The Smurfs have been around for quite some time, and children from a generation ago can fondly recall seeing these blue-skinned elves at one time or another on television during their early years. Such is their impression that they are still around even in modern times, and in fact have spawned their own video games, with the most recent one being Smurf Life from Beeline Interactive. Get to control your very own Smurf as you help lift Gargamel’s curse upon your land so that you and your fellow Smurfs can live happy and free once again.
Gameplay
Gargamel has put a curse upon Smurf land, causing several of your Smurf brethren to become trapped under rubble and putting the land under a blanket of darkness. Players, controlling their own Smurf, must help out in repairing Smurf land, rescuing your trapped friends, while all the while collecting resources and mastering different types of jobs. The more Smurfs that you save, the more lands are bathed in sunshine, and the closer you are to breaking Gargamel’s curse completely.
Currency
Two types of currency are a play within Smurf life. The first type of currency is coins, and these can be earned in a variety of ways. Coins, also known as trade tokens, can be collected whenever quests and tasks have been completed, and you can also earn trade tokens by leveling up or by purchasing them outright using moon dust. Trade tokens can be used to purchase resources that you will use in building or completing recipes.
Moon dust is the premium currency within Smurf Life, and these are quite more difficult to come by. Some moon dust can be earned as rewards as well as when you level up. Moon dust can also be purchased using real life currency if ever you need more. Moon dust serves a variety of purposes such as purchasing premium items, buying trade tokens, purchasing inventory slots for recipes and building, as well as instant completion of alchemy and construction procedures.
When making purchases for Moon dust using real life currency, you will be getting more of the former the larger of the latter that you spend. Thus, spending more would give you a better deal, but only if you have adequate cash on hand. Otherwise, it would be much wiser to earn moon dust within the game rather than make a purchase.
Creating Your Own Smurf
Creating the character that you will be playing as is fun and very easy to do. You can choose your gender and you have the freedom to name your Smurf anything that you want. You can even select different types of clothing, hats, hairstyles, and accessories in order to make your Smurf unique. For additional clothing, you can purchase and unlock new costumes at the store in exchange of coins or moon dust. However, it is recommended that you start earning a respectable amount of coins first before doing this, as clothes are only for aesthetic purposes and do not serve too much value in-game. Extra clothes can also be unlocked as rewards when completing quests.
Energy
Energy is required whenever you gather resources. Each time you perform this type of action, your energy will be depleted and you will have to wait until your energy is replenished. Energy recovers in time, but you can purchase refills using moon dust if you do not want to wait. Energy is also filled up automatically when you level up, and your maximum energy capacity also increases whenever you level up, allowing you perform even more actions without the need to wait for your energy to be filled up again.
Quests
Several quests can be done within Smurf land, and all work towards freeing your Smurf brothers and expanding the lands that are free from Gargamel’s curse. These quests include profession quests where your trainer will provide you with specific recipes and construction projects to complete. These are intended to raise your profession level as well as earn you rewards.
Expansion quests and Smurf quests are designed in order to help your fellow Smurfs from under the rubble, or help them fix their houses. Successfully doing these quests will not only earn you rewards, but your Smurf count will also increase and a section of your village will no longer be uncovered in clouds, allowing you to explore the area and discover even more Smurfs in need of help.
Different quests will earn you different types of rewards, although these often include trade tokens, some moon dust, unlocked clothes, and many more. Some items that are required for future quests can also only be acquired through completing quests.
The trading post also offers some quests that you can complete in order to earn some extra trade tokens. As you finish earlier quests, one or more new quests will be unlocked.
Jobs
In the Smurf village, there are two types of professions, namely alchemy and construction. Both professions are essentially the same, as you would need to gather the necessary sources and then wait for some time until the project is completed. You can then give this to the Smurf in need of the particular item in order to complete the quest as well as earn your reward. What’s even more fun is that players will be able to interact with different Smurfs depending on what profession and what projects they would like to do.
Some items are resources that are readily available from the land such as flowers, waters, and petals. All you have to do is search for it and collect it once it has been found. However, searching for items will require energy. Conversely, some items need to be purchased from traders, and you must use either trade tokens or moon dust to purchase these particular objects. Traders are Smurfs that are distinguishable by them having a basket over their heads.
Some projects are much more difficult to create, as they would sometimes require previous projects as recipes for the new item to be crafted. Thus, it is necessary to know what the required products are before embarking on a particular project.
Players only have limited slots in their inventory. Players, however, can purchase additional slots so that they can keep more items using moon dust. This will allow you to be able to work with more than one recipe at a time since you will be able to carry more items with you.
Projects, especially constructed buildings, will take some time to complete. You can opt to either wait or have it instantly completed by using moon dust. Once an item has been completed, you must now find the Smurf that needs it and give the item to him. This will earn you huge rewards in the form of either trade tokens, moon dust, or other items that you will be able to use in the succeeding projects.
Once you have finished a project, your mastery level will rise in the form of stars. Once all stars have been completed, your profession level would thus be at its maximum. Thus, completing the same project again would be much easier.
Tracking
Smurf Life has a compass feature that will record and monitor every Smurf or object that you have interacted with. Using this feature, you can “Track” specific objects, which basically means that the game will guide you towards who or what you want to find by having a line point you in the right direction and path. This will help players avoid getting lost and not waste time having to navigate through a large area just to find something that they have already encountered previously.
Conclusion
If you want a game that breaks down quests into manageable tasks that will not confuse you, then Smurf Life is the game for you. The required items are not complicated, although the challenge of acquiring all products can be a bit tedious. Premium currency are readily available, although some might find that it is still not enough especially when they find themselves short on coins or when they are desperately in need of energy.
Despite this, there’s a certain joy to be found when interacting and saving your fellow Smurfs. The animations are drawn very close to their original incarnations, and players who love anything blue and fuzzy will surely get to enjoy this game a lot.
Do not expect too much from this game, though, as the features mentioned above are pretty much it. There are no social functions to speak of as of yet, and what you see is basically what you get. Still, owning your very own customizable Smurf and being able to help your fellow blue skinned buddies is pretty much a reward in itself, and you might find yourself spending hours gathering up all the items necessary for you to finally master that alchemy or building project.
Smurf Life was developed by Beeline Interactive for the iOS, with a version for Android devices to be announced at a later date. It was released last December 3, 2012.