Sushi Shuffle by Superscape is a variation on the "match 3" genre, albeit with a good "flair" to it. Instead of picking a tile to shift, you pick a row (or a column) to shift, and you can shift as far as you want, up to entire length of the board (though you could go the other way, as it's "wrap-around". Clearly, the MORE piece you remove (more than 3), the more combos you remove at a time (you could make a move that got two or more aligned together), or even cause chains (remove one sets, others "drop" into place, and remove even more sets). Later levels introduce knives (fixes piece into place, so you can't shift that column/row), bugs (takes up room on the board), bomb (takes up room, but the only way to kill bugs, triggered by adjacent completed set), fugu (special fish, but spoils VERY quickly), bonuses like wasabi and ginger, and more.
There are three modes to the main game: chill, frantic, and kendo. Chill game is basically play as you wish, no time pressure at all. Frantic has penguins start lining up. If too many penguins line up... the restaurant goes POOF. Finally, Kendo mode has you play as one side of a state vs. state fight. Can you beat the average of the other state(s) to defend your state's honor?
Mobile Game Review: MX vs. ATV Untamed
MX vs. ATV Untamed is a series of games from THQ where you race either the MX or the 4-wheel ATV around dirt tracks, making jumps and stunts as you go. The more stunts you make without falling off, the more "nitro" you get to go faster. So basically, it's impossible to just "race". You *have* to do stunts. So how did it translate into mobile? Not too well.
Despite what the title suggests, you can only race against your own class... Basically, MX 250cc, MX 500 cc, ATV 250cc and ATV 500cc. You start with only access to the small MX. If you complete the championship, you get access to two more. When you beat a second one, you get access to the fourth one.
And the race is 2D, sideview. In other words, no lateral motion at all, no turning. All you do is jump, land, and do stunts. Even the stunts are reduced... There's only two stunts: superman, and cordova. However, you can rotate forward or backwards... if you get enough air. Combine stunts with rotating is the key for getting the most nitro. This VASTLY simplified from the console version, which is 3D, and featured a LOT of stunt moves by combining the two analog sticks.
Despite what the title suggests, you can only race against your own class... Basically, MX 250cc, MX 500 cc, ATV 250cc and ATV 500cc. You start with only access to the small MX. If you complete the championship, you get access to two more. When you beat a second one, you get access to the fourth one.
And the race is 2D, sideview. In other words, no lateral motion at all, no turning. All you do is jump, land, and do stunts. Even the stunts are reduced... There's only two stunts: superman, and cordova. However, you can rotate forward or backwards... if you get enough air. Combine stunts with rotating is the key for getting the most nitro. This VASTLY simplified from the console version, which is 3D, and featured a LOT of stunt moves by combining the two analog sticks.
Review of Emergency Mayhem (mobile)
Emergency Mayhem lets you drive one of three emergency vehicles (police, fire, ambulance) around the city, responding to emergencies, which is basically 2D driving game, leading up to a minigame as the emergency. There are only six minigames total, so you can be sure you'll get bored VERY quickly.The result is boring, boring, boring.
The premise is fine: driving around the city with one of the 3 emergency vehicles, and respond to various crises. This port of the hit on Wii felt just too easy, too lazy. Part of the charm on the Wii and other consoles is the variety of minigames (hunt the escaped monkey in a toy store, any one?) and the city to explore. The transition from 3D driving to 2D lost all the charm, esp. when the streets are reduced as well. However, the difficulty have not decreased: you still get outages on certain streets (randomly from day to day) which will affect your route planning. So should I drive the fire engine to this next fire, or should I take care of some OTHER emergency, letting the truck go back to the station, and leave the fire for a while? Same decision and tension still applies, but the "reward" is severely reduced.
