Where's My Water - Review and Game Guide for iPhone

Where's My Water - Review and Game Guide for iPhone
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Where IS His Water, Anyway?

Swampy the Alligator isn’t like the other alligators in the sewer. For one, he’s the only one who seems to have a sense of hygiene. A lady gator seems to be interested in him since he’s not a jerk like all the other male alligators. Swampy has found many treasures down there in the sewers, if only he had someone to give them to as gifts… It’s not a terribly complex story, but it does the job, and it’s cute. The game is hard to put down, right up until the point where you can’t get any further. Where’s My Water starts off easily enough, but just when you get the hang of things, new concepts are introduced to keep you from becoming too comfortable.

She think’s he’s cute.

It’s a pretty game that looks like a Disney cartoon, which is fitting since it’s a Disney game, and appropriate for all ages. The music is perky, almost too perky, and you’ll either be humming along or turn your sound off after a few minutes. The gameplay is pretty simple, just use your finger to dig paths for the water and other liquids. You want to keep acid and ooze out of Swampy’s bathtub, and direct all the water you can into it. The water flows pretty much the way you expect it to. It’s not immediately apparent what everything does. Most games don’t have manuals these days. Good thing you found this guide! We’ll be looking at the Collectables, Unlockables and Achievements, identifying what everything does, and offering some Where’s My Water tips for making sure that Swampy is the cleanest alligator in the whole sewer.

Achievements , Unlockables and Collectables

Where’s My Water uses Game Center for achievements, so your friends can see for themselves if you’ve really “tri-ducked,” or gotten all three ducks on every level, including all the bonus ones. Not every achievement is unlocked by doing well or by specific feats on certain levels, however. There are achievements for destroying 50 rubber duckies, and for filling the tub with acid or ooze 20 times. There’s even one for embarrassing Swampy! There’s also one for manually restarting the level seven times and completing it on your eighth try. Even if you lose all your iPhone data, Game Center will remember your achievements and you can prove that you completed 2-9 with one continuous cut.

You start off with one series of levels available and must unlock the others with rubber duckies. There are three rubber duckies in each level, which must be filled with water before you fill Swampy’s tub. It starts to get a bit difficult around the last half of the second series of levels. It’s possible to unlock the second and third series by tri-ducking the first series and obtaining all the collectables and bonus ducks there.

Tilt the phone to move the water.

Speaking of collectables, in levels with a “?” next to the three ducks at the top of the screen there is a hidden shower item for you and Swampy to collect. They’re usually buried near the “best path” to dig. Completely uncovering them will let you keep them if you beat the level. Just like the Little Mermaid, Swampy is not entirely clear what these precious artifacts are for. For instance, he thinks toothpaste is cupcake frosting. There are six per series of levels. On the collectables screen, filling a shelf with three collectables unlocks a bonus level. These levels require you to fill up an additional three rubber duckies with water within the time limit, which is done by tilting your phone. In the end, getting all the collectibles from each series of levels nets you an additional 6 ducks, one for every collectable.

What Does That Thing Do?

You can make tidal waves by making two bodies of water hit each other!

Since it’s not immediately apparent what everything does and it can be frustrating to figure it out while that ooze is eating its way toward your pipes, here’s a list of what everything I’ve found so far does.

  • Water: This is pretty obvious, it’s light blue, flows downhill, and it’s used to fill up rubber duckies and Swampy’s tub. It cleans ooze away, mixes with acid to create more, and makes algae grow.

  • Dirt: Liquids will flow downhill through the channels you cut with your finger. Most of your time will be spent manipulating this. Collectables are hidden in the dirt. Just clean them off and they’re yours.

  • Algae: It’s bright green, it grows when water touches it while absorbing the water, and acid and ooze kills it. You usually want to clear it away so it doesn’t suck up your water.

  • Acid: You don’t want this in Swampy’s tub. It kills algae, and if it touches water it makes the water into acid. Usually you want to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

  • Ooze: Ooze is a yucky yellow-green slime that sinks down, destroying the dirt it touches. Water can clean it away, but many times you have to get the water to the pipe before the ooze.

  • Switches: When water or acid touches these, it activates or deactivates gates or other machinery that can help or harm you. Many times you have to manipulate these to outrun ooze or push water.

