Jun 18, 2013

Little Nick is a running game game that is based on the popular Nicolas TV and books character. It’s a running game, and the abbreviated top-down view is quite reminiscent of endless runners like Temple Run.

In this adventure, we ditch jungle temples and crazed monkey-ish beasts for somewhat suburban streets and Mr Goodman in pursuit. And, we get a bike!

For background, Nick is framed for the dastardly destruction of a window, and takes off out the property gates on his two-wheeler to escape the vengeful Goodman after him. But these city streets are littered with obstacles, making escape especially hard. The graphics were more than decent, with good animations.

The cycling Nick goes forward on his own, and using tilt motions, it is possible to steer him to the left or right while going forward. This helps to avoid the debris that line — mostly blocked — the escape route. As in Temple Run, swiping up and down causes Nick to jump or slide respectively.

I liked the inventive obstacles put into play: there are things like fire hydrants with intermittent spray, road hurdles of different heights, and even cars in intersections. Additionally, there are collectible gold coins and ice cream cones. The gold coins are usable in the in-app store to purchase upgrades (fun stuff like speed boosts or coin magnets) that make the game more exciting to play. The game also incorporates a ton of challenges. These challenges are generally thresholds that, when attained, unlock a reward of some kind. The way this all ties in together is nifty, as it encourages symbiotic play… play to unlock stuff that makes playing easier. The challenges themselves were fairly varied, like getting a set number of ice cream cones or traveling a certain distance in one go. The boosts were leveled, meaning that they were staggered in their increases.

Overall, it was familiar enough without being a clone, and that’s just one of the reasons it can be so addictive.

Jun 18, 2013

Neon Snap is one of those games that soothes the mine just by looking it. With the tetrominoes and gridded space, it is practically impossible to not think of Tetris, if just a little. It’s advisable to avoid getting too caught up in the similarities, as Neon Snap sorta turns the gameplay over on its head.

The developer uses simple graphics to frame the game. With a mostly dark backgrounds, the play pieces are brightly colored, and the color of the pieces depends on their respective shapes. The animations are decent; rotations are handled in a utilitarian manner, and everything comes together with a minimalist feel.

The gameplay, as noted, will bring Tetris to mind, with the colored blocks I have already mentioned. Instead of said blocks cascading to the bottom and toiling against the player’s desire to treat the resulting wall down, in Neon Snap, raw puzzle solving is more basic. There is an empty playing grid in each level, and a set number of pieces of varying shapes at the bottom. The grid space has to be completely covered with the given pieces. To solve, the given pieces have to be dragged and places in a space above… and so on and so forth till the grid is completely fuel with no empty grid blocks.

Blocks can be rotated, replaced and shifted until it is completely solved. Rotations can be effected by touching the tetrinome, or simply using the dedicated rotating button at the bottom left.

Now, on paper, it’s not an overly difficult endeavor, but add the game progresses, it gets tougher, and tougher. The grids start becoming highly irregular, with a limited array of blocks.

There are different difficulty levels of gameplay to get lost in, and the unlocked version of the game boasts of of more than a hundred different mind benders.

It starts out as a fun game, and concludes as such, which makes it such a compelling entry.

Jun 17, 2013

Blendoku is different… very different, and, I got to say that is a very good thing.

It’s a game that almost has to be seen (and played) to be thoroughly explained and enjoyed. The game engine spits out a 2D grid of blocks, with more squares of color suspended in an area above; the number depends on the number of empty boxes below. Every grid has at least one color square already placed, and it/they serve(s) as starter squares.

Now, to complete a level, the colors have to be set in roughly a blended fashion. Think bright colors to brighter colors, or vice-versa. The key is to bend the colors as naturally as possible to solve the puzzle. A keen eye and the ability to mentally process hues helps. For Instance, if going, say, from light grey to black, putting a darker shade of grey before a light one won’t solve the puzzle.

Yeah, and action is timed.

