Block! Hexa Puzzle

by BitMango

I feel like I was kinda duped into downloading Block! Hexa Puzzle. I’d typed into google ‘android games like Tetris and it enthusiastically suggested Block! Hexa Puzzle. I get it off Playstore, start playing only to kind that apart from a passing aesthetic game layout resemblance, Block! Hexa Puzzle bears little to no similarities with Tetris. However once I started playing I have to admit I found myself enjoying it so I guess it’s a good duping. A white duping.

Block! Hexa Puzzle is a puzzle game. Not a brainteaser style game shoehorned into the puzzle game category, I mean the digital equivalent of a sitting down round your grandma’s coffee table on a rainy afternoon and completing a 1000 piece puzzle kind of puzzle.

The aim of the game is to arrange randomized geometric shapes (that look a little bit like tetrominos… I guess) into the empty –again randomized – game board. Each puzzle is fairly short and as such you can burn through several puzzles in one sitting but that’s ok because there’s plenty of puzzles to work on (each of the fifteen plus levels are comprised of eighty stages). As one would expect the levels get harder as one progresses – with more pieces, cut into more interesting shapes that one must attempt to fit into each stages game board. And that is, well, it. There’s not a lot more I can add!

Block! Hexa Puzzle is not an exciting game to describe but actually playing it is actually wonderfully satisfying. There’s one too many commercials between rounds (draining my damn data usage) for my liking but that’s the only negative I can find. If you’re looking for a game that gives your brain lots of micro puzzle challenges that provide that comforting feeling you haven’t felt since those rainy days round grandma’s house then look no further than Block! Hexa Puzzle.

4/5

Power Hover
by Oddrok

Power Hover is a sick endless-runner boarding game with lush low polygon graphics and a banging minimalist ambient techno soundtrack to match.

The premise of the game is that some guy has stolen your town’s electricity and you have to chase down the b*stard on your hover board. Your pursuit takes you through lots of different and challenging terrains which is all good as the game has super tight and responsive controls. As such you effortlessly glide through each course, grinding rails, dodging killer whales in water stages and smoothly zipping from power up to power up – believe me its a lot fun!

I can't give the game full marks because it's a wee bit too short- I managed to complete the game in just under a week. However despite its length I can highly recommend Power Hover If you’re looking for a slick boarding game that’s simple to pick up and has super addictive gameplay. It’s been a wonderful or ‘knarly’ ride and I sincerely hope for either a sequel or an update.

4/5

Super Mario Run

By Nintendo

The best thing about Super Mario Run is the fact that it’s a Mario game on Android! At first glance it appears that this isn’t some half-assed, watered down Mario game for the mobile market – this is an actual Mario game! The levels –graphically and design - are almost identical to the New Super Mario Bros series on the DS/3DS. The basic objectives of the game are the same as any standard Super Mario game of the last 30 years – collect coins, jump on Gumbas etc. Even the theme tune and noises are there! Super Mario baby!

I, like so many children of the 80’s, am lifelong Super Mario fan but I still have to ask myself the question– do I want to pay £10 for the full Super Mario Run game? Um… No. I do genuinely love the fact I’m playing Mario on my phone and I love the classic Nintendo graphics– however its only my love of Mario that has kept me playing for so long.

The main game is meant to be a platformer meets endless runner but for me I don’t think it works that well. I don’t know if I have played too much regular Mario over the years but it’s so frustrating not being able to go back on yourself when you have missed a block or a coin etc.

The extra stuff they have included ain't all that either. The competitive mode is alright I guess but it still relies on the same endless runner mechanic of the main game. And of course the only reason you play in the competitive mode is to earn coins to help rebuild the kingdom that King Bowser has destroyed… ‘Use your coins to build a castle’. ‘Build Blue Yoshi a blue house’. ‘Share with friends on your Nintendo Mii account' … I really don’t care about this nonsense!  But I guess no one over the age of 10 is meant to!

If this was any other game would I put up with, a) not particularly enjoying the actual main game and, b) not giving a tiny rats ass about the extra stuff they’ve included to lure you into playing the game? Probably not. After a while I will admit I was getting a better hang of the controls however I don’t think I’ll ever be that good- especially considering the fact that presumably the levels will get harder the further you get into it.

It breaks my heart to say it but I’m really not that impressed by Super Mario Run. It’s just not enjoyable enough for me to want to continue playing – especially paying to continue play. Maybe its my own fault  - in my head I guess I wanted either a standard platformer or a proper endless runner and instead I got a bastardised mix of the two doesn’t quite work.

I’m so sorry Mario.

