Much-lauded app The Heist has knocked Angry Birds from its long-standing No. 1 paid app position in the App Store this week. Created by the team behind the popular OS X software bundle MacHeist, The Heist, for iPhone and iPod Touch, sends users on a mission to crack a safe. Whatever they find inside is theirs to keep.
To crack the safe, users will have to complete enough of the 60 puzzles to unlock four security stages. Guiding you along your way is Sophia, who will call in with instructions on how to proceed. The call’s appearance is very similar to a real iPhone call — so don’t be caught off guard like I was. (Who is this Sophia and how did she get in my address book?)
The Heist’s puzzles are spread evenly across four types, all of which you’ll have seen before. In the first set, you’ll need to slide wooden blocks to move a tube to the opening. My favorite puzzle was the Sudoku-style grid (that uses symbols instead of numbers). Puzzle three asks users to push boxes to contact points, while four asks users to slide tiles to connect broken wires. A progress bar at the bottom of the home screen will display how many puzzles you need to complete to move to the next security stage. When you’ve unlocked the safe, a prize will be waiting for you. I’ve unlocked the safe, and although I don’t want to spoil it for you, I can say that it retails for more than 99 cents.
To unlock the safe, you do not have to complete every puzzle stage. This was good news for me since I hate those sliding wooden blocks in puzzle one. I opted to complete all 15 of the Sudoku-style games and enough of the other three to reach the finish. The Heist works with Apple’s Game Center to track your achievements, so to earn all your trophies you’ll have to complete all of the levels.
Although you can replay levels, I didn’t see an option for restarting the game from its beginning. I’m guessing this is because of the prize, but it’d be nice to be able to play from scratch since it is one of the better games available.
Considering The Heist’s rate of download you probably have already snagged the app for yourself, but if not, get to downloading. You don’t want to be late for The Heist.
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