KMGR of "Oregon Trail: Gold Rush"

Image via Wikipedia

Oregon Trail is back with a new variation... the Gold Rush. People are going west to California for gold, and you're taking the overland route. How will you pace yourself, and what will you do along the way, so that your family (or as much of it as you can) survive the trip? How will you handle food shortage, wagon breakdown, emergencies, and so on? And how will you fare in the minigames? This game is both educational and entertaining, but in the end, doesn't feel that different from the original "Oregon Trail".

The game has you start with your wagon, two oxens, and your family (you, your wife, and 3 children, and you can name each). You can choose a profession which gives bonuses (farmer: eats less, carpenter: can repair wagon, banker: more $$$). Then you need to pick the route. There are advantages and disadvantages to each route segment. Some routes are shorter, but harder to climb, while others are longer but relatively flat. Your food is limited, and so dawdling is not an option. On the other hand, the faster you push, the more tired you are, and more prone to accidents and diseases, and the faster your wagon condition deteriorates. So it is a matter of finding the balance between max speed dash vs. slow walk, and different time calls for different speeds.

KMGR of Bioshock 3D (part 1)

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Bioshock 3D is an interesting game, as it is a true 3D shooter on a cellphone. You can look up/down/left/right, even side-strafe and move back/forth. There are stairs to go up and down on, and you can even "crouch" to go through certain areas. The frame rate is rather lousy though, and enemies come one at a time, so it's a matter of figuring out where to go and how to defeat the next splicer that appears.

The 3D version follows the 2D version almost exactly, as you come off the bathymosphere and witness the brutality among the strange wonders of Rapture. The plasmids have turned everybody into mindless seekers of ADAM. And the voice on the radio, Atlas, may not be as innocent as one would suspect. It is a strange world, with stranger powers... and dangers.

The looks are pretty darn good for a cellphone game. The levels look right, and while they are not terribly detailed, you do get to search trash cans, and such for loot. As well as frisk bodies. You need both health and EVE recharges, plus plasmids for additional powers as you run across them. Also, side-strafing is possible, though your ammo may not permit it except when you do the wrench swing.

Sound is pretty impressive. By NOT doing background music, the game was able to use digitized sound effects with very good fidelity. The scream of the splicer, the zap of the electric shock, and so on are nicely reproduced.

All in all, BioShock 3D is a much improved version of the 2D game reviewed earlier. However, it is but maybe 1/3 of the full PC game. You should give it a try, if just to experience the game world.

Overall rating: 8 out of 10
Pros: Impressive 3D engine, manages to give a hint of the full PC/Console game on a mere phone
Cons: the limits of the game engine shows, 3D engine overtaxed the phone, really
Verdict: a 3D shooter on a phone that works, and still feels like Bioshock!

March previews! March previews!

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Sorry for the lack of activity. One of my other blogs is taking up a bit of my time. This month, we have five games reviews coming up, and they are pretty good!

BioShock 3D -- yes, there's a 3D version of BioShock for the mobile as well! Travel through Rapture, experience the slicer's howls, the power of the plasmids, and more... now in full 3D!

Oregon Trail: Gold Rush -- Oregon Trail the edutainment game now comes in a new flavor! Can you get your family to California?


Dictator Defense -- defend your place against dictators in a tower defense variation... the enemies shoot back! How well will you do against 40 levels of enemies?


Thinking out of the Matchbox -- enjoy puzzles? Here are 100 puzzles involving matches... Move them, remove them, add them... if you enjoy shapes and brainteasers, you should enjoy this one. 


Stolen in 60 seconds -- no, this is not about cars, but rather, burglary simulator... Similar to "The Sting" PC game... Plan a burglary, and get out of the place before the cops arrive, without hitting any alarms, and get the max loot possible.

KMGR of Kitten Cannon

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Kitten Cannon is a copy of some Internet Flash-based "game" where you launch "something" and hopefully you get the most distance. However, it is not strictly trajectory that will give you the distance, but the random amount of stuff below the object. The objects can be deadly (for the object being tossed, and thus, stopping the progress, or adding additional bounce, or somewhere in between). It is not really a game, but a random number generator. And thus, well, it's a bit overpriced.

As the name says, you really do "shoot" a kitten out of a cannon, and yes, the kitten will bounce. HARD. Once launched, your kitten will fly past certain items below. The items are as follows:

KMGR of Schizoid

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Schizoid is an odd game to describe. It is best to think of it as part Pac-Man, part tag. And it can be pretty darn frantic. Graphics are simple, but fancy in its own way. Overall, it achieves that it set out to do.

Schizoid is a little hard to describe. Basically, you control the blue ship, and there's an AI controlled red ship that flies with you. Your objective is to touch all the blue enemies (which will destroy them) and avoid the red enemies (that will destroy you). The red ship is just the opposite... touch red, avoid blue. You don't "shoot" at all.

The playing field's layout will vary, and new enemies are introduced all the time. For example, the "eggs" on the field doesn't move, but if you leave them for too long, they will "hatch" and those enemies will move! Later, you get enemies that will combine, if you don't tag them first, and form indestructible enemies that you have to avoid at all costs!

You will be frantically pressing direction keys as you try to avoid some enemies while tagging others.

KMGR of Captain Galactic: Space hero

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Captain Galactic: Space Hero from Digital Chocolate is another simple control, not so simple timing game that looks cute, and has some innovative mechanics. There's some corny backstory, but that's not the point of this game. The game is cute, interesting, and challenging.

The backstory tells you how your avatar was some nerd intern investigating this super crystal when it shattered and transformed you, giving you superpowers. You are given this spaceship to do good... just in time for evil to strike... Haha. You have to travel through the galaxy in your beaten up spaceship (you were attacked) as you reclaim parts, fight evil, free hostages, and defeat evil (regular and boss).

The controls are cute. You start on a planet, and you can run left or right, and you'll circle the planet. Press up to do a "leap", and if you time it right, you can jump from one planet to another. Hold the up key, and you go into orbit. Once your boosters are charged (you start flashing), release will send you into escape orbit, which you can use to fly to another planet. Each "level" consists of multiple planets. The objective is to defeat the various critters (often, by running into them, but you may have to do a "slam", which is go into space, then "dive" into the target from afar), while avoid the ones you can't defeat. There are also "coins" you can collect. Some planets have a city, which turns the game into a Super Mario-like environment where you can get additional coins and parts and other bonuses.

KMGR of Mini Golf Wacky Worlds

Image by Snap Man via Flickr

Mini Gold Wacky Worlds, from Glu, uses their pretty decent 3D engine in a new way, and the result is quite pleasing.

Mini Golf basically has you only using the putter, and play on 9 holes of interesting terrain. You rely a lot on bouncing the balls off the edges, and avoiding the special "traps" and such on the course, while go as few strokes as possible, just like regular golf, but if you went OFF the "green", you lose a stroke.

In this game, you have three 9-hole courses (must complete first course below par to unlock second course, and so on). Each of which are quite imaginative, and some have multiple paths where you must choose the "safe" (but more strokes) or the "danger" (less strokes, but more chance of ball going off course).

You start by choosing your starting position... You can slide your golfer left or right. If you prefer you can alter your profile first... Default golfer is female, but you can choose a male as well, and later, unlock even more avatars using "points" you earned by playing. Then it is time to aim... hit LEFT/RIGHT, then use UP/DOWN to determne putt strength. Finally, hit OK to hit the ball and see what happens! Repeat until you get the ball to drop into the hole.