The premise is fine: driving around the city with one of the 3 emergency vehicles, and respond to various crises. This port of the hit on Wii felt just too easy, too lazy. Part of the charm on the Wii and other consoles is the variety of minigames (hunt the escaped monkey in a toy store, any one?) and the city to explore. The transition from 3D driving to 2D lost all the charm, esp. when the streets are reduced as well. However, the difficulty have not decreased: you still get outages on certain streets (randomly from day to day) which will affect your route planning. So should I drive the fire engine to this next fire, or should I take care of some OTHER emergency, letting the truck go back to the station, and leave the fire for a while? Same decision and tension still applies, but the "reward" is severely reduced.
Review of "Scarface: Money, Power, Respect"
This is a mobile game review, based on my play of Verizon V.Cast version on LG VX8300 (BREW phone).
Scarface, the movie that made "Tony Montana" a household name, recently enjoyed a revival. PC and consoles got the game Scarface: The World Is Yours, and smaller handheld consoles got Scarface: Money, Power, Respect. Mobile recently got the latter.
Before this, the only Scarface game for mobile was "Scarface: Rise of Tony Montana", and I hate to say this, but that's a pretty lousy game. It's as if two separate teams worked on different parts of the game, which makes no sense. The "car driving" section just have you punch whatever keys displayed when prompted for. It's almost like typing tutor than an action game. The house-to-house section fared better, but the level design makes no sense as a real house, and you basically mow down anyone in your path what whatever weapons you got in your hand. This one one of the few games where I do NOT want to touch a powerup, as the powerup makes it HARDER to fight. One of the powerup is a 360 spin. As the spin is too slow, this move is NOT useful in close quarters, and actually HURTS you as you can't dodge while it's in play. All in all, it's a sad game to watch.
Scarface, the movie that made "Tony Montana" a household name, recently enjoyed a revival. PC and consoles got the game Scarface: The World Is Yours, and smaller handheld consoles got Scarface: Money, Power, Respect. Mobile recently got the latter.
Before this, the only Scarface game for mobile was "Scarface: Rise of Tony Montana", and I hate to say this, but that's a pretty lousy game. It's as if two separate teams worked on different parts of the game, which makes no sense. The "car driving" section just have you punch whatever keys displayed when prompted for. It's almost like typing tutor than an action game. The house-to-house section fared better, but the level design makes no sense as a real house, and you basically mow down anyone in your path what whatever weapons you got in your hand. This one one of the few games where I do NOT want to touch a powerup, as the powerup makes it HARDER to fight. One of the powerup is a 360 spin. As the spin is too slow, this move is NOT useful in close quarters, and actually HURTS you as you can't dodge while it's in play. All in all, it's a sad game to watch.
Review of "BIGFOOT: Yeti Lives!"
BIGFOOT: Yeti Lives! is a cute little 2D platformer. Bigfoot is living comfortably when the news announced a series of attacks where a huge footprint was left behind and damages were done. Bigfoot knows he didn't do it, so it must be... Yeti. Thus, Bigfoot must travel the forest and mountain, fight his way to Yeti (and fight two other bosses on the way) and defeat him, and have him admit to his crimes.
Bigfoot has his ability to jump, and even move left /right while in the air. He can also kick, and do the special stink attack. In his way are a variety of human units, from students to professors to lumberjacks (with chainsaw!) to birds, most can be defeated by jumping on top of them. On the way, he can pickup "gold foot marks", extra life, bacon for the stink attack,
The animations are cartoony and quite good. The parallax scrolling is excellent and generally the game is leasing. However, at level 8, the puzzles are just a bit TOO HARD so that I cannot finish. The bosses are hard enough but not so hard as to be impossible, but when you can't figure out how to jump far enough to the rest of the level, there is indeed a problem with elvel design. Still, this is a fun 2D platformer and if you dig this, give it a try.
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Bigfoot has his ability to jump, and even move left /right while in the air. He can also kick, and do the special stink attack. In his way are a variety of human units, from students to professors to lumberjacks (with chainsaw!) to birds, most can be defeated by jumping on top of them. On the way, he can pickup "gold foot marks", extra life, bacon for the stink attack,
The animations are cartoony and quite good. The parallax scrolling is excellent and generally the game is leasing. However, at level 8, the puzzles are just a bit TOO HARD so that I cannot finish. The bosses are hard enough but not so hard as to be impossible, but when you can't figure out how to jump far enough to the rest of the level, there is indeed a problem with elvel design. Still, this is a fun 2D platformer and if you dig this, give it a try.
