooner. After finishing about 14 levels a request to pay for more gameplay arrived. At that point I am enjoying the game so I go for it. To find I get 1 more level only, fiendishly hard and not as logical as the prior levels really cheesed me off. Game over unless I collected 15 green vials or pay more. Options due to being short 2 vials - play over and hope there are 15 green vials to collect or pay more money.

This game follows the same business model as many other escape games marketed on the App Store. The player is given 10 free escape puzzles, which may be presented as rooms, scenes, events, etc. After the 10th puzzle is finished, the player is told that it will cost X dollars to continue. [Note that most developers don't mention how many additional puzzles you'll receive.] At this point, usually the player is invested in the storyline and/or has been acquiring collectibles to use for additional puzzles, so it feels like there is something to lose if he or she doesn't continue. The good news here is that the cost for the full version is only $1.99, rather than the $2.99 frequently charged by other developers. Further, the storyline effectively drives gameplay from one scene to the next, so there are indeed shades of James Bond throughout. The game doesn't rely on minigames so much as looking for individual items then figuring out what to do with them. Overall, I was pleased with the quality of the game and enjoyed the trial, but not enough to purchase the full version. I encourage you to download the trial and decide for yourself whether it's a keeper.

This is a well-designed game of challenging puzzles, that aren't extremely difficult, but they do make you think. Some reviewers are annoyed about the in-app purchase requirement for game levels 10 and beyond, but the first 9 levels will keep you playing for a couple of hours (unless you cheat yourself by watching too many of the 'help' walk-thru videos).