Our rating: By: blank Version #: 1.2 Date Released: 2011-01-27 Developer: Price: 0.99 User Rating: Loading... Loading... Download App

Some app developers give their creations quite uncreative names it’s difficult not to wonder if the apps themselves are products of apparent laziness on the part of their creators. Case in point: 4Steps. "4Steps" for a game that is won or lost in — wait for it — four steps (or taps, as it were). Really? That’s the best you could come up with? Ah, but after downloading the app, and seeing what’s actually inside it and behind the uncomplicated name, I was immediately put straight, for while its name sounds unappealing especially in a market populated by fancily titled apps both old and new, what 4Steps contains is evidently a product of industry.

It’s quickly evident from the crispness of every spot in the app and the assortment of puzzles it has that a lot of thought was put into its development. I’m glad to have nabbed it while it’s free, but I see now that it’s one that I’ll gladly spend a few dollars on. Its 30 megabytes-plus size should be seen as a sign not of its being a sort of bloatware but of its rich content, mainly a huge collection of illustrations that, it should be noted, are brilliantly handdrawn.

Those familiar with how some of the more picture-laden portions of aptitude tests will no doubt be able to play 4Steps straight out of the box. A single game of 4Steps, whether in levels or timed mode, comprises four images which the player needs to tap in correct sequence. Images that represent numbers must be tapped from lowest to highest, images that appear to be square pieces to a jigsaw puzzle must be tapped from left to right or top to bottom of the big picture, images that display objects of different sizes must be tapped from smallest to largest, and images that show parts of a naturally or frequently occurring event must be tapped from its presumed beginning to its end point.

In other words, to win in 4Steps you must use your common sense. And if you really had any, you’d have downloaded it by now.