Review of "Blue Mango Twist"
Blue Mango Twist is an Korean import. While it's translated, it simply demonstrates that the Koreans are much more dedicated gamers than we are, and BMT is an extremely serious game disguised as a simple game.
BMT has you running a fruit juice stand, fresh-squeezed. You have to squeeze the juices while tending to your customers, and this makes it one of those "run-around" games similar to Diner Dash or ER Rush. However, this one has got a couple twist to it.
First of all, the juice squeezing part is a quick action puzzle. The fruits are coming down randomly mixed in 3 columns. You need to line the fruits up 3 pieces in a column to get them squeezed. There are 3 types of fruits, and you need to have the right juices ready for the customers. However, you also need to stock up as it takes 1 cup, 1 spoon of sugar, 3 cubes of ice, and 3 pieces of fruit to make 1 cup of juice. So before you even open you need to buy up supplies needed for the day. Fruit will spoil overnight and ice melts overnight, so you want minimum amount of wastage. (Later you can buy equipment that makes ice, stores fruit and ice, and so on).
BMT has you running a fruit juice stand, fresh-squeezed. You have to squeeze the juices while tending to your customers, and this makes it one of those "run-around" games similar to Diner Dash or ER Rush. However, this one has got a couple twist to it.
First of all, the juice squeezing part is a quick action puzzle. The fruits are coming down randomly mixed in 3 columns. You need to line the fruits up 3 pieces in a column to get them squeezed. There are 3 types of fruits, and you need to have the right juices ready for the customers. However, you also need to stock up as it takes 1 cup, 1 spoon of sugar, 3 cubes of ice, and 3 pieces of fruit to make 1 cup of juice. So before you even open you need to buy up supplies needed for the day. Fruit will spoil overnight and ice melts overnight, so you want minimum amount of wastage. (Later you can buy equipment that makes ice, stores fruit and ice, and so on).
Review of "Heroes: the official mobile game"
Heroes: the official mobile game, is created by Gameloft, who has a pretty good record creating tie-in games to existing properties. Their game for "Live Free or Die Hard" (i.e. Die Hard 4.0) is quite good and a lot of fun. With Heroes, they got permission from the production team to create auxiliary stories that allow you to participate in some events in the Heroes universe that are hinted at but never shown, or only shown in brief. Fitting seamlessly into season 1, the result is a satisfying mobile game that's simple enough to play, and not extremely frustrating.
You'll play through several chapters as different characters, as the game takes on different personalities / genres.
When playing as Niki, the game is a beat-em-up like Street Fighter. Fun part is you can also pick up weapons and use them, as well as picking up objects and throwing them. Tables can be trashed. Cabinets can be thrown. Niki also has her special "extreme attack" that just kills everybody onscreen... if you can fill up her special power gauge.
Hiro, on the other hand, can slow down time to get past some extreme puzzles like laser triplines and guards and cameras, while push mirrors to get past other obstacles and traps. He's sneaking into the Linderman archives in order to locate the sword he needed. Obviously, the power is not infinite, so you need to save it for the times he REALLY need it.
And finally, you get to play as Peter, who can fly a bit, and at the end, fight Sylar in the showdown (albeit a bit extended for game reasons).
The view is sort of between "top down" and 3/4 view, roughly speaking. The sprites are a bit small but in true console fashion the portrait and dialog appear on the top. Writing is spot on, though Hiro did say too much Yataaaa! On easy level, the game can be somewhat frustrating at the later beat-em-up levels, but it is passable after a bit of practice.
All in all, the tie-in feels quite tight and unforced, and certainly adds to the Heroes lore. Highly recommended for any Heroes fan, and there are a lot out there.
