Android Games: Reviews

So, I finally run out of the 16GB space I have on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and most of them are because of the new games I’ve bought lately (most of the games for tablet require the user to download the resource pack which can go as high as 600-700 MB).

No wonder, December has been a pretty amazing month for buying Android applications. First they have those awesome 10 days where applications are sold at $0.10, then Gameloft decided to discount their games as well for celebrating new year. And I have pretty much spent a lot of time playing them, so I might as well give a quick review and compare them, so people can find out which games they should buy if they ever want to have them, they all look awesome on the page anyway =D

First off, here’s the list of the games (26 of them) I’ve bought recently and their prices as well: (sorted alphabetically)

GAME	ORIGINAL PRICE	DISCOUNTED PRICE
9mm HD	?	$0.99
BackStab HD	?	$0.10
Age of Zombies	$1.02	$0.10
Apparatus	$2.77	$0.10
Blood & Glory	FREE	FREE
Can Knockdown 2	$1.53	$0.10
Captain America	$2.99	$0.10
Fieldrunners HD	$2.99	$0.10
Great Little War Game	$2.91	$0.10
Heavy Gunner 3D	$4.99	$0.10
Jelly Defense	$3.11	$0.10
Majesty: Fantasy Kingdom Sim	$2.02	$0.10
Minecraft – Pocket Edition	$6.60	$0.10
Modern Combat 3: Fallen Nation	$6.99	$0.99
MX Moto	$1.99	$0.10
N.O.V.A. 2 HD	?	$0.99
Reckless Getaway	$1.99	$0.10
Sentinel 3: Homeworld	$2.89	$0.10
Shine Runner	$1.99	$0.10
SimCity Deluxe	$5.21	$0.10
Sleepy Jack	$1.99	$0.10
Spirit HD	$1.24	$0.10
SummitX Snowboarding	$4.99	FREE
Tank Riders	$1.99	$0.10
Train Conductor 2: USA	$2.06	$0.10
Zenonia	$0.99	$0.10

Took quite some time compiling them @.@ Anyway, bolded items are the ones I have played, while the rest are still waiting to be played. I included both discounted and original price here so I can comment whether the game is worthed or no for their usual prices. The list is still missing the original price for most of Gameloft games though, since they’re still discounted at the time of this writing, I’ll update it as soon as it reverts to the original pricing.

On to the reviews then!
My rating: DON’T – YOU SHOULDN’T – DUNNO – PROBABLY – DEFINITELY

Blood & Glory (FREE)
If iOS got Infinity Blade, then Android would have Blood & Glory. The gameplay is pretty similar, swordfight that’s controlled with gesture, and not just the gameplay, the graphic is similarly amazing as well. It’s a really fun and addicting game, though it suffers the same lack of depth and length as Infinity Blade. But hey, it’s a really fun time killer =D

Get it? DEFINITELY, it’s free.

Can Knockdown 2 ($1.53)
Usually I don’t buy mini games, but since it was on sale for $0.10, I decided to give it a try. And I have mixed feelings about it; it definitely is addictive, I had some fun playing it all night long after I made the purchase. On the other hand, I haven’t played it again that much =/ Why? I suppose because it’s the lack of progress, it’s just a couple of mini games after all, so I didn’t look forward to play it again. So yeah, it’s kinda weird: it is fun to play, but not something I would play a lot.

Get it? DUNNO

Captain America ($2.99)
Okay, it’s official, game for movies should be made for smartphones instead of game consoles, they’re easier to develop and can easily reach mass market after all. Anyway, Captain America is a mix between runner and platformer where you use gesture to control your action and chain combos. Combos? Yeah, you can beat enemy down by chaining gestures, resulting in a very cool slow motion combo. Combined with tons of levels and collectibles, this game is just pure win. Oh, did I mention that you can also change the costume to various versions of Captain America? =D Now I hope they also made a Spider-man/Avengers game or something, it would be super awesome.

Get it? DEFINITELY

Fieldrunners HD ($2.99)

Ah, another tower defense game, would we ever run out of them? So, how does Fieldrunners differ from the rest? By offering a colorful visual combined with a chaotic yet balanced gameplay, each tower is just different from another, both in looks and in usage. The maps also have a lot of variety, you can never use the same strategy over and over again. All this resulted in a game that will make you spend countless hours in perfecting your strategy.

