Mobile Game Reviews: We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is something that was a guilty pleasure for me; We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs. Developed by SundayToz Inc, this is a match 3 game starring the cast of the Cartoon Network series, We Bare Bears. You play as Grizzly, Panda and Ice Bear, as well as their friends, as they clean up and rebuild the areas you see on the show through match 3 puzzles.  Every time you solve a puzzle, you get a star, which you spend on items to clean up the map.

Control: We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs is a match three game.  For the puzzle sections, you slide gem, illustrated by vegetables, fruits, pretzels, pizza, tacos and other food items, in order to get match of three more tiles. For the rebuilding sections, the controls are simple tap and go.

Graphical Fidelity: We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs looks like the show.  Every single thing in this game looks like it came from the show, so all the characters and locations look like they should look for this series.

Sound: We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs has sound clips for vocalization of the characters, sound effects from the show, and distinct music for both maps and the match three sections.  All of it feels like it came from the show.

Ads and in app purchases: There are no ad in We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs, however, there are a LOT of in app purchases. So many that, if you're going to let your kids play this, you should lock down your ability to purchase things on the google play and apple stores, because kids can spend a LOT on things from the shop.

Fun Factor: We Bare Bears Match3 Repair is a very functional Match 3 game, which means it's fun if you enjoy that kind of thing.  Each level is progressively more difficult, and you've got 5 tries to solve a puzzle before you have to either recharge or spend real money on more tries.  What's also fun is seeing how the Bears change the map as you spend the stars you get for completing puzzles.

Final Analysis: We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs is a great Match 3 game that's unfortunately held back by the abundance of in app purchases. Your kids will love the game due to it being based on one of their favorite Cartoon Network shows, and since kids have little to no impulse controls, you NEED to keep that app store locked down. Other than that, I enjoyed my time with We Bare Bears Match3 Repairs wholeheartedly.

Mobile Game Reviews: Dragon Lapis

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Before I start, let me let the cat out of the bag; yes, I changed the URL and the name of this blog.  I'm finally moving away from that Rurouni Kenshin inspired name I carried for WAY too long.

With that out of the way, today's game is a full port of a 3DS game, Dragon Lapis. This game is a full JRPG by Kemco, and it was the first game that showed me that mobile device games could be more than just puzzles and endless runners.

Control: Sadly, we must start with worst part of the game, control. The tapping of menus is fine, but trying to move around the overworld is hardly accurate, no matter which control scheme you use. More than once, I've tapped in one place and it thought I tapped in another to move.  But thankfully, a JRPG doesn't need extremely accurate movement controls, so I'll give this game a pass on that.

Graphical Fidelity: Dragon Lapis is a game that would have looked at home right on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis.  It's a retro inspired game that captures the aesthetic perfectly.

Sound: Dragon Lapis sounds like it would have been at home on the Super Nintendo with the chip tune inspired music and sound design. Nothing sounds out of place.

Story: Dragon Lapis is a JRPG where you take control of Lucas and his party of adventurers as they go through the lands and try to gather the Dragon Lapicis to awaken the power in Lucas' blood and stop the evil Silver Dragon with the aid of Iria, the Gold Dragon in human form, Melvin the Rogue and Elodie the mage.  And even after you complete that story, there's an...expansion I guess, that you start up immediately after to stop a demon from taking over the world.  There's a lot going on in Dragon Lapis, and you'd better be ready for it.

Ads: The ad policy in Dragon Lapis is really bad. When you start the game the first time, you don't really see that many ads, but once you get to a certain point after you recruit all four party members, you get a cutscene where they tell you that "the information deity wants to inform you of products and services you might like", which is an in universe explanation of not only more frequent post battle video ads, but also banner ads at the top and bottom of your screen. You can buy an "upgrade" to opt out of this, but I still think this is an extremely greedy way to get money.

Fun factor: Dragon Lapis is a full fledged JRPG, which means it has all the tropes; random battles, upgrading weapons, leveling up your character from said random battles.  But this game has a different ways to handle leveling up. You see, it utilizes job classes, so you can play any job with any character, and when you do so, you get specific weapon and armor proficiency. However, to level these jobs up, you use growth plates to upgrade your abilities and gain new ones. It is definitely a unique way to handle advancement.

