We let the world know about Enviro-Bear 2010 in our review, and the game went on to see a crazy amount of popularity following shortly after, including being featured on G4 TV’s Attack of the Show and landing a spot on our Best of 2009 Buyer’s Guide. In all seriousness, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the so-bad-it’s-good nature of Enviro-Bear 2010, what with the complete absurdity of the premise and its lovingly crafted MS Paint quality graphics. But, there’s actually quite a bit of depth to the gameplay with the purposely awkward controls and the level of interactivity with the various objects in the game. Doing well in Enviro-Bear 2010 actually takes a decent level of skill and tons of practice.

Enviro-Bear 2010 hasn’t seen a ton of updates in the past 2 years, I mean, it was pretty near to perfection when it first launched. Still, there have been some interesting new features added into the game like a magical mushroom which transforms the cartoonish world into something more shockingly realistic, or the elusive golden fish which has only been discovered by a select few dedicated gamers. Today, Enviro-Bear creator Justin Smith has dropped another unexpected update to the game, adding universal iPad support, tons of different language translations, and no doubt some other hidden goodies.

Playing Enviro-Bear 2010 on the large screen of the iPad is a glorious experience, to say the least. With my iPad comfortably propped up in my lap, both hands are free to man the controls of the car as well as deal with the many hazards that drop into the car’s interior, including that mischievous badger who seems dead set on harshing my mellow. I hate you with all my being, badger. Also, grabbing items using Enviro-Bear’s single huge paw has been made easier, which is extremely welcome when there is a ton of crap piled up in the interior and you need to accurately grab something under pressure with Winter bearing down on you.

If you’re somewhat new on the iOS scene and this is the first you’re hearing of Enviro-Bear 2010, then just a cursory glance at any of these screenshots should tell you if it’s the sort of game for you. It’s extremely difficult, mostly due to the purposely terrible controls, and it has a visual style that only a Mother Bear could love. But, for those that can appreciate these sorts of things, there is no finer bear-driving-a-car simulator available, and now you can enjoy Enviro-Bear 2010 from the comfort of your iPad as well.

Several brave forum members decided to take the plunge and experience what it feels like playing as a bear, driving a car, desperately searching for food to survive through the winter. Since then, Enviro-Bear-mania has been spreading across the Internet at an alarming rate between iPhone blogs and near constant Twitter chatter.

Reviews on iTunes have been overwhelmingly positive, and as of this evening, Enviro-Bear 2010 is sitting at a solid 4.5 star rating, with 92 players reporting in at 5 stars, and 14 confused people who must have meant to hit 5 but accidentally hit some other number when submitting a review.

Some select iTunes reviews successfully capture the spirit of the game:

This game perfectly captures the ennui of daily life in a modern post-industrial society juxtaposed with the simplicity and beauty of the natural world, bringing both into sharp focus and triggering a new level of understanding of our place in the universe. Plus it's a frickin' BEAR driving a car!! -- DFSDave

My friends all play nothing but one-armed bear sims. I just couldn't get into the genre. UNTIL NOW!!! The innovative rabid badger feature is exactly what one-armed driving bear sims need. I'm hooked! I'll be deleting every other game from my iPhone. And all my contacts and calendar events for good measure -- M A 4

As a practicing bear biologist in Yellowstone National park, I can state with authority that Enviro-Bear 2010 is the most accurate software representation of the plight of the modern bear. Bravo, Mr. Smith. Bravo. -- RAFontaine

Sure I [spent] all my time learning about the behavior of bears who only have access to one paw while driving a car instead of studying for the MCATs. But what I got in return was something priceless. It can only be described as enlightenment. -- Gotgame327

Since our first look at Enviro-Bear 2010, the game has seen unparalleled levels of popularity (well, compared to all other bear driving simulators). Yesterday the game was featured by Apple, and by this morning Enviro-Bear 2010 had shot up the top 100 game charts. All of these things take a back seat to being featured on this evening's episode of G4's Attack of the Show:

The future of Enviro-Bear was shrouded in mystery up until a few moments ago when developer Justin Smith posted on our forums to announce the creation of the official Enviro-Bear 2010 Twitter feed (@EnviroBearCorp) and hint at future updates.

The first of which is said to be a boring update, but the second may bring about a new era of bear driving simulators with the addition of exploding bees and time traveling chainsaws. "Oh the possibilities!", Smith writes.

Mr. Smith, the entire internet awaits updates to your magnum opus.

App Store Link: Enviro-Bear 2010, 99¢

Yes, Enviro-Bear 2010 is a bear driving a car simulator where you have five minutes to fatten yourself up and drive to your cave in preparation for winter. The controls are hilariously awful, and while the iPhone may be capable of multi-touch gestures, as a bear driving a car you only have one free paw which is what you use to drive around and scarf down food.

You can use your single paw to do all kinds of things, from putting the car in to drive or reverse, throwing just about anything (including the clock tracking your remaining time) out the window, and defending yourself from badgers. The driving controls provide as realistic of an experience as I can imagine if I were a bear driving a car, since you can either steer or use the pedals. With only one paw, how could you both at the same time?

It wasn't until I played the game through a few cycles of winter that I started to realize the depth of how much you can interact with the world. Such a seemingly terrible game at first glance really has a odd level of detail, especially when you start thinking outside the box, or rather-- Thinking like a bear, driving a car.

For instance, the horrid combination of constantly switching between the gas and steering is completely remedied by something so simple that it hadn't even crossed my mind until I saw someone mention it in the thread on our forums. If you ram your car in to a boulder, a piece of rock will fall off, and you can use that rock to hold the gas pedal down.

Enviro-Bear 2010 is filled with all kinds of really weird functionality of interaction between objects that you never would expect. This realization transformed the game for me from a comically bad driving game to a clever, imaginative, and strangely enjoyable experience. (And I'm not the only one).

If you are looking for a completely ridiculous game with graphics so bad that they're good and really awkward bear-inspired controls, look no further than Enviro-Bear 2010. Sure, you could buy better things for a dollar, but do those things involve a world where bears drive cars?

I didn't think so.

App Store Link: Enviro-Bear 2010, 99¢