Push Panic
By Bejoy

 

At first glance Push Panic seems like a standard physics/puzzle game- its not- it’s a mental thumb bashing free for all and I love it!!

The premise of the game is that coloured blocks fall from the top of the screen and you have to link them into chains. However before the blocks are linked they have a tendency to pile up along the bottom. Across the playscreen there is a bar that you cannot let the blocks pile up above. As such it is essential that you link the blocks into chains so that they disappear as fast as you can - failure to do so results in losing the level.

There’s certain amount of risk that must be endured in order to be truly successful at this game. Levels require a high score in order to be completed. The longer the chain links the higher the score. So when you are challenged with getting a crazy high score (which as the levels go on gets even crazier) you have to create some pretty long ass chains. However as the levels go on the blocks start dropping pretty damn fast from the top and begin to pile up just as fast along the bottom. As such you have to weigh up the risk of a big pile of blocks vs. a long chain. At times it can get really intense!

Ive reached a point now where I don’t think I can progress any further as I simply can’t move my fingers and thumbs quick enough to keep up. Because of this I can’t give it 5 out of 5 full marks but I will highly recommend it as a fun and entertaining game for all- especially those who have not got the early stages of arthritis brought on from a lifetime of cracking their knuckles like me.

4.5/5

TwoDots
by Betaworks

 

I was playing TwoDots in bed the other night and my wife turned to me and asked ‘darling are you just staring at a bunch of dots?’ at which I was forced to concede that ‘yes, I am indeed staring at a bunch of dots’. However, I explained to her, I’m not staring at any old dots I’m playing TwoDots -a very cool puzzler that looks deceptively simple but actually takes a lot of brainpower to complete.

Like its predecessor (Dots) the object of the game is to connect the dots according colour – however connections can only be made horizontally, vertically or in a square. Unlike its predecessor though, one now has to complete various challenges in order to complete a level such as getting anchors to drop to the bottom of the screen in a certain amount of moves. It can be challenging at times but also a lot of fun.

Another slightly less welcome addition to the Dots series is our old friend Mr ‘Lose five lives and wait 25mins for new one’. That said so many freemium games use this format now that I’ve kinda gotten used to it and cant be arsed to complain about it anymore.  Twodots is still an awesomely addictive game despite its use.

As for the appearance of the game my wife is right of course right- the game does have a somewhat modernist minimalist appearance. However I think it looks cool. If a artist like a Damien Hirst created a painting that consisted of just a bunch of colourful dots on a blank canvas I bet it would be worth millions of dollars… what Damien Hirst has created a painting like that and it is worth millions of dollars? Case in point.

4/5

Sonic Racing Transformed
By Sega of America

I loved Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed on my 3DS so you can imagine my excitement when Sega announced that a version was to be released on Android.
Visually the game is pretty sweet – all the colourful, slightly zany Japanese animation that we have all come to love and expect from Sega is there. I also like the fact for a freemium game you’re not just restricted to one character – or car for a matter of fact. Obviously you have to play for a while (or God forbid pay) to get the upgrades but it is nice to have at least a few options at the beginning.

No what lets the game down is the controls. Now, Sega, its 2014 and you have released a racing game on a format that has TILT CONTROL!!Needless to say you should perhaps enable people to use said tilt control to, well, control their cars. Button controls on touch screens for racing games doesn’t really make sense anymore. I can see why Sega have done this- better drift/skidding- but I’m sure they could have figured a better way of doing this.

Sonic Racing Transformed is not a bad racing game – the boat racing levels are especially cool- but the controls prevent me from wanting to invest a significant part of my free time playing it.   

2.5/5

Batman & The Flash:  Hero Run
Gree,Inc

Batman Returns on the Sega Master System is an awesome movie tie-in game that… oh wait I’m not reviewing that I’m reviewing Batman & The Flash:  Hero Run on Android. I was mistaken because the graphics are PRETTY MUCH THE SAME! Seriously for a game released in 2014 the graphics are pretty piss-poor- plus is it me or is Batman running like he’s taken a huge shit in his pants but he’s in too much of a hurry to do anything about it?

The game is not saved by its gameplay either. Whether you shoot the bad guy or just run into them they go down - what's the frigging point? The streets and obstacles are pretty uninspired and when you throw in all the freemium crap in order to upgrade to a better version of Batman (whether the upgraded Batman runs like a man who’s just sharted at a dinner party I don’t know) you come to realise that Batman/Flash game is a just another unimaginative endless runner game.

The Flash levels are slightly better but who cares.