Final analysis. Dragon Lapis is a game with a lot of problems, but there's a lot of good there too. But despite all the problems I saw, I had fun with this game from beginning to end.  If you're a fan of retro JRPGs, you don't want to miss out on Dragon Lapis.

Mobile Game Reviews: Vampire's Fall:Origins

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is something I found via an ad; Vampire's Fall:Origins. Published by Early Morning Studio, Vampire's Fall: Origins is a sequel to their previous game, Vampire's Fall. It's a full fledged turn based RPG with a full compliment of weapons, armors and abilities, as well as a full dark fantasy story.

Control: Vampire's Fall: Origins is pretty basic in its control needs; you tap the menus, tap the dialogue windows, and you use a virtual control stick to move around the map. For the most part, the tap  focused aspects of the game work properly, big thumbs/fingers issues not withstanding, but it's the virtual control stick that requires a little bit to getting used to. At first, I wasn't sure what I was doing, since it doesn't stay in one spot if you're not careful, but once I was used to the idea of pressing and holding in a direction, it became second nature. And honestly, it's this game that makes me think that virtual d-pads can be a good, accurate control method.

Graphical Fidelity: Vampire's Fall: Origins looks great. All the sprites are modern, all the actions are fluid, all the combat is graceful looking, and the overworld and all the things in it look like what they're supposed to. And since they're different, all the combat sprites look great too. All the weapons and armor make your character look different while wearing, something not illustrated by the overworld sprites. 

Sound:Vampire's Fall: Origins takes full advantage of what a mobile device is capable of. The music is a epic as it can be for such a small speaker, enemies and your player character all have cries of pain when they're damaged, and they're all distinct for the type of character that's getting hit; a distinct male grunt, a distinct female grunt, distinct sounds from spirits, wolves, boars, and all the other types of enemies are all distinct and memorable.

Story: Since Vampire's Fall: Origins is an RPG, I'd not be doing my duty if I didn't mention the story. Without spoiling the story, you start out as a human defending a town, learning the ropes of combat and interacting with NPCs and doing quests, only for the big bad of the story to defeat you and curse you to be a vampire. From there, your quest is to track him down across the world in your quest to destroy him. Once you find him, you have access to two possible endings, and from there, a full expansion full of quests with map as large as the main game. There is a lot going on here, and lot of twists and turns to get through.

Ads: Vampire's Fall: Origins is very good about its ad policy.  Not a single mandatory ad in sight. You can get bonuses at the end of some battles for xp gain, gold or on rare occasions, loot boxes of gear, and like the better free mobile games, you can buy an upgrade that lets you get rid of ads, and also grants permanent upgrades to your account, including a special badge in the game's chat and a vampire's lair which grants extra storage slots.  You can also buy shards for cosmetic upgrades, helmets that ad to your stats and wings that add special abilities. All of these purchases are optional and none of those items are required to beat the game.

Fun Factor: I've enjoyed every minute of Vampire's Fall: Origins, even the mandatory grinding.  Battles are fun, the story is serious when it has to be and silly when it can be, and the opportunity to pit your character against other players is not to be missed out on.

Final Analysis: Vampire's Fall: Origins is a fun ride if you're into RPGs. The grinding can get annoying, but not insurmountable. It's a wonderful experience from character creation to the final boss of the expansion. If you're an RPG fan who likes dark fantasy, you don't want to miss out on Vampire's Fall: Origins.

Mobile Game Reviews: Super Spider Hero City Adventure

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is something I found via an ad; Super Spider Hero City Adventure. Published by Onesoft Global PTE, Super Spider Hero had you play as Not-Spider-Man as you use a web to swing across Not-New York, dodging light posts and robots as you try to stop Not-Mysterio.  And I say things the way I did because, even though the assets fall under Fair Use, the names of the characters do not.

Control: Super Spider Hero's controls are simple and tight. You tap to leap off the starting stage, hold to shoot and swing on the web, and let go to release the web.  And the controls are so tight that you can actually build some pretty good momentum in your swings; any mistake is your fault.