Get it? DEFINITELY

Heavy Gunner 3D ($4.99)
To be honest, Heavy Gunner is a pretty wonderful game where you control a twin turret and shoot down enemies coming from all over the place in a 3D world. The “control” part is very problematic though, using accelerometer just doesn’t give enough precision, while using touch control doesn’t give enough mobility. Overall it’s acceptable though, what’s not acceptable is the length of the game, I managed to finish it in one night, completely not acceptable for a 5 dollar game.

Get it? DON’T

Jelly Defense ($3.11)
Our second tower defense game in the list! (I do love tower defense games =D) I must say, the visual really impress me, not because it’s super-realistic or something, but because its direction of using only red and blue colors on white background made it really stands out, not to mention the jellies are really adorable. Though the gameplay definitely needs more depth, most of the time I can manage with using only 3-4 types of tower from the available 10 towers =/ But I’ve gotta to say, each level has a tiny difference that made you need to alter your strategy each time. BTW, have I mentioned that the level selection map is a planet (that you can rotate using your finger) that’s actually some kind of giant floating animal? =D

Get it? PROBABLY (for $1.99 it would be DEFINITELY)

Minecraft – Pocket Edition ($6.60)
Ah, Minecraft, previously available only for Xperia Play, now it’s available for most of Android devices. Overall, the experience is pretty satisfying, I managed to get absorbed in the game trying to build some underground cavern XD The price is an outrage though, but hell, if you’re going to buy this game, I bet you’re also into Minecraft on desktop, and I suppose $6 is an okay price to pay for satisfying your Minecraft addiction.

Get it? DUNNO (For Minecraft lover it would be PROBABLY)

Reckless Getaway ($1.99)
Reckless Getaway plays out exactly like what the title suggest, you control a reckless car running away from the police and other obstacles, though I still question why you would still need to collect coins when you’re on a getaway. Anyway, the game has good premises as well as tons of level, too bad I found the control lacks the tightness needed to make the whole experience fun, instead I found it to be very frustrating. Not to mention that the game turns out to be a game of memorizing the positions of those coins instead of a game about dodging obstacles =/

Get it? YOU SHOULDN’T

Sentinel 3: Homeworld ($2.89)
And the third tower defense game! While both Fieldrunners and Jelly Defense has a very cheerful presentation, Sentinel 3 offers a really serious narrative combined with a bit of RPG elements where you need to choose power up and upgrade your stats. The whole thing would be perfect if not for one tiny problem: it’s hard. I found myself have to grind on previous levels several times before I’m able to finish the latest one. Oh, and I also found some mechanism, like having several gates, to be utterly broken.

Get it? PROBABLY

Shine Runner ($1.99)
On the first glance, Shine Runner seems to be a pretty decent game, after all, what could go wrong with a 3D boat racing game? Everything apparently. Like a lot of other games, the control lacks something to be desired of, and hell, what racing? You’re simply going from the start line to the finish line with almost no penalty for arriving late. Oh, not to mention that the game apparently isn’t about racing at all, it’s about trading. Sounds weird? It’s even weirder that the trading mechanism is so random that you almost have no way to alter the outcome. And your actions are recorded and erased every 10 turns, so you have to start over next time.

Get it? DON’T

Sleepy Jack ($1.99)
Sleepy Jack is a 3D Shoot’em Up, kinda similar to the Gummy ship section of Kingdom Hearts. Even though I said Shoot’em Up, the game actually consist more of collecting stuff than shooting enemies. Well, the game manages to scale the difficulty quite well, the first few levels felt like a walk in the park, but past halfway mark, you would really need to fight your way through. Not to mention that the game has several modes with enough variety that it would keep the player from even feeling bored. All in all, it’s a really solid game even though it may not be as addicting as other games.

Get it? PROBABLY

Spirit HD ($1.24)
I remember seeing this game featured before I have credit card to buy it, I thought it’s an awesome game. Apparently, it’s not. The gameplay is pretty simple, you need to capture various spirits by controlling one spirit by moving it in circles. And well, that’s all there is to it, the only variety comes from the type of enemies. It would definitely be a fun mini game if not for the horrible control, trying to move the spirit around is a pain in the ass, I found my finger often goes over the bezel, making me lose control over my spirit =/ And the game has tons and tons of enemies, which, when combined with the horrible control, make the whole experience really frustrating.