1/5

Smash Hit
by Mediocre

 

If you look up the expression ‘time waster’ in the dictionary you’ll find a photo of me sat on the toilet playing Smash Hit.

 

Gameplay is incredibly simple in that you auto-move around a futuristic world full of targets attempting to shot/smash said targets. The more targets you destroy the more ammo you get. The more ammo you have the longer the game lasts. Easy!

Its not the kind of game you have conversations with your mates about. Nor is it the type of game where you day dream about tactics whilst when you should be working. No it’s the type of game that’s perfect for when you have time to kill but you want to use as little brain power as possible.

 

It not an amazing game but its certainly not a bad game - I definitely cant see myself deleting it off my phone anytime soon.

3/5

God of Light
by Playmous

Every aspect of God of Light is quite simply AMAZING.

The gameplay is curiously entertaining. You control a beam of light shining out from a happy looking star. You then in turn reflect and deflect the beam around the world using strategically placed mirrors until you reach a solar power generator which, once fully charged, can illuminate the world (and thus you complete the stage). Some mirrors can be tilted, some can be moved in straight line, and some can be teleported to another part of the screen. The games challenge comes from precisely positioning the mirrors in such a way that the beam is bounced around each stage’s light blocking obstacles. Trust me it’s a lot of fun. 

Another major factor that contributes to my absolute love of this game is the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. Composed by one of my heroes of trip-hop/down tempo electronica- U.N.K.L.E- the ambient background music helps to create a fantastic out-of-worldly experience that perfectly encapsulates the eerie but wonderous nature of the game.

Also noteworthy is visually stunning and intrinsically detailed graphics. I notice on Play Store there is an option to buy the game in HD- I can only imagine how amazing that must look because the regular version is already so pleasantly lush.

The level progression is also something I’d like to highlight and ask any game companies who happen to be reading this blog to take note of. To get to level two you have to collect 50 fireflies. There are 26 stages in a level with 26 fireflies. The remainder can either be bought (for a reasonable 59p) or you can sit through a sponsor video for a firefly a time. I realise games companies have to make their money somehow and to me this way seems the fairest way for all parties. I watch a TV program; I sit through the commercials that paid for that program. Makes sense that this system would work for video games too. Listen up other game companies!!

God of Light is an incredible all-rounder of a game -visuals, gameplay and soundtrack. As with all good puzzle games the challenges start off easy but then turn into real head scratchers as you progress through the levels- though not to a point where you get bored or disheartened. God of Light is without a doubt my favourite game of the year so far and frankly if I didn’t have to go to work every day I wouldn’t put it down!

5/5

 

Papa Pear Saga
By King

I love this game! its so happy and colourful! It’s essentially a video game of the traditional Japanese arcade game pachinko –however in this version you drop balls (well pears – Papa Pear to be exact) down into a bouncy world of fruit themed pegs, watch them ricochet around a bit and hopefully takeout any obstacle and/or land in the place you need them to pass the level.  Simple, fun and addictive. Looks like the makers of Candy Crush have done it again.

 

Forty odd levels later…

I hate this game! its so stupid and annoying! It’s essentially a video game of the traditional Japanese arcade game pachinko –however in this version you drop balls (well a stupid faced pear named Papa Pear with a stupid mocking grin) down into a stupid world of stupid fruit themed pegs, watch them ricochet around a bit and THEN MISS ALL the obstacles and/or FAIL TO land in the place you need them to pass the level.  Irritating, not fun anymore and yet I still find myself playing it… Looks like the makers of Candy Crush have done it again. God dammit.

3.5/5

Let’s Golf! 3
By Gameloft

I used to be pretty dubious of golf games where you’re not playing a pro-golfer (based on a real person or fictional) but seriously, Let’s Golf! 3- what an awesome game!

To start off with there’s a whole variety of beautifully created courses to pick from. Ranging from grey and cloudy Ireland to super dry and windless Dubai, every hole on every course is digitally landscaped to absolute perfection. Whilst none of the courses are real (i.e. based on real places), my God, I wish they were. The Egyptian course especially, with all its obelisks, pyramids and even a byblos boat, is an absolute visual sensation.     

In terms of gameplay, again I have absolutely no complaints. The swing-meter is very precise. The maps are detailed and the ball-to-land estimate graphs are quite accurate. For when you’re putting it has one of those grids that displays all the greens gradients and contours. It even does the slow-mo super shot thing when you get a perfect stroke (like in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour games but without the deafening heart beat).      