Graphical Fidelity: Super Spider Hero is a modern game with chibi, or character's who are small bodied but with big heads, design.  Everything is crisp and clear, and all the text is large and easy to read.  All the colors are bright, but not so much to hurt the eyes.  And as you go on, you can unlock different skins, including Miles Morales and Spider-Gwen/Ghost Spider, as she's called now. I'm trying my best to get the Ghost Spider skin, but I've got a long way to go.

Sound:Super Spider Hero is simple in terms of sound design.  A sound for the web shot, a sound for impacts, a small explosion sound if you're hit by an exploding enemy, and a little jingle at the end when you win.

Ads: As Bricks Breaker Quest, ads are unavoidable, and are of the "pop ad" type after a few failures. However, I noticed something new recently; if you fail pretty close to the end, you're given ten seconds to tap for a viewable ad to continue on your mission.

Fun Factor: Super Spider Hero is an easy to play, difficult to master game.  The web swinging has significant momentum, and you can actually skip some of the dots you can shoot your web at if you're going fast and high enough.  The only frustrating thing is that enemy placement is random; they're always in the same place horizontally on the map, but sometimes, they can be placed in unfair places vertically, making dodging them difficult. However, it's random every time, so it's not that frustrating.

Final Analysis: Super Spider Hero City Adventure is a great game to play when you've got a few minutes to kill. Stages are quick, respawns are quicker, and the only thing that slows down the action are semi-frequent ads. Download it and you won't regret it.

Mobile Game Reviews: Bricks Breaker Quest

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is something I actively looked for, Bricks Breaker Quest. Bricks Breaker Quest is one of many Brick Breaker games on the Google Play and iphone app stores, and its premise is simple; maneuver a ball from the bottom of the screen and use it to break the bricks above it. It requires a minimum knowledge of angles in order to get the highest possible scores, and if you manage to reach the thresh hold, you get the coveted three stars at the end of the game.

Control: Bricks Breaker Quest thrives on a mobile device; the angles are both strict and generous, creating a challenging, yet very playable, experience.  All you need to to is move you thumb around the screen, watching the white line that determines where your ball will go, and hope it does what you want it. And when it doesn't, it's no one's fault but your own.

Graphical Fidelity: Bricks Breaker Quest is a very simplistic game.  While modern looking, the graphics are simple, and that's exactly what's needed for this type of game.  All you have is a ball, a line to determine the angle you're going to send your ball, and all the bricks to break.

Sound: Like the graphics, Bricks Breaker Quest is simple in its sound design.  You hear an audible pop when the bricks break, and audible tone when you win or lose. There's no music, but it doesn't need it.

Ads: Ads are unavoidable, but unlike a lot of mobile games, Bricks Breaker Quest only displays them at the top and bottom of the screen; in my experience, there are NO pop up video ads. You CAN buy different shapes of balls to play with, but since you earn diamonds by winning, it's not necessary.

Fun Factor: Bricks Breaker Quest is a game that's fun if you're willing to put in the work for it.  Seeing that perfect combo getting you to a three star victory, or getting the highest possible score in the 100 ball and classic mode is so satisfying, and defeat in the regular mode is as devastating as it needs to be.

Final Analysis:  Bricks Breaker Quest by Mobirix is a modern take on a classic Blackberry app, and I love it.  There are hundreds of puzzles to go through, and all are appropriately challenging. Definitely a must play.

Mobile Game Review: Galaxy Sky Shooting

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is once again something I saw advertised in another game I play, Galaxy Sky Shooting. This game is a top down space shooter, pure and simple with very generous hit detection and multiple modes of play, including an endless mode, a boss fight mode, and a campaign with 210 (as of writing this) levels.

Control: Galaxy Sky Shooting is in a genre that requires precision to dodge fire and hit enemies, but thankfully, it is very generous with hit boxes. No matter how wide the ship is, only the middle section where the cockpit would be is the hitbox for you.  So, as long as you keep that section out of fire, you're good. And since the weapons autofire, all you need to do is concentrate on dodging and lining up your shots.