As the gameplay levels get higher, the difficulty of the puzzles rise as well. Soon, the grids were not just flat strips; there were irregularly shaped grids, and some in the shape of diamonds, pyramids and so forth. The color mixing also gets more complex, with brighter colors making an appearance. For different types of players, there are four different levels of difficulty.

The controls were precise, with dragging and dropping being the main means of movement. For tough sequences, there is a redo button and an exhaustible reverse toggle.

The feature set is just about perfect for the casual gamer. There is a global time leaderboard that allows the player to compare times to; there is also a local one that allows the player to challenge his/her own best times. The games gives out recognition for perfection.

Looks-wise, it is a simple game, but the developer incorporates nice animations and uses the color to make a fun game with a minimalist environment. The gameplay sound is a cheery accompaniment that does a decent job. In-app purchasing does exist, but isn’t necessary to advance.

It’s a fun game, and comes close to being the perfect time-waster.

Jun 17, 2013

Flying Fox is a puzzle-solving adventure from Chilingo.

Scoundrel foxes have never been more adorable. Our main character, personified as a crafty black fox, reopens the long time feud between canids and poultry farmers. Basically, the fox is hungry, but the chickens in this caper are not necessarily willing to sacrifice themselves for the fox’s culinary delight.

The basic gameplay involves guiding a levitating fox to swoop down to catch chickens. There is a virtual line in the air that denotes success when a snatched chicken is carried to that point. Using the controls, you dive with the fox, snatch a bird and carry it back up, and so on.

The game picks up in different ways. The level of difficulty increases, with barricaded hens soon making an appearance. In these levels, the player has to, at first, pick up and use heavy, dense items to break in and get the chickens. To up the pressure, there are countdown timers that have to be beaten, as coming in slow causes failure. The game branches into dynamite, walled flyways and more the further in one gets.

I like the controls; choice is a good think, and if there is one thing that Flying Fox gives, it is choice of control. It can be played via virtual joysticks,mainly with accelerometer (along with a dive button), or all-touch. I like when I can choose how to play games such as these, and I tend to use different controls configurations based on the screen real estate of the device I am playing on… for example, I just find touch controls a bit easier on smaller screens, and joystick guidance more accurate for my sturdy thumbs on tablets.

The game is made up of a simple, yet effective color scheme, seemingly designed to enhance the action while not being overly distracting. The animations were smooth, and the artwork was good without being overly serious.

Flying Fox is a fun time waster with plenty of levels to be enjoyed by players of just about any generation.

Jun 13, 2013

Block Story is a quest-based adventure in the same vein as Minecraft that puts an adjusted spin on survival style gaming.

Gameplay starts straight away: a mini-tutorial greets you with basics of the action. Players learn movement, collection of items, hunting and the procurement of sustenance, and more. The options give a good idea of what to expect; players get to name a new “world” and “world seed” and select from three modes: Story, Creative and Hardcore. Then you can pick or create a character and push on.

I would have preferred an action tutorial to the built-in text one, but I still believe that for games of this type, any tutorial is better than none at all. The gameplay is leveled, with action points furthering progress. I like the ability to upgrade player attributes via points earned. The action does get pretty intense, with an interesting array of mythical and real dangers. Stuff like snakes and bosses like airborne bosses make the quests challenging but mostly enjoyable.

The environment is truly boxy, with an edgy feel. The developer uses colors to highlight the finer parts of the environment, and such use does a good job of differentiating elements. Bright greens, subtle skylines and living objects are represented well within the design principles of the game. While some might find the animations a built stilted, I think it all fits in together quite well.

The controls are fairly intuitive. The virtual buttons are tight but responsive, with virtual joysticks and buttons to control movement and creation. The first person perspective is interestingly vivid. As an added jolt of functionality, the game is compatible with MOGA controllers.

Block Story is a a fun adventure that does very well to create a virtual terrain that begs to be discovered. it is in parts charming, at others scary, and the dichotomy it part of its charm.