If the game has a negative it’s that this game really, really tries to lure you into paying. When you play in free mode you only get five goes a time… and I ain’t talking about lives. Whether you get a hole in one or a double bogey you only have the ‘energy’ for five holes. After which you either have to wait a whooping hour to regain just one bar of energy (i.e. you have to wait five hours to get a ‘full’ round in) or you have to pay. I appreciate some games are worth paying for but you’re not given that option either. You either pay a monthly subscription fee or you pay for an energy package (top package costing £69.99!!- F&@K that!).

That said Let’s Golf! 3 is an awesomely, addictive fun game to play and frankly just simply lush to look at.  If it wasn’t for the greedy freemium business policy I would have given it 5/5.  

4.5/5

Reaper: Tale of a Pale Swordsman
By Hexage

 

Reaper is a very neat RPG slash platformer, centered in a mystical universe of magic and beasties, and set in a land where its residents are struggling to shake of the yoke of the evil ‘Imperials’. You wander round the land and have conversations with other characters and agreeing to undertake quests on their behalf– normally in the form of fighting enemy soldiers and/or monsters.

The visuals are lush. Every level is beautifully rendered and crafted with an artist’s attention to detail. The controls too are very well designed. It takes a little practice to fully get the hang of all the different swish down, swish up sword swipes, but once you’ve got the hang of them the gameplay becomes very fluid.

Reaper: Tale of a Pale Swordsman is a very enjoyable game, though I will admit that once I completed the free portion (you have to pay after a while) I’d gotten a bit bored of undertaking the same sword fighting quests again and again.

The game is fun, but only for about a fortnight.

3.5/5

Angry Birds Go!
by Rovio Entertainment

Is it me? Am I doing something wrong! Or am I the only who notices that I'm racing the same f&@king track over and over again? I've read a few reviews and no one else seems to be mentioning it. Yeah I'm doing different things in each race (against the clock, smashing fruit etc) but seriously its the same f&@king track every time! Ball to that!

When I heard that the Angry Birds were coming to a racing format I was well excited. The characters of Angry Birds, in terms of recognisability at least, are the mobile gaming generation’s answer to Super Mario, and as such deserve a Mario Kart-esque game of their own.

When the game was released, I, like so many people, downloaded the game and was initially blown away with the awesome graphics and the fluid controls. I played and I played and I played some more … and then I got bored.

The most common complaint it seems about the game is all the in-app purchasing nonsense – which I also agree with (trust me Rovio no on is going to pay 35 quid for a supped car to be used mobile racing game) – but for me the real, REAL, disappointment is the repetitiveness.  I appreciate that if you put the time in and go up a level there are extra tracks etc but the fact I have to come top two in the five different race types (FIVE TIMES PER RACE!!) just doesn’t seem worth it.

If Rovio provide an update for the game with some extra courses from the start, I’ll change my review, but for now I label this game dull.

1/5   

Angry Birds Star Wars II
by Rovio Entertainment

If you’re not familiar with how to play Angry Birds, well, um, this, probably isn’t the blog for you. If you’re not familiar with Star Wars, well, um…you can carry on reading but im not going to water down for you!

… Anyway  this latest addition of the Angry Birds Star Wars franchise takes place in the prequel series- so enter pod racers, young Anakin and double-ended lightsabers.

The levels are beautifully designed and wonderfully crafted. You get a real sense the animators must have watched the movies many, many times as there are so many little details snuck in for authenticity. The challenges too are new, unique and entertaining – especially ones involving crashing some kind of spaceship into a big old pile of piggies. 

As you progress through the game you get the option to pick your own characters – very handy especially considering how cool some of the characters and their special moves are. Yoda, the Jedi Master himself is particularly awesome. Once the Y-bomb is dropped he starts going bouncy backflip crazy with a lightsaber, taking out anything and any pig that gets in his way.  Similarly Darth Maul (you get to play as the ‘Pork Side’ in this game) with his double lightsaber Sith ninja skills is particularly dangerous too.

That said not all the characters are great. Now, Im not one of these people who thinks the prequel trilogy is the worst thing to happen to humanity since Hitler. I don’t accuse George Lucas of spoiling my childhood and I certainly don’t dismiss the movies as being unwatchably terrible as so many OTT original trilogy fanboys insist on doing -  but I will concede that Jar Jar Binks is annoying. And you know what- he’s F@$%ing annoying in this game as well! In theory his tongue should fire out, stick to something and then swing into the desired place. Sounds easy- but it never works!!He always fly’s off in the wrong F@$%ing direction! Good grief Jar Jar cant you do anything right!!

On the whole Angry Birds Star Wars II is a brilliant game.  Whilst gameplay is much the same as any other AB game, there’s enough Star Wars themed challenges that make this game not just entertaining but also a lot of fun to play.

3.5/5