Graphical Fidelity: Galaxy Sky Shooting is a modern game.  All the sprites are modern looking and the background is what looks like a modern picture of satellite view of the universe.  All the sprites look good, and the text is large and easy to read.

Sound: Galaxy Sky Shooting has modern sound.  The music is modern, the sounds are modern, and the voice that you get when a boss battle is about to start sounds clear and crisp.

Ads: Unfortunately, the ad policy is extremely obtrusive; you get static ads at results screens, and the occasional ad after a win or loss that get more frequent the longer you play.  They also give you the opportunity to use ads to double your coins, which are used for upgrades and new ships from the market, and viewable ads for other things. Thankfully, if you play enough rounds, they ask "do you like the ads?" and when you say no, they offer one more viewable ad, or a microtransaction, to remove the ads for the rest of the day.  They also offer a transaction to remove ads personally.

Fun Factor: Galaxy Sky Shooting is in a genre that is mindless fun, and when you combine good control and reasonable hit boxes, a game like Galaxy Sky Shooting can be a blast. It's great for a short round or two while on the bus or train, and it's also good for "Oh, one more round" gameplay when you're on your own.

Final Analysis: This game would be perfect if it wasn't for the ad policy.  Space shooters are a perfect fit for mobile devices because they make full use of what mobile devices have to offer.  If you want to toss a couple bucks their way to remove ads permanently, that's up to you, but otherwise, it's a great free mobile experience that you don't want to miss out on.

Mobile Game Reviews: Prizefighters

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is once again something I saw advertised on the Google Play store, Prizefighters. Prizefighters is a Punch Out! inspired game where you create a custom fighter, level them up and take them through a career mode, an arcade mode, and an online mode to determine who is the best fighter on the leader boards.

Control: Prizefighters is built for touch screen controls, though I would advise you to swap from the full touch screen experience to the virtual buttons as soon as the tutorial is over, because like its biggest influence, this game requires precision.  You don't want to throw a punch when you're trying to block, for example. And if you've got a blue tooth controller, which it does support, that offers even more precision for a game that has you controlling a boxer in a Punch Out! style experience.

Graphical Fidelity: Prize Fighter looks like a Sega Master System style Punch Out!. It's got full color capability that a modern smartphone can display, but it has the pixelated look of an 8-bit game.  All text is large and easy to read, and it looks good, if small, in landscape mode instead of the portrait mode it defaults to.

Sound: Prizefighters offers a retro sound design; all the music is chip tune inspired, punches sound as realistic as those from a boxing movie, and the voice clips for the referee sound like they were created with the same digitized techniques that were available in the 90s.

Ads: When it comes to ads, they're very unobtrusive; occasional ads after fights, and a clickable ad if you want 150 extra coins every six minutes.

Fun Factor: Prizefighters is a very enjoyable game. It takes all the elements that make Punch Out! Wii great, and ads in a leveling system that makes your fighter stronger to compensate for the lack of precision inherent in a touchscreen approach. It feels like a Punch Out! game, but with just enough to make it unique.

Final Analysis: If you like Punch Out! Wii, you'll like Prizefighters. It is a great homage to its inspiration, and a great game for mobile devices, especially if you've got a bluetooth controller.

Mobile Game Review: Pac Man 256

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's game is something that I saw on advertised on the Google Play store in the popular games tab; Pac Man 256.  The idea for Pac Man 256 is that it's based on the infamous 256 glitch; basically, if you reach level 256, a bug is caused by the calculation of the number of fruit to draw rolling over to zero. The code attempts to draw 256 fruit–236 more than it was designed for–resulting in the maze being corrupted.And that's what Pac Man 256 is designed around; the glitch is chasing you, and if it touches you, it kills you.  It is your task to avoid the encroaching glitch and still gather dots, fruits, power pellets and any power ups you can and achieve the highest score possible before you die.

Control: Pac Man 256 is built around around touch screen controls. You're swiping up down, left and right to move, and tapping for menus.  It's as accurate as any mobile game can get and any mistake made feels like your fault, which is a hard thing for even some console or PC game to hammer out.

