Why You Can Trust CNET Where's My Water 2 for iOS review: A great sequel ruined by wait times
Where's My Water 2 is a worthy sequel in all ways but one. Unfortunately, its free-to-play model forces you to ask your Facebook friends for playtime, pay real cash frequently, or suffer through long wait times.
Where's My Water 2 brings more of the same great puzzle gameplay from the original Where's My Water, along with new challenges, themed ducks to collect through achievements, and more than 100 levels to solve, but there is one huge problem. The freemium model requires that you connect with Facebook and bug your friends (if you have friends playing the game) to give you more energy to keep playing. Otherwise, you'll be forced to wait longer and longer amounts of time to replenish your energy or pay real money for energy refills. For the freemium model alone, I can't recommend this game.
Where's My Water 2 for iOS
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Let's just talk about gameplay
Instead of making this a rant, I'm going to ignore the freemium model for a few moments to talk about the good points of the game. Just like the first game, the object is to divert liquids (or steam) to the main character of the level. Swampy, the alligator star of the first game is back and still loves to take baths with the water you supply. You'll also help Allie, a female alligator who needs steam to play her steam-powered organ, and Cranky, an alligator who needs you to clean the algae from his food with purple water. As you cut through the dirt with your finger to provide the liquid a pathway to the goal, you'll also want to pass through the three rubber duckies to get a perfect score. This accomplishment in the game is referred to as "tri-ducking."
New challenges and game types
To add some variation in this sequel, there are now added challenges on each level as well as new game types to play through. When you finish a level, you'll unlock additional challenge modes, such as playing the same level upside down, or specific requirements for the level, like avoiding all the rubber ducks instead of passing through them. I really like these new twists on the gameplay and enjoyed the new challenges.
A new game type called Duck Rush requires that you keep your water on the screen as you cut dirt downward while the level scrolls automatically. If your water scrolls off the top of the screen, you'll have to start over. In Duck Rush levels, you'll need to pass water through six rubber ducks in order to get a perfect score. Duck Rush is a great addition to the game, but be ready to retry these levels because they can be quite challenging.
Achievements
As you progress, you can complete achievements to earn special themed ducks, such as gladiator-duckie, aviator-duckie, dino-duckie, and several others. A "Choose your duck" option lets you pick a themed duck to use as your avatar that will show up on the map below the level currently you're working on. There isn't too much more to the themed ducks than the costumes and funny descriptions, but I think it's a neat way to track achievements.
Now for what I don't like
It's true that a lot of games these days are using various types of freemium models. Real Racing 3 comes to mind, which makes you wait for getting a car serviced and also to have a car delivered that you paid for with in game cash. This model is annoying, but like I wrote in my review, once you own a few cars, it's pretty easy to switch cars and keep playing the game. It's not ideal, but it's workable.
With Where's My Water 2 you don't have a workaround. When your energy meter runs out (after about seven played levels), the game forces you to either connect your Facebook account for one free refill, or -- after that one-time refill -- bother your Facebook friends to "give you energy" to continue playing. If your friend doesn't own the game, he will be asked to download it to help you out. One small plus is that it asks your friend directly and doesn't put the request on anyone's Facebook News Feed. Your other option is to buy a single refill for 99 cents.
Unfortunately, if you want the game to remain free, that means you'll have to wait, and I saw wait times of over an hour after a few plays. I e-mailed the developers of the game to find out what determines the amount of wait time, and will add more information once I hear back. To make matters worse, when the time is up, you only receive a small amount of energy, letting you play a couple of levels before you have to wait again. Your only option at this point is to put the game aside for a longer period of time to replenish your energy to full so you can at least play through a few levels before having to wait again. If you're an adult, you might set the game aside for a while, annoyed you have to stop playing. But if the game is for your child, I can only imagine the frustration for both the kid and his parents. This model is totally unacceptable and I would much rather pay a premium price (such as $4.99 or even more) to buy the full game than to have to jump through these hurdles.
Conclusion
The original Where's My Water was a great puzzle game that continues to be popular in the App Store for its cute theme and challenging gameplay. I still wholeheartedly recommend the original game. The sequel adds new challenges and game types that are fun, but the freemium model is so annoying and persistent that it overshadows the gameplay.
If you're willing to wait to play or don't care about spending money through in-app purchases, Where's My Water 2 is a fun and worthy sequel. But if you don't have an unlimited supply of money or patience, I sadly cannot recommend this otherwise fun and challenging game.