2/5 

Pro Feel Golf

By Behaviour Interactive

Pro Feel Golf is one of the better golf games I’ve played. The graphics are pretty slick and the course designs are really good.
Additionally the level progression is pretty decent in that you ‘buy in’ to a new course once you’ve earn enough points on previous courses – done though both getting low scores and passing objectives (objective  being along the lines of ‘hitting 300 yards in one stroke’ etc.).
The special balls you can ‘buy’ are also worth highlighting – for example using the ‘dead ball’ your ball doesn’t bounce, whilst the ‘lucky’ ball allows you to smack a ball without hitting any obstacles – pretty handy if your trying to pull that par down to an eagle on a windy, woody fairway!

An aspect of the game I'm not too keen on is the controls. To ‘swing’ you pull back on the controls to bring up the trajectory graphics. You carefully position where you want to place the ball to land and then let go (which then starts the hit the ball graphics). This sounds pretty easy but in reality it’s actually really fiddly – one false twitch sends the trajectory line all over the place and it can be surprisingly difficult to realign. As such it’s not a game you can play flat on your back with one eye on the TV!

On the whole there’s more good than bad about Pro Feel Golf - despite the occasionally tricky controls I have definitely found myself enjoying the game. If I was going to compare it to anything it would be like a pretty girl with short hair and an eyebrow piercing – basically Pro Feel Golf has some obvious flaws but ultimately has it where it counts.

3/5
    

Horizon Chase – World Tour
By Aquiris Game Studio S.A

 

Wow! I have to say it! Just wow! I really must listen the Google Play Editor more often because this is just such a brilliant game!

The look of the game – and I guess the look the creators are going for – is one of a late 80s/early 90s arcade racer – think Out Run. Obviously the graphics have been updated for the modern age but they are still rendered in a way that it pays homage to the classic racers of yesteryear and truly are a pleasure to look at.

The tracks are well designed and the choice of cars is top notch. As with most racing games the better you do the more extras – such as better engines, breaks etc- you unlock. As you drive round the track you pick up additional fuel and occasionally nitro boosters for that extra pep for when you want to burn that mother whos been hogging first place!

I think for me what makes the game so entertaining to play is the excellent controls. In the past I have slagged racing games that don’t use tilt control but Horizon Chase simple but effective onscreen buttons are  awesome. They're super responsive whilst not being over the top – skidding round corners is super fun as there's no real risk of overspinning off the track leaving you to play catchup.

I love this game so much that the only complaint that I have is that I have been suckered into paying for it (only the first stage is free). You are awarded blue coins after completing each race which you save up to buy into the next stage – so I was hoping to build up enough in free mode . However once you’ve placed first in all three races of stage one you’re left well short of coinage needed for stage two, which is a shame.
Anyway im totally being a skinflint! Its only three quid and is totally worth every penny. With its cool graphics and amazing addictive gameplay, Horizon Chase is easily the best racing game available on Android.

5/5

Star Wars: Puzzle Droids
By Disney

For an officially licensed Disney/Lucas Arts game, Star Wars Puzzle Droids has come out to very little pomp and fanfare. At the time of writing there’s less than 100,000 downloads off Google Play compared to over 10 million for Galaxy of Heroes. I guess not all Star Wars games are created equal!

Everyone’s favourite spherical droid, B-B8, is having technical difficulties and you have to assist rewiring his circuitry. For every circuit that’s rewired you unlock part of the droids holographic memory banks and in turn you are treated to some cool cutaway scenes that link into The Force Awakens.

C3PO himself tutors you with the basics and along the way you pick up some cool special features such blasters and BB8’s fire tool, as well as the ability to tame the indigenous desert creatures to help clear some circuits for you.

My biggest complaint with this game is that once you complete a bunch of stages you are offered to unlock a new character – which sounds great. However in order to unlock said character you have to go back and redo the stages you’ve just spent hours/days completing in ‘expert’ mode! Where's the fun in that!!

There’s no getting away from the fact that Star Wars: Puzzle Droids is another match-3 game in an endless sea of match-3 games. I have on the whole been enjoying the game because im a big Star Wars fan and appreciate all the themed stuff and references. However for non-fans of the epic space saga looking for a match-3 fix,  I would probably recommend sticking to matching candy as this game would totally be wasted on you.

2/5

Bubble Witch Saga 3
By King

 

The gameplay of Bubble Witch Saga 3 is essentially the same as the previous games in the series which in turn of course are a rehash of classic puzzle game Puzzle Bobble. Stages vary from standard clear all the balls, to freeing caged owls or punching a hole to the top of the screen to release a ghost. In typical King game style, levels range from super fun and easy to frustratingly ‘I’ve been stuck on this level for like three days now’ hard!  

 

One of the ways BWS3 attempts to stand out from its predecessors is that you can convert points earned into ‘cash’ to create your own cutezy scary witches house. You can choose everything from its front door to whether the house has a tower and what kind of plants grow in its front garden. The idea being that every new addition you make to your house you share with your friends on Facebook.

Whilst I’ve been enjoying playing the actual game I’m not entirely sure I’m the right age and gender for it. Even though I’m in my thirties I would  still expect to receive an atomic wedgie from my friends if I posted my new pumpkin themed mail box on my Facebook page!