Jun 12, 2013

UNO & Friends is a re-polished take on the classic shedding-type card game that tosses in some interesting new features and multiplayer functionality.

The standard gameplay applies. Play commences against three other players, each player being dealt seven shuffled and random cards from a deck of four colors (yellow, green, blue and red). The rest of the cards, face down for surprise chance effect, make up the deck and the topmost deck card is turned over and becomes the starter card. The first player then places a card that matches the color or rank of the starter card; each succeeding player then takes a turn in clockwise fashion, also trying to play a card that matches the last card played. If a player does not have a card to play can take it from the bank; if it is playable, it has to be played immediately. The first player to play all his/her cards wins.

What this game does well is to present the cool parts of the game (the wild and action cards) in an enhanced state. In “real” UNO, there a special cards which can alter the gameplay significantly. They can force detrimental actions from other players, like drawing extra cards or reversing direction of the play. In this game, it is possible to enhance these actions with power-ups.

The feature I liked the most was the multiplayer functionality. Linking was a bit temperamental, but when it was connected, it was a lot of fun, even though I was not a fan of the linking to Facebook that is required to play mulitplayer. It is possible to jump into a random game, or invite friends to table or join one that has been extended. I did think this part of the game was a bit clunky.

The colors are very reminiscent of the original game; I like that that was not tinkered with, but I am not blown away; blame Gameloft itself for creating high expectations. The pre-game music takes some getting used to as well. A lot of stuff is customizable… for a prize (game coins or real).

All in all, I think the game has a lot of potential. It could be much more with a few tweaks (again, “independent” multiplayer), and I hope Gameloft soups up more with updates.

Jun 11, 2013

Tilt Arena is a classic type of game for a modern type of gamer.

If the game brings back memories if the iconic arcade shooter Geometry Wars, don’t feel alarmed; that’s a good thing, and the developer isn’t ashamed of the potential mental connection.

The gameplay is fairly simple; the goal is to stay alive. It’s set up in a rectangular grid, with the player in control of a white trapezoid spacecraft. Armed with perpetually shooting guns, I had to avoid the randomly appearing enemy spacecraft that were oh so eager to exhibit their contact-based lethality. Darting around and dodging them helped to a small degree, but directing the guns at them destroys them and earns valuable points.

I think it is the game engine that transforms this to a real gem. The different enemy spacecraft are color-coded based on ability. The first waves are composed of relatively easy purple happy-go-lucky chums that mostly bounce around and take up space. Eventually, other colors make an appearance, each with seemingly more intelligent and aggressive mindsets, till speedy jokers that are really gunning for the trapezoid appear. Fast. Sometimes, it looked like they are working in pairs to ensnare me.

Good games should make the player paranoid…

The waves increase in intensity the longer the white ship stays alive, and to make my job of wave defense easier, there is a yellow-orangish box of goodies that also appears randomly in the playing grid. When contact is made with this box, the defending ship gets a pretty decent weapons upgrade. This is especially useful , especially since the white craft only gets three lives per run.

The game is a simple-looking affair, and I say that as high praise. The arcade-sryle graphical interface is beautifully complemented by the reject use of color and retro sounding music. I liked the options included, especially with regards to using touch or tilting as the means of control.

Tilt Arena proves that old is the new new, and for that, we can be grateful.

Jun 11, 2013

Pixoban is a delightful little leveled puzzler that incorporates simple, eye-catching graphics, intuitive gameplay and a basic prop story.

The gameplay starts with a scary alien abduction. But these crafty aliens are not picking me up for abhorrent medical research, or organ-harvesting schemes, or the noble pursuit of studying the social mores of human beings in confined space.

No, these aliens are messy, and need help cleaning up their messy ship.

