True Internet Facts.

Each week I may or may not bring you my picks for the best new iPhone app I’ve discovered in the past week. This week, it’s THQ’s Sushi Chop.

Chop Sushi - THQ Wireless Inc.
Price: 99¢
My Rating: 4/5

This game is getting a really bad rap on the iTunes store (2.5 stars, really?!), and I can’t figure out why. Or, rather, I can – there are no less than exactly 1,323 morons who downloaded it.

If you’ve ever played Puzzle Quest, then you’ll know what to expect. Chop Sushi is a very simple, match-3+ game at its core, but the difficulty ramps up gradually as you discover new skills and abilities.

The gameplay is simple – you and your computer opponent have a set number of hit points, and by matching 3 or more pieces of Wasabi in a row, you deal damage. You can move one piece at a time, by tapping the piece you want to move, and sliding it in the direction you want to move it in. This moves the piece to the end of the row or column, and slides the other pieces in to fill the void. As you progress, you can unlock “recipes,” which count how many matches of different sushi pieces you’ve matched and unleashes a variety of powers – such as dealing extra damage, healing your character, healing your opponent, or removing an entire row or column.

The visuals leave a bit to be desired. The actual gameboard has a very mid-90s pixel art feel – which, I confess, as a kid of the Commodore 64 – Sega Genesis eras I find somewhat endearing. The colors are very garish and loud; normally I’d have a problem with this, but the stark contrast between pieces makes it easier to spot matches and keeps the game flowing better than other matching games (such as Bejeweled). It has as certain classic-Japanese arcade feel to it, which lends itself well to the theme.

The music can be a bit grating, but you have the option when you load the game to turn it off (and allow the iPod app to run in the background).

Being almost a year old, Chop Sushi does not utilize the new iOS4 backgrounding APIs; when you leave the game it stops running, and reopening requires you to start anew with the menu system. It’s good about saving your progress, but if you jump out of it in the middle of a match, don’t expect to come back to that match. Given that so many games use this API call now, this is my one (albeit small) disappointment. It’s possible this may never happen, as the game hasn’t been updated since January 2010.

If you want something fun that you can jump into any time that doesn’t require net access (ideal when sitting in a plane, on the subway or on the toilet), it’s worth the buck. I managed to get it free during a promo this week, so if you’re a cheapskate, keep an eye out.