Mobile Game Review of "KARNIVALE"

Image by _Robert C_ via FlickrImagine... you just went to sleep, and you woke up at this seemingly abandoned Karnivale, except there's the keeper... He said there is freedom if you beat all the games to claim grand prize at each game, and there are three zones, each with 3 games. If you win a lot of small prizes you can trade up to the bigger ones, so even if you are pretty lousy persistence pays off. Will you ever get out of this place?

This slightly creepy setting serves as the backdrop for this collection of minigames called KARNIVALE. And that's all it is: a collection of minigames. Some are just reflex, others are timing... None are so hard that'll frustrate (unless you didn't read the instructions), and as stated before, persistence does pay off even if you aren't that good at certain things.

The game is almost black and white, got that "faded photo" type of look, and slightly hand-drawn cartoon look. You can customize your avatar, and as you play, unlock additional outfits. However, they have no effect in the game that I can see.

The game is designed for a normal size screen so I ended up with two black boxes beside the game on my LG enV, not good, not good...

Games are responsive enough, music is lamentable.

All in all, this collection of minigames fails to come together as a cohesive whole. While the story has a shocking twist at the end (think "The Sixth Sense" or O. Henry stories) it ultimately fails as an overall game.

Overall rating: 5.5 out of 10
Pros: Cute story, avatar, and shocking ending, games are paced and not too hard
Cons: Why would any body replay this at all? No widescreen, no overall game