The gameplay is situated on a squared 2D grid. Basically, it involves moving boxes to more or less inconveniently placed airlocks. Using drag motion, I get to use my game personality to move the box to the square representing the airlock. Now, the kicker is that movement goes only one way. Boxes cannot be pulled; only pushed. Thus, moving a box plush against a wall could stop reasonable progress, especially if there is not any wiggle room. Every move has to be reasonably thought through; for example, moving a box sometimes entails reversing course to get behind, on top, beneath or beside a box to change direction of movement.

After a while, multiple boxes and multiple portals start to make an appearance. Boxes have to be logically moved from the beginning, and the puzzles do get a bit tougher. Did I say that there is a timer for the solutions? There is. Quickness is definitely a encouraged, and times are recorded.

But there are helpers too. There is a reverse button that allows players to rewind course, so that if stuck, it is possible to go back and re-do steps. While it does count against you, it is handy to have.

Success opens up further levels, and the game boast more than 120 different levels, so there is plenty of gaming to be had, as well as a special Pixoban award if every level is completed.

Pixoban is another game that shows that plenty of fun can be found in games with simplistic exteriors.

Jun 10, 2013

Armageddon. Deep Impact. 2012.

The next on the list of epic disaster/close to disaster movies? Little Luca. Why? Because falling stars are always sad.

Little Luca tells the story of lost stars, and the quest to find them. Underneath that premise, it is a physics game that incorporates timing and logical sequences to complete its leveled play.

The gameplay is pretty interesting. The best way to describe it is to advance to new levls by propelling a ball (myself) with mostly bouncy surfaces (hills) to collect as many stars as possible on my way to the final destination, a black hole of sorts. Tapping the screen popped the bubble the ball is suspended in to start, and another tap deflates the initial bouncy hill, and another tap sort of pops the surface up sending the ball up to potential star-saving glory. There are always three stars per level, and the goal is to collect as many stars as possible overall. A wrong launch could drop the ball in the sea, causing failure, but all levels are repeatable.

Now, as to be expected, the solutions become harder. Multiple surfaces begin to appear, and the stars start to show up in non-optimal places. Not all surfaces are “inflatable” at points; some worked like swinging bats. At some levels, timing of the launch is everything, and in some, a primer jump is needed. There are windstreams, orbital gravity and even obstacles to account for. Combining the different puzzles and getting the levels completed can be maddening in a good way.

Continued success unlocked new worlds, such as “In Orbit.”

The visuals are simple but fairly effective. The developer uses pastels to create an imaginative dream world; the artwork is a testament to that imagination. The animations are smooth an uncomplicated, which fits in well with the general feel of the game. The sounds are fun as well.

It is a fun little physics puzzler that manages to be creatively fun and familiar at the same time.

Jun 10, 2013

MixZing comes in trying to be an All-Star. It mostly succeeds.

The design decisions make for a very pleasant opening salvo. The interface is smooth, with the opening screen looking pretty snazzy with its stock red theme and dark highlights. There is also a rolling pane of recently played media files for quick access.

The main navigation screen gives boxes for Music, Videos, Folders and Internet Radio. Tapping the music button leads to the listing of individual songs, with headings for listings of by artist, album, songs, and genres. There is a also tabs for playlists as well. The music player has all the options one would expect from a premium player: big, visual buttons, play all and shuffle functionality. In addition to that, it has a sleep timer, file scanner, per song equalizer and a pretty nifty song identifier.

The music identifier works to search an online database to pull up information like tags and album art. The ability to attach art to individual music files is quite a welcome feature. In a lot of cases, its possible to select from different ones, too. Each song, if properly identified, yields tons of track data if he info button is tapped: lyrics, artist bio, Google, Wikipedia and Youtube links included. I did find one or two lyrics imaginative, but overall, the database it pulls it from seems accurate.

The scanner is great too; a big test, for me at least, is the ability to pull in music files from different parts of the phone. This app does this relatively well, and allows me to not include songs from, say, my ringtone folder or game sounds.

The online radio is a relatively new feature, but it’s pretty fun. There are several choices to choice from, with track info included, just like for the on-board music.

