Android Game Review: Magma Mobile -- Pinball! -- another glorious waste of time!
Initial review: Five stars -- trip down Nostalgia Lane
Game category: Physics games
Game type: Arcade
Recommended device size: any device
Who'd enjoy it? For everyone, really.
http://www.androlib.com/android.application.com-nix-game-pinball-free-zptm.aspx
I confess that I like Magma Mobile's games -- they're clean, visually appealing, and there's even help screens that explain how to play, something that's rather unusual in many Android games. But there's a zillion pinball games out there -- so why THIS pinball over others?
It's all about the graphics.
I played Pinball back in the late 1960's and early 1970's, when it was on the cusp of a revolution. Advances in electronics were just about to hit the pinball world and add digital scoring and digital displays would be added in a few years. Eight years later, Pac Man and Pong would be regular offerings in the arcades and it was You Versus The Machine. But in 1970, it was still all about the physics -- just you, a large table, and flipper buttons that you hit madly. And if you got just the right tap at the right angle, the gods of physics smiled at you and you could get free games. Particularly if you just happened to "bump" the table at JUST the right time.
Pinball was art. Pinball was physics. Pinball was hours of fun for a few quarters.
This version of Pinball for the Android has the "feel" of some of the older pinball machines that I've played -- they're simple, they're clean, and it relys on the right hit at the right angle and the right velocity. Some of the others take advantage of the fact that computers are very very fast compared to humans, and the balls seem to move at speeds not entirely consistent with the way the balls felt back in the days when it was just you and gravity.
I also tried Pinball Deluxe, but the screens (tables) weren't quite as charming as Magma Mobile's table. Maybe it's just me and my Old School ways, but the Magma Mobile game sure brings back fond memories of quiet bars and the music of my friend, Freddy Argir's band. http://www.fredyargir.com/music.html
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Android games: "Alchemy" -- a glorious waste of time
Android Game Review: Alchemy
Android Market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=me.zed_0xff.android.alchemy&hl=en
Android games: "Alchemy" -- a glorious waste of time
Game category: Puzzle game
Game type: Similar to ...alchemy, actually
Initial review: Five stars
Recommended device size: Any
Who'd enjoy it?: Most ages
Andrey 'Zed' Zaikin's lovely time-wasting Alchemy game is one of the classics of the free game market -- and if you haven't tried it yet, you really should. It's sort of a twist on the Greek view of the Universe -- that there were four elements that made up everything in the universe. You start with fire, earth, air, and water and drag them on top of things to make new items. So, fire plus water equals steam. That was easy! You can take elements you've already made (steam) and add it to something else (air) and make something new: a cloud!
But it gets weird after that. "Ash tray" = ash + glass. "Grape" = earth + wood. "wolf" = werewolf + moon. "Star" = sun + scientist (I like that!)
The final list of elements? Well, the app maker updates it occasionally, and there's always new combos. I had this on another device and downloaded it to my new Samsung Galaxy and was very surprised to find out that some combinations were for countries. The "Kama Sutra" combination also surprised me.
Items with a tiny red dot on the picture are "final products" and can't be combined in other ways.
The first fifty or so are easy... for the rest, there's hints and cheat sheets.
It's a real classic time-waster!
Android Market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=me.zed_0xff.android.alchemy&hl=en
Android games: "Alchemy" -- a glorious waste of time
Game category: Puzzle game
Game type: Similar to ...alchemy, actually
Initial review: Five stars
Recommended device size: Any
Who'd enjoy it?: Most ages
Andrey 'Zed' Zaikin's lovely time-wasting Alchemy game is one of the classics of the free game market -- and if you haven't tried it yet, you really should. It's sort of a twist on the Greek view of the Universe -- that there were four elements that made up everything in the universe. You start with fire, earth, air, and water and drag them on top of things to make new items. So, fire plus water equals steam. That was easy! You can take elements you've already made (steam) and add it to something else (air) and make something new: a cloud!
But it gets weird after that. "Ash tray" = ash + glass. "Grape" = earth + wood. "wolf" = werewolf + moon. "Star" = sun + scientist (I like that!)
The final list of elements? Well, the app maker updates it occasionally, and there's always new combos. I had this on another device and downloaded it to my new Samsung Galaxy and was very surprised to find out that some combinations were for countries. The "Kama Sutra" combination also surprised me.
Items with a tiny red dot on the picture are "final products" and can't be combined in other ways.
The first fifty or so are easy... for the rest, there's hints and cheat sheets.
It's a real classic time-waster!