Graphical Fidelity: Pac Man 256 has a faux retro style; everything's in 3D, but it's done in a way that's befitting of a Pac Man game.  You can earn themes for the game, which changes the graphics from the basic pixelated design for Pac Man, to something more smoothed out, to the Pac Mania style, to Pac Man CEDX's style, and more.

Sound: Pac Man 256 sounds like a Pac Man game.  All the sounds and music sound like a remixed version of their original sounds from the arcade games and all the successful ports.

Ads: Pac Man 256 only has ads if you want to see them. However, seeing them gives you extra coin rewards you can use to purchase new skins for your game, upgrades to your power ups, etc, but you can also spend real money on those things, so ads don't have to be a thing at all for you.

Fun Factor: Pac Man 256 takes the classic Pac Man formula and ads in the "glitch wall chasing you" mechanic, creating a very fun experience. However, there are loads of power ups in addition to the basic power pellet that lets you eat ghosts in your arsenal.  You can get things a laser to blast ghosts in front of you, a stealth ability that lets you slip past them, a giant upgrade to crush the ghosts, and many more. There's so many options for you to make your way to the high score, and new power ups are unlocked over time.

Final Analysis: Pac Man 256 is easy to learn, but difficult to master, just like the original game.  But it's a great time waster if you've got a few minutes to an hour to kill while waiting on something else. A great mobile experience, overall.

Mobile Game Review: Slayin'

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's review is on a game that I saw on youtube, Slayin'. Slayin' is a game built around a touchscreen control scheme, with a left button, a right button, a pause button and an action button. The action button is determinant on which of 6 classes you can choose for combat. Each class has something different to bring to the table; the Knight, for example, has a one directional weapon, but has the most defense, but the Knave has a bidirectional weapon, and the highest luck, and the mage has the highest attack, but can't jump, and so on for the other three classes.  All bring something distinct to the gameplay in your attempt to last long enough to face the dragon at the end.  It has a retro aesthetic in sound, and music; it would have fit in perfectly on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis.



This game has plenty of unlocks, and all can be bought with in game currency, fame. All the characters, different background music, interface borders, gravestone styles for to display your high score, all of it purchased with in game currency. Yes, you can buy the currency with real money, but you don't have to; fame is easy to get so long as you know what you're doing.

Control: Slayin' is built around around touch screen controls. Things are precise, and when you hit a button, it does what you tell it to. Though, if you're like me and used to a controller with this kind of game, you may find yourself taking damage unintentionally when you try to rock the dpad, since touchscreens don't work that way. 

Graphical Fidelity: Slayin' looks like it came right out of the 90s in terms of graphics, and it fits the screen perfectly.  Sprites are colorful and easy to make out against the backgrounds, so you're never confusing your character with an enemy.

Sound: Slayin' sounds like a game for the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis.  Sound effects and music are sound like they were made with a 16 bit sound chip.

Ads: Slayin' is very good about ads.  When you boot up the game, you get a static ad, and if you want to revive after your character dies, you can watch an additional ad.

Fun Factor: Slayin' is mindless fun for when you've got nothing else to do.  It's simple, easy to understand, and can fill up a few minutes here and there when you're waiting on something.

Final Analysis: Slayin' is fun.  It's simple to learn, but difficult to master. There's plenty of challenges for you to complete with each character, some more fun than others, but Slayin' can be a game you play for a LONG time.

Mobile Game Review: Sonic Dash

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's review is on a game that I picked up when my brother started pushing me into mobile games, Sonic Dash.  Sonic Dash is a game where you run endlessly forward, collecting rings and power ups, dodging obstacles and destroying enemies, with a couple of boss fights thrown in for good measure.  You have a total of 16 characters from the Sonic console games, though a few require you to pay real money to get access.  You have seven stages to run through, though 6 of them have requirements to unlock them.  And you unlock them through gathering little animals from the robot enemies, and paying them gems, one of the three currencies this game has, to complete objectives and unlock new stages and characters.  You also have a multiplier that determines how quickly you accumulate points for your high score.

Control: Sonic Dash is perfect for a mobile device; swipe up, swipe down, swipe left and right, and tap to choose things. Tap to dash, tap to use stage starting power ups. No precision required.