Get it? DON’T

SummitX Snowboarding ($4.99)
3D snowboarding game? It would be super awesome, right? Well, it’s… complicated. The graphics is amazing (even though it’s only 50 MB!) and the gameplay also feels pretty solid, I can move around and perform various tricks quite well. Sounds perfect right? Well, the problem is there’s not much variety, sure, you can change your looks and there are several place to roam around, but that’s all, you can’t purchase more tricks or upgrade your stats, and the only thing you can do is raking up scores =/ I would probably think about purchasing it if it’s only around $2, but for $5? There’s no way. Though, now I’m interested in Tony Hawk’s Touch Skater, it snowboarding is possible, why skating isn’t?

Get it? YOU SHOULDN’T

Train Conductor 2: USA ($2.06)
Another mini game! This one has locked levels though, so there is some feeling of progress. Basically in the game you try to move trains to their designated tracks; it starts out slow, but as more trains are arriving, things are getting more hectic and you started to rely on nothing but reflex. What I absolutely loved from the game is that each level adds more twist to the original gameplay, preventing the player from ever getting bored =D Too bad when you unlocked all levels, the only thing left you can do is getting the score as high as possible.

Get it? PROBABLY

Zenonia ($0.99)
Zenonia! I absolutely loved Zenonia 3 (even with its kinda weird difficulty system). So what about the first one? Well, if you’re a fan of the Zenonia saga, this is a must have since it tells about how the whole story began, though the gameplay feels a bit lacking, especially when compared to the latest sequel. But hey, if you’re comparing to its sequel, then you simply must have the whole series, while if you’re not comparing it, then the game is actually pretty good by itself if you’re into some Action RPG goodness.

Get it? PROBABLY (it’s $0.99 for god’s sake)

To conclude:
You DEFINITELY should get Blood & Glory, Captain America, and Fieldrunners.
You PROBABLY should get Jelly Defense, Sentinel 3, Sleepy Jack, Train Conductor 2: USA, and Zenonia

Now, I’m still unsure whether I should buy that ShadowGun or no…

Blizzard DOTA and Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

BlizzCon 2011 is under way, and two games have just been announced!

Blizzard DOTA

The first on is Blizzard DOTA, their take on DotA using Starcraft II engine. Basically, it’s a DotA game with heroes from various Blizzard games, there’s Arthas, Sylvanas, Kerrigan, etc, though their looks have been upgraded to a much more sci-fi looks.

Though, based on the trailer, which is pretty corny, I don’t know how serious they are about this (I mean, “2 dark gods, one blue and one red”, really?). It seems like something some interns just put up, it doesn’t have that usual Blizzard seal of quality.

Muradin looks really badass BTW

Starcraft II: Heart of the Swarm

Blizzard also revealed another trailer for Heart of the Swarm, the first Starcraft II expansion (they also unveiled an expansion to WoW, too bad I don’t play it =p). Heart of the Swarm focuses on the tale of Sarah Kerrigan and let player take control of the Zerg in the campaign.

The trailer reveals that Kerrigan isn’t that old human Kerrigan we know, it seems she’s still corrupted, even after released from the influence of the Zerg. So now she plans to get her revenge at Mengsk (is he everyone’s villain or something?) and to do that, she needs to take control of the Zerg again.

Other than that, Heart of the Swarm seems to have new units for each faction as well (Terran’s new units look pretty cool). I’m pleased to hear it, as it means that Heart of the Swarm really is an expansion for the original Starcraft II, instead of an “episode” where we only get some new campaign missions.

Though, as usual, Blizzard hasn’t announced any release date =/

DESTINIA Review

Yay, finally got the time to post this review here =D

Get Destinia on Android Market!

Back then, as I have posted before on Google+, I was really excited when Gamevil finally released Destinia on Android since their previous attempt on ActionRPG, Zenonia 3, is super awesome, so I have high expectation for this game. And several days after I downloaded it, I finally finished the game on normal difficulty =D

How does it lives to my expectation then? Well, if you say that Zenonia 3 is an Action RPG, then you would say that Destinia is a hack n’ slash game (much like Kingdom Hearts VS Diablo). Destinia heavily focuses on the hack and slash part while the story and characters are kept to a minimum with the game progressing only by following a series of quest. Not just kept to a minimum, the NPCs in town have no role at all other than to give the hero various side-quest, the story suddenly changed halfway through the game, and there are also several other problems that make the story so forgettable. Hell, you would have a hard time finding a reason why you’re suddenly fighting the final boss.

