Jelly Splash

by Wooga

 

 

I’m bored of Candy Crush- there I’ve said it. I’m stuck and have been stuck for a while now. I won’t tell you what level I’m stuck on (I know a whole bunch of people who are on a higher level than me) but I will say I’ve had enough and I'm not playing anymore.  Game over man, game over.

But it’s ok. I’ve found me a new puzzle game to while away the hours to and from work on the bus- Jelly Splash. It’s a lot more fun and it’s a lot more addictive. Do you know why? One word- satisfaction.

For those unfamiliar with the gameplay you get board full of jellies which you have to connect in lines according to colour. As you progress through the levels you get set a variety of tasks ranging from freeing jellies from grey jelly to bringing down objects from the top of the screen (shut up Candy Crush fans!!).
However what makes Jelly Splash so good is that if I could compare the action and frankly the sensation of creating a line to anything in real life, it would be popping bubble wrap. Jelly Splash is virtual bubble wrap. When you create a line, especially a real long one, the feeling you get is so, well… satisfying.

The only part of this game I don't like is the same five lives, wait 20 minutes or beg your friends on facebook crap you have to have to tolerate on Candy Crush (seriously give me the opportunity to buy the fricking game outright).

That said I’m too involved now. I’m hooked. I’m like those ladies in that music video with the powertools – I’ve got to keep going til I get my satisfaction.

4.5/5

Sonic Dash
By Sega/Hardlight

I know endless runner games are very in vogue right now and having Sonic in one seems kind of uninspired, but when you think about it it kind of makes sense -all Sonic games are essentially about running as fast as you can around levels anyway, it’s just with Sonic Dash they’ve eliminated the need for any manual running.

As with any Sonic game you dash (hence the name) around collecting rings and spinning in a ball at your enemies. You start off around a Green Hill-esque level- loop da loops included- and after you kill the boss, Zazz (I've never heard of him either) you progress onto a Sea-sidey level. Presumably there's other levels after this but I haven't got there yet.

If the game does have a fault it’s the same fault that all freemium games have – the never ending bombardment of crap you get between levels (no I don’t want to sign in with facebook for 500 extra rings!!). That said it’s a small price to pay for the first Sonic game ive found myself daydreaming about playing at work since Sonic & Knuckles on the humble Mega Drive.

4/5

Into the Dead
by Pikpok

 

Into the Dead is one of those games that you only play for about a week… but what a week!
The premise is simple – run as far as you can and don’t get eaten by zombies. Along the way you pick up crates with various weapons such as chainsaws, shotguns etc and also, depending on how well you do, you build up coins which in turn can be traded for powerups such as extra weapon crates and even a trusty canine companion who attacks and kills zombies on your command.
At the beginning of each level you get set a number of tasks you need to complete in order to advance to the next level. Tasks can be as simple as rum 1500m to as gruelling as kill five zombies with the chainsaw whilst in mid-air. And this is where the problems with the game lye…

The game is not completable – you will get caught at some point. Meaning the tasks you get set to pass the level you do over several attempts- which is fine at first but when you get set tasks like kill 20 zombies with the shotgun it gets a bit repetitive- especially when you don’t pick up a shotgun until your third attempt and you’re already about 1000m into the course and the zombies are really piling up!

Whilst Into the Dead is by no means a bad game (guaranteed one week of addicted fun plus wonderfully eerie graphics that are a homage to classic black and white zombie films of yore) its definitely one of those games that are first to go when the internal memory of your phone hits a certain level of full.

3/5

Pitfall!
by Activision Publishing Ltd

Comparisons to Temple Run are obvious being that Pitfall! is an endless runner game that’s set in a Mayan-Adventure style world. But I have to say I find this game way more addictive and way more enjoyable to play.

For starters I love the bright colourful Nintendosque graphics of the game – it feels, I don’t know… happy. Combined with the games great use of multiple camera angles as you run through a beautifully created world of rainforest, jungle villages and abandoned mines, Pitfall! is a veritable visual treat for the eyes.

The gameplay is moderately simple- left, right, swipe up to jump etc. but it’s the extra additions that make this game so much fun. Get far enough into the mine for example, and you take control of a runaway cart zipping along rickety rail lines and avoiding unfinished-plummet-to-your-death deadend tracks a la Temple of Doom- very cool indeed. Jump in the right place whilst running and you find yourself on the back of some kind of big cat as he gallops hell for leather round the jungle path knocking stuff down as he goes. And of course for us old school gamers there’s plenty of nods to Pitfall’s humble origins as you battle scorpions & snakes and ropeswing over ravines – no crocodiles though!

All in all Pitfall! is a cracker of a game. It looks good, it plays well and frankly it’s Harry’s best outing since The Lost Caverns way back in 1984!

4/5

IPL Cricket Fever 2013
by Indiagames Ltd

IPL Cricket Fever 2013, the official video game of the IPL, offers all the teams and players of the 2013 line-up. A lot of time and effort has clearly been poured into the creation of this game as the developers attempt to replicate the sounds, actions and yes even the cheerleaders of the world’s greatest T20 tournament.

The graphics and visuals are ok. The game does indeed capture all the colours and images we associate with the IPL. The team uniforms are recreated faithfully and the pitch and stadiums are designed to a decent degree of accuracy. However, the players don’t really look a lot like whom they’re meant to, and the movement of the fielders (and cheerleaders) can at times feel a bit blocky.

The controls, on the other hand, are quality. Unlike many other cricket games I've played, the direction you swipe the screen is the direction you actually bat the ball. Its so precise you can cultivate a good level of accuracy and therefore develop a game plan- you know, actually playing the ball where there are no fielders and lofting the ball for six (as opposed to just hitting the ball and hoping for the best as you do with most cricket games). The bowling too is pretty tight. Once you get the hang of the super accurate swing-metre, the ball pretty much places where you intended it to each time.   
If you put the practice in you can actually develop the skills needed to play this game to its full potential- playing (and scoring high in) a full forty overs match -though I wouldn’t advise doing it on a phone – it hurts yours eyes after like the fourteenth over.

Overall, IPL Cricket Fever 2013 is an awesome cricket game. Yeah there are a few graphics issues that hopefully will get resolved for IPL 2014 but as gameplay goes it cant be matched. If you fancy a full game or just smacking a few sixes beyond the boundary like Chris Gale, then this is the game for you.

4/5