Nov 15, 2009 Posted by kinnikun in Games, Sports | Comments

WiToss 1.0 – play paper toss, kick field goals and shoot baskets on Windows Mobile

WiToss is another fun app from Herm’s Software that helps pass the time.

In the screen shots, you can surely see it’s a clone of the famous iPhone PaperToss game. If you’ve ever been bored in school or at an office, then I’m sure you’ve tested your paper tossing skills before. Well now you can do it on your Windows Mobile device and avoid getting reprimanded for slacking off or making a mess. WiToss has many more features that build on the idea of PaperToss, but does it live up to the fame brought on by its predecessor? We take a look at the app in this review to give you an idea of what to expect.

Herm’s Software is not a stranger around these parts. We’ve seen many great apps come from his website and he’s recently released another called WiToss. The game is a paper toss game at its roots, but has extra modes and features. Let’s start with the modes. In the original PaperToss, you simply have one mode/stage of play where you try to throw crumpled pieces of paper in a trash can. In WiToss, you have that basic mode, plus football and basketball modes. The goal is to make a basket in basketball and to kick a field goal in football. All modes share the same settings and features, but use different graphics and backgrounds.

WiToss has some nice looking graphics. The paper toss mode has an office setting complete with a water cooler, desks, paper shredder, and of course a trash can. In basketball, you’re looking head on at the hoop and the half court is displayed almost in full. The football “stage” shows half the field with the ball centered near the 50 yard line. All of these backgrounds look spectacular.

Gameplay can be somewhat addictive, but may lose its luster after a while. Although the graphics are very nice, the interactions with the football and basketball goals don’t look quite right. The paper toss game works the best regarding interaction, so it’s not too big of a deal considering that’s the main mode, but it’s worth pointing out. When you toss the paper, it really looks like it goes into the trash can and sometimes it’s guided in like it would be if you were to actually do this in real life. The other two modes, on the other hand, don’t have that effect. When you kick a successful field goal, the ball doesn’t go behind the goal post at all – it lands in front. In basketball, the ball doesn’t look like it goes through the hoop and sometimes you score points even when you miss the rim area completely. If you can look beyond this, you will still love these extra modes. The football one, in particular, reminds me of when I used to play paper football in which a friend would hold up his fingers in the shape of a goal while I tried to flick the folded paper ball through the uprights.

WiToss has many, many features to keep you interested as long as possible. If you’re thinking that the game is as simple as flicking your finger directly into the trash can, you’re mistaken. Yes, the trash can is at the end of the virtual office and the crumpled piece of paper is towards the bottom of your device, but that’s where the fun begins. There is a specific factor that raises both the difficulty and fun levels of the game. Before every toss, an arrow is displayed showing what’s presumably an office fan or wind blowing speed. This value changes randomly. As you might have guessed, each toss takes the speed into consideration; so if there’s a strong gust, you should throw/kick against it. There are two methods of actually throwing/kicking/shooting the paper/football/basketball. The default method displays an arrow that moves back and forth from side to side. You simply wait for the arrow to point in the direction you want the object to go and tap it. It’s sort of an easy and automated way to play the game. The other method is completely freestyle. You just take into account the fan speed and then swipe your finger in the direction that you think would score you points. The in-flight animation looks good as the objects spin around like they were actually thrown or kicked.

WiToss can be played by yourself or with a friend, thanks to the alternating 2player mode. You can also pick whether you want to end the game by missed shots or time intervals. The former only lets you miss 5 times before the game is over while the latter lets you pick between 1, 3, and 5 minute intervals. The game-changing setting is, of course, the difficulty levels. As you increase the level (3 in all), the can/goals get smaller. Lastly, you can mute the sound (Mario Bros. coin sound) or disable vibration feedback.

WiToss might not be as polished as we would’ve liked, but we’re not complaining too much since it has a cheap price tag. A little more touch-up and the game would be perfect. Make no mistake about it; the paper toss part of it is incredibly fun. Herm’s Software makes up for slightly poor execution in some parts of the game with added features and modes. Being able to see how much you can score in a set amount of time and also play with a friend are huge benefits. The game is enjoyable and can be hard to put down, just like the real thing. Thankfully we don’t have to worry about wasting or running out of paper.

OS Requirements: Windows Mobile 6.0 and up
Screen Support: VGA, WVGA, QVGA, WQVGA
Tested on: Touch Pro 2

Pros:

• Fun and addictive game play
• 3 modes (paper toss, football, basketball)
• 2players
• Can try to score as many times as possible by time or by misses allowed
• Nice looking backgrounds
• 3 difficulty levels that alter game play
• Low price

Cons:

• Poor execution in the extra modes
• Can lose its fun factor after a while
• Not very much sound involved

Possible Improvements:

• Maybe add some background music
• Possibly make goal animations look more realistic (ie: ball going into hoop, football landing behind goal)
• Add bouncing animation on lip of trash can for added excitement
• Instead of a coin sound for all scores, maybe add realistic sounds like trash can banging or hoop swishing

We are giving away 3 copies of this game, to random followers from twitter. If you are not following us, head over to our twitter page and follow us , winners will be announced on Wed 18th Nov

Screenshots:

Tags: basketball, football, Herms Software, paper toss, WiToss

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