Stories and characters aside, gameplay is where the games shines the brightest. It follows the basic concept of Hack and Slash games where you only need to mash the attack button (and occasionally use some skills) to level up so you can beat the enemies on the next map. The joy of beating up monsters and gaining rare weapons is so addictive that it keeps drawing you back into the game. The game itself provides three classes (Warrior, Thief and Gunner) where each class have a certain style of fighting. These three basic classes can be further evolved into a more specific class later in the game, though the only difference would be in stats distribution, the character’s attacking animation and skillset would stay the same.

BTW, have I mentioned that there’s no treasure chest in the game? Your only reason to explore the maps would be to find more monsters that you can beat up.

Other than the combat system, there are a lot of interesting mechanism in the game, you can create equipment from recipe, you can add a modifier (AGI + 4) to your equipment, you can have a pet with a certain skill and even evolve them. Though these mechanism are interesting, the game provides neither tutorial nor introduction about how the mechanism works, leaving the player to experiment on these stuff on their own. I never know that evolving a pet (which will sacrifice another pet) can fail, so when I tried to evolve my pet for the first time, it failed and I ended up having no pet for some times. Not to mention that my first pet has a healing ability that I never find again through out the entire game. Another example of how broken the mechanism is that I have absolutely no idea about how the equipment fusing works. Is it totally random? Or is there some formula behind it?

My final thought?

You should give Destinia a try if you’re looking to waste some time using your phone (it’s a highly addictive game), but it’s definitely not the place to look for some epic quest.

SHADOWGUN trailer

So… I just saw the trailer for SHADOWGUN, Madfinger’s latest game.
(it will come to Android, don’t worry)

My reaction? Holy shit…

I have always loved Madfinger Games, Samurai II: Vengeance is one of those games that I bought for my Galaxy Tab 10.1. And it definitely doesn’t disappoint. To be honest, I always thought they will simply reuse their Samurai engine and make Samurai III, but they developed this game instead. Come on, an over-the-shoulder shooter with cover mechanism and beautiful graphics? Definitely a first day buy to me.

From a technical perspective, it’s really amazing. In action games like this one, FPS is really important as it affects your skill and gameplay experience. But from what I saw in the video, it manages to deliver a really smooth gameplay while still having one of the best graphics in mobile games. And it uses Unity as the engine that powers the game, which should say something about the capability of Unity for mobile platforms. Where’s that mobile Unreal Engine, BTW?

From that gameplay video, other than how awesome it is, I have two things that trouble me. First off, how are you going to move the player and rotate the camera? I don’t see any joystick, only a button for shooting and interacting with objects. And the second one is the fact that there is no cover-to-cover movement, which is a really important feature of a cover mechanism.

Nevertheless, I like games like this, as it pushes the boundary of mobile gaming.
BTW, does anyone thinks that the main character of the game looks just like Bruce Willis? XD

Wild Arms 5

It’s kinda ironic, two weeks ago, I made a post on Google+ about how I’m not a gamer anymore, yet, ever since I finished the beta version of my Komodo game (ah, I really need to post about it), all I have done is playing games. Let’s see, I finally finished Wild Arms V, started playing Lunar: Silver Star Story and now playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution whenever I got the time @.@Anyway, about Wild Arms V, it’s an RPG game for PS2 that’s released around 2007, I played it one holiday some months ago and only now pick it back up again. And oh boy, it’s definitely one of those underrated games, it has both awesome battle system as well as good story and memorable characters. And to be honest? I’m tired of all those western RPG where you have no real identity, so this game certainly is a refreshing one amidst all other RPG I’ve played recently.

HEX Battle System

Well, HEX battle system from Wild Arms 4 returns in this game, and I’ve gotta say, it is my favorite turn-based battle system so far (for all type of battle system, Star Ocean is my favorite one), combining strategical thinking found in tactical battle system and the simplicity of the normal turn-based battle system. The main plot doesn’t have any big twist like the one in Bioshock (not to mention that the twist in the game isn’t revealed in any dramatic fashion), but combined with a vast array of likable characters, it manages to make you feel kinda emotional in the end. Not to mention that the game has a lot of cutscenes dedicated to the development of our party members.

Oh, and one more thing, the BGMs found in the game are definitely awesome. They all have that wild west theme, yet each of them is different enough that nothing felt rehashed.

Final thought? This game isn’t a masterpiece, but it definitely is worth your time =D

Original post on Google+