Dunkers, a new game by Colin Lane (known for Wrassling and other fun sporty games), has racked up 1 million downloads since it was released last week. The success in large part is thanks to heavy featuring from Apple; it has been featured more than 150 times worldwide. Currently in iTunes, it sits at No. 1 sports app, No. 4 sports game, No. 8 free game and No. 34 free app overall.
The game takes place in an 8-bit arena-esc basketball court; you flail about trying to be the best, and “boomshakalaka”’ your way to victory. The play of the game is your standard court 1-1, but the characters’ uni-pod body and protracted arms makes the game awkward and hilarious to play. The controls are simple. You can dunk, which moves you up and forward, or defend, which drives you backward. You can steal from your opponent’s arms, which adds to the competitive edge.
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Dunkers has three modes: arcade, career or two player. In arcade mode you can be dunked on by your opponent twice, then the round is over. For career mode, it’s the first to three buckets and you climb the ranks in a 10-game series. Two player mode is what you think, but on a single device, which seems tricky unless you are sitting really close together on a big phone or have a huge tablet or touchscreen.
I will say it is really hard not to laugh, despite feeling a deep desire to annihilate your opponent. This game is all about timing, but definitely some skill is involved. The trickiest part is when you are under the hoop and can’t dunk. There is also some strategy to blocking and stealing, which overall is super clumsy but adds to the fun. So if you want to fuel your inner basketball star and add a few giggles to your day, Dunkers is a free download on Google Play and the App store.