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Android games: "Crystal Portal" -- a glorious waste of time
Android Game Review: The Mystery of the Crystal Portal
Initial review: Four stars
Game category: Puzzle game
Game type: Similar to Paradise
Recommended device size: Tablets
Who'd enjoy it?: Teens/adults who like puzzle story games.
Android Market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.g5e.crystalportal&hl=en
I'd tried and got frustrated with other puzzle stories before, so I was a little wary of this one. There's no real action in these (the art is stunning, however) -- if you're not familiar with this type of game, it's "sort of" like the old "choose your own adventure" book. The protagonist is a journalist named Nicole Rankwist, who arrives home to find her archaeologist father missing. Anyone who knows us anthropologist/archaeologist types knows we're a LOT of trouble. Like all other missing archaeologists, he's just made a discovery that "could change the course of humanity." But he departed (voluntarily?) for parts unknown, leaving a journal that directs her to go to Japan.
The graphics are delightful -- intricate, colorful, and eye-catching. Game play is smooth, with a very useful help and hint function (this is a pet peeve of mine -- bad help screens.
The screens unlock after you find the right pieces to group together (a key, a fan, a statue, a frog -- which may not be related to each other or to the container you put them in.) The game is more or less a "prequel", where you get the first chapter for free. It's a nice little game, and if you've got a boring jury duty call, this is a perfect little time-passer to take with you while you wait.
The only reason for four stars is that the play isn't random. Once you've solved the riddle, that's it. You can go back and re-solve it, but you know how to do it now.
Initial review: Four stars
Game category: Puzzle game
Game type: Similar to Paradise
Recommended device size: Tablets
Who'd enjoy it?: Teens/adults who like puzzle story games.
Android Market link: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.g5e.crystalportal&hl=en
I'd tried and got frustrated with other puzzle stories before, so I was a little wary of this one. There's no real action in these (the art is stunning, however) -- if you're not familiar with this type of game, it's "sort of" like the old "choose your own adventure" book. The protagonist is a journalist named Nicole Rankwist, who arrives home to find her archaeologist father missing. Anyone who knows us anthropologist/archaeologist types knows we're a LOT of trouble. Like all other missing archaeologists, he's just made a discovery that "could change the course of humanity." But he departed (voluntarily?) for parts unknown, leaving a journal that directs her to go to Japan.
The graphics are delightful -- intricate, colorful, and eye-catching. Game play is smooth, with a very useful help and hint function (this is a pet peeve of mine -- bad help screens.
The screens unlock after you find the right pieces to group together (a key, a fan, a statue, a frog -- which may not be related to each other or to the container you put them in.) The game is more or less a "prequel", where you get the first chapter for free. It's a nice little game, and if you've got a boring jury duty call, this is a perfect little time-passer to take with you while you wait.
The only reason for four stars is that the play isn't random. Once you've solved the riddle, that's it. You can go back and re-solve it, but you know how to do it now.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Android Game Review: "Zenonia 3" -- another glorious waste of time!
Android Game Review: "Zenonia 3" -- another glorious waste of time!
Initial review: Two stars -- good, but just not my cuppa tea
Game category: Manga-type
Game type: RPG
Recommended device size: any device
Who'd enjoy it?: Teens/adults who like story chain quest games.
Zenonia-3 is GameEvil's latest release of the RPG Zenonia. For this episode, you play the role of Chael, the adopted son of the first Zenonia game's protagonist Regret. This won't make much sense to you unless you've played the first game. The overall theme is that Chael has to find his way home from a place called Midgard (which looks nothing like the Norse Midgard.) Chael can be one of four different classes (Sword Knight, Shadow Hunter, Mechanic Launcher and Nature Shaman) for the quest.
Initial review: Two stars -- good, but just not my cuppa tea
Game category: Manga-type
Game type: RPG
Recommended device size: any device
Who'd enjoy it?: Teens/adults who like story chain quest games.
Zenonia-3 is GameEvil's latest release of the RPG Zenonia. For this episode, you play the role of Chael, the adopted son of the first Zenonia game's protagonist Regret. This won't make much sense to you unless you've played the first game. The overall theme is that Chael has to find his way home from a place called Midgard (which looks nothing like the Norse Midgard.) Chael can be one of four different classes (Sword Knight, Shadow Hunter, Mechanic Launcher and Nature Shaman) for the quest.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Glorious time Wasters -- Match Up: People Edition
Match Up -- People Edition
From the Magma Mobile folks who created the nice little "Memory Match" game for the Android operating system comes a new twist on the classic "Match" game -- the "People edition." This version of the game uses pictures of people whose biographies you can find on Wikipedia (if that statement sounds a bit dodgy, it's because I don't watch movies or tv much, can't identify most actors or singers (other than the Beatles) or athletes, and have no idea what various entrepreneurs look like). If you're bad at recognizing faces, this is a good game for you. Make that a GREAT game.
