Game:

The Sandbox (2012)

Category:

Review

Duration: 16:24

1,573 views

13

In this video, I review an AR physics sandbox app called Playground AR. I've already reviewed the app on my blog back in November 2017 but since then its developer, Marc Sureda, introduce new exciting features which lead me to revisit the app again and create a video review about it.

https://arcritic.com/815/playground-ar-review/

Just so you know, I haven't tried the multiplayer feature nor I could present to you all the available create options because they are a well, endless.

One of the cool things about Playground AR is that you can literally create your own type of multiplayer sandbox game using different props. Some of the props have different behavior, they trigger certain even that can be used to construct a gameplay rule which players will base their game rules on.

There isn't actually a way to define strict rules, if there was, you probably would be able to create your own game with it (an idea for the future?). That being said, it gives users enough room to create really cool AR multiplayer experience based on ARKit shared experiences feature.

There are things that can be improved, like having built-in social sharing features, make the list of items more descriptive, have more interactive items, adding options to apply different physics rules (can be really cool), better optimization (quite a poor framerate on my iPad 5th gen.), more slots for saving custom scenes, no shadows (probably due to performance reasons), have an ability to resize objects, lacking of built-in social sharing feature etc..

That being said, maybe adding more features will make it overkill and make it less appealing to the audience that this app is aimed for, which is not being a game prototyping app for developers, but for the younger audience who enjoy the type of sandbox experiences and this is why it should stay simple.

Anyways, Playground AR: Physics Sandbox is one of the most impressive AR sandbox apps out there for sure, if not The most impressive one. I, as an adult user, enjoyed playing with physics, creating my own custom games and knowing that there are literally tons of creative options even with the limited set of parts that are being offered (the selection is quite generous).

Some of the features that introduced in the two latest version:

- RC Planes
- Multiplayer AR
- RC Vehicles can be damaged and destroyed (Great for multiplayer battles)

I let the video review speak for itself. As of the time of writing, the app is only available for iOS and it costs $2.99. I think it's well worth its price tag.

You can buy and download the app from the App Store (iPhone & iPad) here:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/playground-ar-physics-sandbox/id1305282341?mt=8

Note: Make sure you have a compatible device that can run the app, more information in the App Store's description.

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#SandboxGame #AR #Physics #iOS

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