Kickin Momma is a very fun game that desperately needs a new name. 

Kickin Momma is a kickin’ good time to play.  Don’t be deceived by the name because there is a nicely polished, fun game beneath the title.  The game is simple to play and revolves around a ‘pinball-style’ pachinko formula similar to PopCap’s astounding hit, Peggle.  

The core gameplay revolves around a storyline that has you retrieving gems so you can purchase new things for Momma.  However, the way Momma gets these gems is by kicking her young into the playing field.  At first glance, this may sound repulsive and grounds for boycotting the company, but the delivery is light-hearted and fun.  The characters are cartoon aliens and the actually ‘kicking’ is softened by cute sounds and fun animations. 

You begin by dragging your finger across the screen to line up your shot.  When you are ready to let the kid fly, you simply hit the kick button and then you sit back and see what kind of loot Momma can haul in.  This may sound like a lot of luck (which it is), but there is some strategy involved by planning ricochets and using various powerups.  There’s even a zoomed in window and fine-tuned controls to help you line up those tricky shots.  Once you accumulate enough gems, then you can buy Momma some new things.

There are 36 levels spread across three separate worlds immediately available upon purchase.  Each world has a different background and each level requires a different number of gems before you can move on.  What keeps you coming back for more is the pre-determined scoring tiers to achieve either bronze, silver or gold medals on each level.  While the entire 36 levels will only take a couple of hours to get through, perfecting all of them will really extend the life of the game.  In addition to the included levels there is at least one more world that is suspected to be released via a future update.  Kickin Momma only supports one profile, so it is designed for just a single player.  There is no educational value, but there is that element of strategy and problem solving involved in each level. 

The menus are easy to navigate and the controls are well-implemented.  The selection screen clearly displays your progress so it is easy to find which levels you still need to improve on.  Just about the only criticism we have for this game is the name.  While the name does reflect the actual game, it doesn’t capture the cute nature of the characters or the polished, physics-based gameplay. 

- MICHAEL STROUD, EXECUTIVE EDITOR - APPS