It's the standard type of game play -- touch the cards to flip them. Cards that you haven't looked at have a question mark on the back. This particular version allows you to pick how many cards you want in your grid -- 4 cards (yes, 4), 16, 30, 36, 64, 72, 90, and 100 card versions. The images are a mix of black and white and color pictures. This is a good deal for those of us who are very bad at recognizing faces, because you can cue off hairstyles and colors.
Memory match games are mind-numbing amusement (not a thrill a minute) and at the 64+ card level, a good quick brain workout. Now if there was only an option for you to insert photos of your relatives or folks you meet in social situations. That'd be a great review for those Awkward Social Situations we all seem to fall into.
From the Magma Mobile folks who created the nice little "Memory Match" game for the Android operating system comes a new twist on the classic "Match" game -- the "People edition." This version of the game uses pictures of people whose biographies you can find on Wikipedia (if that statement sounds a bit dodgy, it's because I don't watch movies or tv much, can't identify most actors or singers (other than the Beatles) or athletes, and have no idea what various entrepreneurs look like). If you're bad at recognizing faces, this is a good game for you. Make that a GREAT game.
It's the standard type of game play -- touch the cards to flip them. Cards that you haven't looked at have a question mark on the back. This particular version allows you to pick how many cards you want in your grid -- 4 cards (yes, 4), 16, 30, 36, 64, 72, 90, and 100 card versions. The images are a mix of black and white and color pictures. This is a good deal for those of us who are very bad at recognizing faces, because you can cue off hairstyles and colors.
Memory match games are mind-numbing amusement (not a thrill a minute) and at the 64+ card level, a good quick brain workout. Now if there was only an option for you to insert photos of your relatives or folks you meet in social situations. That'd be a great review for those Awkward Social Situations we all seem to fall into.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Glorious time wasters -- "Clouds & Sheep" for Android
Android Game Review: "Clouds and Sheep" -- another glorious waste of time!
Initial review: Four stars -- amusing but slightly sadistic
Game category: Vikings type game
Game type: Arcade
Recommended device size: any device
Who'd enjoy it? Anyone not troubled by some mildly sadistic acts like sheep tossing.
This is another game from Handy Games and as usual features rather charming graphics and an easy to use interface. The object is to keep your sheep happy and finish a series of very amusing quests -- like do the sheep toss. PETA would not approve of the sheep treatment, but they seem to like it.
The designers also allow you to save games so that you could either start at the level you left, restart an earlier version, or begin a new game and take the "best" scores. One of the biggest tips for this would be "don't have too many sheep." They breed like... well... sheep, I guess. It's hard to keep them all occupied.
So there you are, planting flowers to make sheep amorous and planting grass to feed them and handing them refreshing cool drinks or coffee -- and you also get to control the weather. Piled up clouds make a nice rainstorm -- and combined rainstorms make a nice thundercloud. "Sheep coffee" costs stars, but a lovely thunderbolt is free and wakes the sheep up just as effectively (so does bouncing them, but the thunderbolt's a lot of fun, frankly.)
A good time-waster, quick to learn, quick to play, easy to set down and pick back up again.
Initial review: Four stars -- amusing but slightly sadistic
Game category: Vikings type game
Game type: Arcade
Recommended device size: any device
Who'd enjoy it? Anyone not troubled by some mildly sadistic acts like sheep tossing.
This is another game from Handy Games and as usual features rather charming graphics and an easy to use interface. The object is to keep your sheep happy and finish a series of very amusing quests -- like do the sheep toss. PETA would not approve of the sheep treatment, but they seem to like it.
The designers also allow you to save games so that you could either start at the level you left, restart an earlier version, or begin a new game and take the "best" scores. One of the biggest tips for this would be "don't have too many sheep." They breed like... well... sheep, I guess. It's hard to keep them all occupied.
So there you are, planting flowers to make sheep amorous and planting grass to feed them and handing them refreshing cool drinks or coffee -- and you also get to control the weather. Piled up clouds make a nice rainstorm -- and combined rainstorms make a nice thundercloud. "Sheep coffee" costs stars, but a lovely thunderbolt is free and wakes the sheep up just as effectively (so does bouncing them, but the thunderbolt's a lot of fun, frankly.)
A good time-waster, quick to learn, quick to play, easy to set down and pick back up again.
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