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You'll play through several chapters as different characters, as the game takes on different personalities / genres.
When playing as Niki, the game is a beat-em-up like Street Fighter. Fun part is you can also pick up weapons and use them, as well as picking up objects and throwing them. Tables can be trashed. Cabinets can be thrown. Niki also has her special "extreme attack" that just kills everybody onscreen... if you can fill up her special power gauge.
Hiro, on the other hand, can slow down time to get past some extreme puzzles like laser triplines and guards and cameras, while push mirrors to get past other obstacles and traps. He's sneaking into the Linderman archives in order to locate the sword he needed. Obviously, the power is not infinite, so you need to save it for the times he REALLY need it.
And finally, you get to play as Peter, who can fly a bit, and at the end, fight Sylar in the showdown (albeit a bit extended for game reasons).
The view is sort of between "top down" and 3/4 view, roughly speaking. The sprites are a bit small but in true console fashion the portrait and dialog appear on the top. Writing is spot on, though Hiro did say too much Yataaaa! On easy level, the game can be somewhat frustrating at the later beat-em-up levels, but it is passable after a bit of practice.
All in all, the tie-in feels quite tight and unforced, and certainly adds to the Heroes lore. Highly recommended for any Heroes fan, and there are a lot out there.
Celebrity Detective Mobile Game
This mobile game review is on Celebrity Detective.
Apparently this game is so new or so lousy, its own maker, Skyzone, don't even have a page for it yet.
Basically, this game is hangman on steroids, with a silly story to boot. You're a detective, and hot on the trail of a celebrity kidnapper/stalker, who just made away with another celebrity. However, he left behind some random-note type clues. The most wrong letters you guess, the further away he gets. If he got to the getaway vehicle, you lost. If you catch him (i.e. solve enough puzzles that you caught up to him) before then, you arrest him and you win. You get medals and better rank (and slower "progress" in later cases) as you get more wins.
Apparently this game is so new or so lousy, its own maker, Skyzone, don't even have a page for it yet.
Basically, this game is hangman on steroids, with a silly story to boot. You're a detective, and hot on the trail of a celebrity kidnapper/stalker, who just made away with another celebrity. However, he left behind some random-note type clues. The most wrong letters you guess, the further away he gets. If he got to the getaway vehicle, you lost. If you catch him (i.e. solve enough puzzles that you caught up to him) before then, you arrest him and you win. You get medals and better rank (and slower "progress" in later cases) as you get more wins.
A couple of mobile game reviews
Ape Escape GP
Sony's "Ape Escape" apes make their way to the mobile phones with "kart" driving fun. Nine different circuits are available, featuring three types of surfaces, from tarmac (best with slicks) to rain/snow (best with wet tires) to dirt tracks (best with dirt tires). There are four apes, one has a balanced kart, the other three feature good brakes, good top speed, or good acceleration respectively.
You can race in the "grand prix" mode, which basically means you play one course after the other until you beat them all, with the other 3 apes on the track. The other mode is the "time trial", which means you're on the course alone (with a "ghost lap" of the fastest guy so far) and try to set fastest times. If you play the 3 advanced courses (the last 3 of 9) and set records, you can unlock additional tires and engines to further improve performance (which would allow you to set even MORE records!)
Sony's "Ape Escape" apes make their way to the mobile phones with "kart" driving fun. Nine different circuits are available, featuring three types of surfaces, from tarmac (best with slicks) to rain/snow (best with wet tires) to dirt tracks (best with dirt tires). There are four apes, one has a balanced kart, the other three feature good brakes, good top speed, or good acceleration respectively.
You can race in the "grand prix" mode, which basically means you play one course after the other until you beat them all, with the other 3 apes on the track. The other mode is the "time trial", which means you're on the course alone (with a "ghost lap" of the fastest guy so far) and try to set fastest times. If you play the 3 advanced courses (the last 3 of 9) and set records, you can unlock additional tires and engines to further improve performance (which would allow you to set even MORE records!)
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