Graphical Fidelity: Sonic Dash looks like a modern Sonic game.  All the characters look like they're supposed to, all the stages look like they were taken right out of a modern Sonic title. All the text is large and easy to read.

Sound: Sonic Dash sounds like a Sonic game.  The music feels like it was taken from the Sonic the Hedgehog series, and this is no more evident than in both the Green Hill and Sky Sanctuary zones.  They sound like an updated version of their original stage music.

Ads: This is the first game that I'm reviewing that has unavoidable ads.  You get them after every stage before they bring you back to the title screen, and you can get extra ads for things like a revive, doubling your end of run ring count, and for an extra spin on the prize wheel.  But there is no way to avoid the ads so long as your device is connected to the internet.  Unfortunately, I've had instances where the ads crash the entire game, freezing it up and not letting me do anything else and forcing me to quit the game entirely.

Fun Factor: Sonic Dash is mindless fun for when you've got nothing else to do.  It's simple, easy to understand, and can fill up a few minutes here and there when you're waiting on something.

Final Analysis: Sonic Dash is a great game that is unfortunately held back by the ad policy.  If they would let you pay for a way to remove them, I'd say this is a must download for any Sonic fan, but if you find in game advertising intrusive, especially when the ads have a tendency to crash the game, you might want to look elsewhere.  But if ads don't bother you, you'll have a good time. I know I do, despite my issues with the ad policy.

Mobile Game Review: Plague Inc

In an age where smart phones are in nearly everyone's hands (and almost definitely in the hands of people under a certain age range), mobile games are big business; Konami, Capcom, Sega and Nintendo all have a mobile game division in their companies, and they were some of the biggest game developers in the 80s and 90s.

However, if you've been playing video games as long as I have (since 1989), mobile games have a bad reputation, and for good reason.  You see, mobile games have one major obstacle to sucking in people like myself; control. Touch screens lack the precision control that a keyboard, mouse or controller have, so certain types of games are difficult on mobile devices unless they offer Bluetooth controller support.

And that's where this new series comes in; I download a game, play it for at least a week, and let you know if they're worth your time.  I'll be judging on a few criteria; control, graphical fidelity, sound, and frequency of ads, if any, and fun factor. And then, I'll round it up to whether it's worth your time and money. And with that, welcome to Mobile Game Reviews.

Today's review is on a game that I've had on my phones for a while, Plague Inc. The premise of Plague Inc. is simple; you take control of a pathogen in an attempt to eradicate humanity, though it's far tamer than the premise makes it, I promise.  You play as one of 7 plagues, plus 4 additional plagues that modify the premise of the game.  It is your job to modify your plague to protect itself from humanity's efforts to eradicate you, create means of infection, and finally, use symptoms in order to kill your targets.  You win by eradicating humanity (or achieving another objective, if you're playing as one of the special plagues), and you lose if there are any humans left alive or otherwise not under your control.

Control: Plague Inc is perfect for touchscreen controls.  It is built around taping the screen to pop bubbles in order to gain currency to spend on upgrades. Sometimes, you need to tap and drag, and that can be iffy, but thankfully, Plague Inc now has the ability to zoom in on the map, giving you precision to get to small countries easier.

Graphical Fidelity: Plague Inc is basic; they use a basic Equirectangular projection of a map, without any real detail, but they don't need any.  The bubbles are easy to easily what they are; whether it's a cure bubble or currency bubble, and which type of currency bubble, it's easy to see and know right from the bad.  All text is legible, and all symbols are easy to recognize.

Sound: Plague Inc has an appropriately depressing sound design; the music is depressing, cries of the people, which are done for comedic effect, are depressing, and the sounds of the popping bubbles are appropriate for what they are; a breaking glass sound for a cure bubble and a pop for a currency bubble. Everything works.

Ads: There are no ads in Plague Inc. All money they make are from micro-transactions, none of which are necessary to progress.

Fun Factor: Plague Inc offers a lot of content. It is the full PC game, complete with scenerios and special plagues.  You can download custom scenerios from fans, too.  There's a lot of fun to be had with Plague Inc.

Final Analysis: Plague Inc is a near perfect mobile game.  There's a lot there for a low price, and it is well suited for the mobile market.