Atoms HD is atomic powered learning
Atoms HD is a logic charged Sokoban type puzzle game that educates players about molecules. Players learn about molecules like glycerin and polytetrafluoroethylene in 88 levels with helpful summaries that explain where the molecules are commonly found such as in non-stick pans or in some foods. Atoms HD is compatible with iOS devices running iOS 4.3.3 or later.
Players can pick from 25 molecules at the start of Atoms HD, the first molecule is water which is the only level with a tutorial. Players can swipe to move atoms that make up the molecule in horizontal and vertical directions with the goal of matching the molecules structure to the picture on the bottom left corner. This level introduces players to the inventory which has items they can use to help get the atoms in the correct order. The first item is dynamite which will eliminate one obstacle that might be making it hard for players to get one atom positioned next to another one properly. The next item is an ice cube that makes a temporary obstacle to help guide the atom to the right place by stopping an atom in place. The last item is a teleport which allows players to create a tunnel between two cells. All of these items are very useful and make the difficulty of each level more manageable, however, after the first level, these items disappear and players must pay to get these items to use for each level.
After playing the first 25 molecules, players will see a list of other molecules that unlock after getting a certain amount of stars. The timer counting down on the left side is a little misleading as players are accustomed to when the timer hits zero. In most games it is game over, but in Atoms HD when the timer ticks down to zero you lose the chance to get a star rating in the level. Players can get up to three stars in each level if they complete the level within the time limit. This is nice for players who just want to play each level and test out new ideas without the pressure of having to complete it in a certain time limit. This is especially helpful when the difficulty level changes drastically from a medium level of difficulty to head scratching hard quickly. However, the difficulty of most levels is overly hard and thus takes away from the enjoyability of the puzzle.
An annoyance that showed up in Atoms HD were atoms too small to properly swipe especially when playing on a phone. Other problems included a full screen ad that would show occasionally, a black screen bug that happens on occasion which forces players to exit out of the game, and that some of the molecule levels would repeat. When the molecules would repeat, the layout of the map would change which helps remedy this annoyance a little, but with so many different molecules to choose from it is confusing why there are any duplicate molecules.
Atoms HD is great for learning molecular structures and what each molecule is. As a game, the difficulty level is a bit extreme for most players and this is made even harder by the small atoms which are not easy to move. Atoms HD is free on the App Store and recommended as an interesting educational tool for people who want to learn more about molecules.
