Flappy Bird met its untimely demise a few days ago, and with much fanfare and controversy, but with the fall of one rose many others aiming to capitalize on the title’s unique gameplay. Of course, there’s also that hope that these games would get to inherit the success and popularity that Flappy Bird had before it was taken out of the app stores.
Ironpants is one such game, and after a few hours of play, it can be safely said that this particular endless runner, or flyer, is as frustrating and as difficult as the original, and even more. If you’re already capable of scoring a hundred points or more in Flappy Bird or any of its rip-offs, that won’t do you any good with this one.
And while you can try to get your hand on cheats or hacks to get ahead, nothing beats a good old fashioned playthrough – as well as the requisite boasts about your score. Besides, where’s the fun in cheating if everyone else can do it? With that, here’s our guide on how you can play Ironpants the right – and fair – way.
Gameplay
Ironpants is an endless running game not much different from Flappy Bird. Players control a flying superhero and the goal is to fly through columns of crates with a single opening for as long and as far as you could. Controls are pretty simple as all players have to do is to tap or hold the screen to make Ironpants fly. Releasing the screen would cause Ironpants to descend and fall. Using these two actions, you must fly Ironpants through any and all gaps that would appear in front of you.
Scoring
Scoring is also very simple. Just like Flappy Bird, players score one point for each gap that they can fly across. Should a player hit a crate with any portion of their character’s body, the round would end, and their total score as well as their best score would be displayed. Players would then have the option to tweet their score as well as submit them and see how they fare against other players from all over the world.
Tips and Tricks
The first thing that you have to know about Ironpants and any other similar game is that, no matter how good you are, you will never be good enough. Games like these are designed so that you would lose, so you’re better off not wasting our energy towards getting frustrated. The first few times, you’ll find yourself failing within a second of starting the game, and that’s all right. You’ll probably die dozens of times over before even getting through your first obstacle, and that’s something that you wouldn’t even be able to do after a dozen more tries. That’s perfectly fine, though. Just keep calm and carry on.
The next thing that you would have to do is to find the most comfortable position that you can. Especially when you’re at that point where you can maintain and control your flight, being in the best position possible is key in order to avoid getting fatigued or have your play ruined by shaky hands. Find a spot where you can place the device or your arms on a firm surface, and make sure that only one finger would touch the screen at all times. Wiping the screen so that it wouldn’t have any dirt or moisture on it would also be very helpful.
The next part is also the most difficult part – the gameplay itself. Unlike Flappy Bird, Ironpants moves at a much faster pace, and players will really have to focus if they want to have the chance to even control your character’s movement. A few seconds of holding the screen will have your character flying into oblivion, but leaving it untouched would cause Ironpants to crash into the ground below. Both situations are definite no-nos, so you must find the best balance of both actions should you want a chance of getting even a respectable score.
The best way to control your character, surprisingly, is via constant taps. Unless gaps are very far apart from each other, this is the best way to go. Tap constantly in order to keep your character’s flight level, and make sure that you are completely through the current obstacle before you even attempt to position yourself for the one ahead of you. The reason for this is that your character’s ascent and descent is very fast, and with Ironpants being a very unforgiving game, having any part of your body touching any part of the playing field will result in an automatic game over.
Also, the best position for your character to be in is right in the middle of the screen. That way, you can easily go up or down with a lot of time to spare. Of course, you should keep an eye out on the next obstacle as you might find the need to climb or dive really fast to get through the next gap. With that, also make it a point that you have a clear line of sight of the incoming obstacles. This means that you should tap and hold anywhere except on the right side of the screen as this will obscure your vision. This may be only for just a few milliseconds, but those tiny moments would really count especially if your reflexes aren’t that fast to begin with.
Of course, it is also important to take a break once in a while. Try to leave the game if you’re feeling numbness in your wrists or arms, or if your eyes are already getting tired. Try to walk away from the game also if you feel the frustration building up, as you’re only bound to do worse if you are playing upset or mad. While it is important to stay focused on the game, it’s not worth the points that you would get if you are not at a hundred percent and if playing the game isn’t turning out to be that fun anymore for you personally.
Another tip which also pertains to keeping yourself focused and concentrated is to not do anything else while playing Ironpants. Don’t watch television, don’t listen to the radio, and don’t talk to anyone while playing. Keep your eyes focused on two things and two things only – your character and the obstacle immediately ahead of you. Don’t even peek at your current score as it would only come out one of two ways, either you’ll beat your score or you won’t. Not knowing this for a couple of minutes is much more worth it as compared to losing just because you didn’t keep your eye on the proverbial for a couple of seconds.
Lastly, don’t forget that Ironpants is just a game. It doesn’t matter if you don’t ever reach a score of ten, and it doesn’t really matter if your friends have a much higher score than you. Don’t get upset, and don’t ever throw your device in frustration. If you’d like to do so, though, then do it against a soft surface like your bed or couch. You’ll find yourself much more upset with a broken device than with a game that you just can’t beat. In any case, Ironpants was built to be playable indefinitely, and there are records of people reaching scores of two hundred or even more without cheats of any kind, but of course, not everyone can live up to their expectations as well as that of others and the game’s itself. With that, don’t be mad that you can’t play Ironpants as well as others could, but be consoled by the fact that there are probably others much worse than you in this game. That alone should be a silver lining for you.
So those are our tips on how to play your best and how to reach your personal high score at Ironpants, but the effects would definitely vary from person to person depending on their skill and determination at playing the game. With Flappy Bird gone for the meantime, this would probably be your best bet for one of the hardest and most challenging games out there today. With a little practice, though, you’ll find your score gaining a bit by bit until you can finally have something to brag about. Of course, there’s that chance that you’ll suck pretty bad, as well.