    The secret to this level is to get rid of the acid before the water touches it and ruins everything.

  • Pipes: Water and acid can be collected in the wide end and shot out of the narrow end at high-speed. Swampy’s tub is connected to a wide end. Some pipes squirt on their own, and some squirt acid.

  • Faucets: Pipes that you turn on by pressing the faucet. They usually dispense water. They have an unlimited supply but are usually used to hit switches.

  • Bombs: If a liquid hits a bomb, it will explode, destroying a large area and sending water flying. You want to make sure it doesn’t shoot your water off-screen.

  • Gates: These can be moved by sliding them with your finger, and can block or hold water. Some gates must be activated by switches. Later on, there are too many to control them all with switches.

Okay, So Any Tips on What to Do with Those Things?

This game can be overwhelming at times after the first series of levels, but it’s never as bad as it looks. Here are some things you should definitely try.

  • There is always enough water to finish the level. You may have to do tricky things with it like cutting two channels at once to divert most of it in one direction while sending a little splash to activate a switch. Cutting two channels at once is also an achievement, by the way.

  • The name of the level is a hint as to how to solve it. Some can be a little tricky, like the Water Temple, which is a reference to a dungeon in The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time.

    ARGH! NOT THE WATER TEMPLE!

  • A lot of the time, acid has to be drained before you can do anything. Adding water to it will just make it all acid, but there’s just no way past. Just let it flow off-screen, but cut your channels in such a way that you can modify them to direct the water that’s coming down afterwards. Long, twisty tunnels can get the water to where you need it just as well.

  • Bombs throw acid and water everywhere, but only in their blast radius and any channels you’ve dug nearby. It’s the only way to splash some rubber duckies. Be aware that acid will destroy a duckie, so sometimes you will have to choose between completing the level with ease or getting the ducks.

  • Sometimes you need to mix water and acid to make more acid. Each drop of acid destroys one drop of algae. Sometimes there is initially more algae than acid.

  • On the other hand, sometimes you need to grow algae to stop acid that will hit a switch, or at least slow it down.

  • Some switches move metal gates like a piston, shoving water up and out at high speeds. Water slamming against other water makes a high wave. Many puzzles have to do with water’s inertia.

  • Sometimes you need to send water down multiple channels to make sure you splash every rubber duckie. Sometimes you just can’t reclaim all the water you started with.

  • Don’t panic! There’s always a way out. Additionally, if you know where your towel is you may find it soothing.

  • Most of the time you won’t be able to clear away the ooze. It will usually fall above a switch that will make winning impossible if tripped. This is the closest thing this game has to a time limit on non-bonus levels.

  • If there is more than one isolated water supply in a level, it’s part of a multi-step puzzle. Usually, only the last pool of water will be going into Swampy’s tub. Sometimes you need to mix one or more with acid or grow algae.

    Don’t cross the streams!

  • In some levels, you may do everything perfectly, but not fast enough. Don’t get frustrated! Some bits require exact timing and no one does them right on their first few tries.

  • While you’re scored on how quickly you complete the level and how full beyond the minimum the tub is, the only thing to worry about is filling the tub and getting ducks and collectables. The scores don’t have an effect on gameplay. New series of levels are unlocked by collecting ducks.

  • Remember, this game is about gravity and water pressure. The more water you have flowing, the quicker it goes, and the more it can be coaxed into doing loops and flowing uphill.

  • If you see something you’re not sure about, experiment! You may find a new or better way of doing things!

  • You can always skip a level if it’s giving you too much trouble. If you do this too much you’ll probably be overwhelmed by the later levels, though.

Insert Bath Pun Here

I took too long trying to get this screenshot, now the ooze is gonna go in the tub.

Hopefully you’ve learned how to get through most, if not all, of the game with the tricks, tips and hints in this guide. Even if you have, the game’s developers promise more series of levels soon, much like Angry Birds and Cut The Rope have done. If you’re looking for more quick, fun games to play on your phone, this list has some good, fun game ideas. If you think I’ve missed a crucial hint, let me know! I’ll update the guide accordingly.

Where’s My Water is available from the Apple iTunes store for just 99 cents.

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