One of the cooler features is the lockscreen widget. When toggled, it allows music playback to be controlled without unlocking the device; advanced features include waking the phone when tracks are changing and only having the widget available when the app is active.

Even before you toss in the mood player functionality or the Song Recommender, MixZing comes across as being an all-round media player capable of handing hefty tasks. With free and pro versions, it’s easy to find a reason to get addicted to it.

Jun 10, 2013

When it comes to Slydris (from Radiangames), I believe one can be given pass for thinking one has seen it before.

Yes, the game is very reminiscent of a famous vertical falling block game, but to describe this game with the wide swathe descriptor of being just another Tetris clone does it a huge, tragic disservice.

Nevertheless, for clarity, it helps to describe the initial feel in Tetris-y terms. The rectangular playing area should look familiar. As in Tetris, blocks drop from the top all the way down as far as as possible. When a complete line of blocks is made, it evaporates, creating more space. The basic idea is to prevent the block structure from reaching the top, as that causes the run to end.

The playing mechanism is quite different from Tetris, though. Instead of rotating shapes to maximize the fit while continually fighting gravity, in this game, sliding the blocks into open space is what is needed to create the cascades. Periodically, depending on the mode , there are a set of pieces that fall down, potentially building the wall of blocks higher.

This concept creates a somewhat familiar game with a fresh feel that requires a degree of strategy to be successful at. There are various combos that can be activated via multiple sequences and making lines of one color. Additionally, there is a “bomb” meter that rises — matures, if you will — that can be a lifesaver, as it kills any three rows selected. These helper are especially valuable against some of the traps that appear; stuff like regenerated blocks from beneath and the strategy-breaking magnets keeps folks on their toes.

The game is a fine testament to high color, with spectacular depth. I really liked how, with a toggle, the game theme changed in game. I also like the different game modes (Survival, infinite and the relaxing Zen).

Slydris is a real fun game that sneaks up on you. It can be a burst of fun, or a casual adventure; the true joy of this particular game is that it is all in the player’s hands.

Jun 7, 2013

While the NBA season is winding down with the NBA Finals (Editor’s Note: That will hopefully end with the San Antonio Spurs crushing the Miami Heat), with basketball simulations, the season does not ever have to end. This is why NBA 2K13, the port of the ever-popular console basketball game for Android devices, is potentially such a breath of fresh air.

The actual graphics are, in a word, fantastic. The definition is superb, and there is a clear flair added. Movements are fairly realistic, with special care given to adequately replicate basketball movements. The background scenery was impressive, with exacting care seemingly paid to different NBA arenas. The animations are good as well; I especially like the little things, such as the ubiquitous daps given between free throws. The replay sequences are nice, and even the entertainment/timeout clips looked believable.

It was also nice to see the players look like their real life counterparts. Players were pared down to scale, so it was clear who say, Tony Parker is when compared to Tim Duncan.

The game comes in three play modes: Practice, Multiseason and Practice, all fairly self-explanatory. Outside of that, there are also some cool challenges in the name of Greatest Games, where you play as an NBA legend and try to match stats from an iconic game he played in, like Shaq’s 63-pointer against the Celtics, or Iverson’s first triple double against the Clippers. This section is adding more legendary players, which is great.

The gameplay itself is extremely fun, with a fun game engine and intuitive optional controls (either virtual d-pad or gestures). The d-pad came with buttons on the right to control offensive and defensive actions. Difficulty is based on level chosen; there are five levels to pick from, ranging from Rookie to Hall of Fame. I didn’t get an opportunity to try the bluetooth multiplayer, but it is a great feature on paper.

I thought that the practice mode could have been significantly better refined; it is a bit bare with regards to learning defensive sets. Also, cool as the graphics were, there were a circulated frame or two. I also hope to controller support down the line.

I think it is an incredibly exciting game that wonderfully brings console-level gameplay to mobile devices.