3/5

I Love Hue
by Zut!
                                        

Definitively not a game for people with colour blindness, I love Hue is a colour matching puzzler where you attempt to rearrange coloured squares back into order according to its shade. In it you test your depth/colour perception – you’ll be amazed how the colours just sort of click in your mind – I know I was!

I Love Hue is not a bad game, however I tend to judge a game on how fun it is and how much I want to progress onwards. Whilst I do get a level of satisfaction upon completing a stage, I do find myself inwardly groaning that I have to do it again.

Although it’s not a game I can get particularly excited about, I would totally recommend I love Hue for more the more methodical casual gamers out there. I do appreciate the fact that when you complete a stage in better than average attempts you get rewarded by being called ‘a beautiful ray of light’ – who doesn’t get a big mental hug with compliment like that!

2.5/5

Tomb of the Mask
by Happymagenta UAB

                                      

You’ll get the odd douchebag who will compare Tomb of the Mask to Pac-Man – however they are wrong to do so. Apart from the odd passing similarity such as the old school graphics and the fact it takes place in a maze, Tomb of the Mask is a completely different, standalone and ultimately very entertaining game.

The aim of the game is to transverse Mayan themed labyrinth stages avoiding various booby traps whilst collecting dots (but not like Pac-Man!), as well as coins, stars and power ups (but not fruit - proper power ups!) as you go. The key to success is definitely pin point precision turning, as the game mechanics are super quick – you dash from wall to wall lightning fast.

My biggest problem- and in all fairness my only problem - is the ‘5 lives wait 25’ policy. It’s not the policy itself (as pretty much every free-to-play game uses this method I’m soooo used to it now) it’s the amount of lives. Because the game is so quick you can blow through all 5 lives in a matter of minutes - which is very frustrating.  You can play in the stage-less, energy-less arcade mode but without the objectives pf the main game its not the same.

With its retro Commodore 64 style graphics, addictive, enjoyable (and un-Pac-Man like) gameplay, Tomb of the Mask is an awesome game. However because of the fact you only get to play for a couple of minutes every few hours I am forced to give it lower score that this brilliant game actually deserves.

3/5

 

Lara Croft: Relic Run
By Square Enix Ltd

The basic dynamic of this game is one of an infinite runner, however theres enough additional Tomb Raider/platformer action such as parkor, base jumping, quad biking into ravines and shoot outs with jungle dwelling lizard men to make Lara Croft: Relic Run stand out from its competitors.

Quick reaction time is essential for this game. Barriers and caverns seem to appear out of nowhere and are further exacerbated by the fact – in the jungle levels anyway – that when Lara pushes branches out the way they swing back towards you obscuring your view.

The controls are tight and graphically the game is stunning – easily one of the most visually impressive games out on Android (watch out for the amount of space it takes up in your memory and stay on top of the updates!).

I’ve reviewed a few infinite runner games for my blog and I have to say Lara Croft: Relic Run is the best. The reason? Its just that good- Square Enix have very successfully created a scaled down Tomb Raider game for the hand-held market and kept the freemium crap to a minimum.

Plus Lara is looking as hot as ever!

4.5/5

Beneath the Lighthouse
By Nitrome

 

I am so bad at this game! I want to be good but I just don’t have the… I don’t know… the coordination? The logical brain? Whatever it is, I don’t have it!

 

Beneath the Lighthouse is an awesome original puzzle game. You control the rolling of the ball-character guy by tilting the whole screen like a steering wheel. Per stage there are various objects and hazards that you have to transverse or avoid in order to reach the end goal - which get (obviously) harder and harder as the levels go on. Often challenges involve you to having to tilt one way and then immediately tilt back again – and this is where I fall down!

 

If you want to roll right you have to tilt the screen to the left and vice versa- and I just cant get my head around it! I’m alright when I have plenty of time to think but when quick reactions are required I am USELESS! Honestly 90% of the levels I have cleared have been the result of one random act of fluke!

 

Beneath the Lighthouse is a very cool innovative game. I love the Minecraft-esque graphics and I love concept of the game itself. Please don’t let my rusbbihness put you off what is a very well made, unique and most importantly an enjoyable game.

 

 4/5

 

Strata
By Graveck

 

Is Strata a game? I’m not sure? Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun, but I’m just not sure it counts as a game- more of a brainteaser.

 

The premise – layer the colour ribbons so that they cross the corresponding colour box without a different colour ribbon crossing over the top. Sounds simple enough but the higher the level the more ribbons and boxes you have to contend with and it gets pretty damn hard.

Strata is the kind of good brainteaser that goes well with your 11am coffee break. If I was a in charge of promotions at Graveck I would totally be trying to get a daily addition on the puzzle page of some online newspaper, because I could quite easily see this being as popular as a crossword or Sudoku with folk of my parents’ generation – my Mum certainly loves it!

3/5

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