the android gamer

Games for the Nexus 7: Neuroshima Hex

2013-01-16T14:52:00.002Z

We take a look at the Android conversion of the popular board game Neuroshima Hex. How does it play on a Nexus 7?

OK first up, two facts:

One, the Nexus 7 is a great device for playing games. It works particularly well for games that need a larger screen (like board games).

Two, Neuroshima Hex is a great award-winning board game. It's been ranked highly for ages in loads of board game lists and has a large following on and offline.

To put it bluntly, I'm expecting great things of this game. But will it deliver on it's promise?

--

Summary

Neuroshima Hex is set in a post-apocalyptic world with a rich background (it's from a Polish RPG) and is a strategy game where armies of humans, mutants and killer robots face each other across a board of hex tiles representing a futuristic battlefield.

Graphics and design

The graphics look great and the menus / in-game navigation buttons are intuitive and well-designed. All the character artwork from the original board game is in here and the animation of the tiles is fluid.

Gameplay

You play the game by selecting one of four armies and placing tiles onto the on-screen board. Up to four players (AI, or human) can play at once and the AI has adjustable difficulty levels. (It took me a few tries before I could beat the AI at the standard level.)

The learning curve is set just right and although the biggest obstacle for a new player will be memorising all the functions of the different tiles, there's a handy pull-out info feature in-game which lets find stuff out quickly if you've forgotten.

There's tons of replay value here and if you dig the game, there's additional armies available for purchase (I bought them all.)

tl;dr

It's a fantastic Android conversion of a great board game. If you own a Nexus 7, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up.

Go grab it here (paid version) and there's also a Lite version if you want to try it out first.

You can check out the trailer below:

7 awesome free games for your Nexus 7

2013-01-10T10:37:00.000Z

Looking for games to play on your Nexus 7? Here's 7 great games that are available for FREE right now.

The Nexus 7 has been a huge hit with millions sold. There's a ton of great games available and we've trawled through Google Play to find seven of the best that are available for the awesome price of nothing at all.

All of these games have optional in-app purchases, but are still enjoyable without the need to spend your hard earned cash. (though if you like a game, why not purchase something to support the developer? After all the games are awesome and we want more, right?)

We've selected a mix of casual, puzzle, arcade, action and strategy, so everyone should find something here to enjoy.

Triple Town

Triple Town is an awesome casual (and hugely addictive) strategy game from developers Spry Fox. You simply have to match groups of three things (Bushes, Trees, Bears, etc) to make other things and earn points.

Sounds simple doesn't it? Easy to play and fiendishly difficult to master. You'll love it.

Check out our full review here.

- Play Link

Zenonia 5

The latest in Gamevil's epic Zenonia action RPG series. Zenonia 5 is a fantastic looking HD update to the series that plays beautifully. We did have a few issues with the IAP structure when we reviewed the game initially, but it's still a great addition to your game library and one you should pick up and try.

- Play Link

Beastie Bay

Developer Kairosoft make great games, but they usually charge for them upfront. (and most people gladly pay, because, well... they make great games.)

Here, they take a different approach, offering a fantastic Pokemon style, collect monsters and battle game for free. The in-app purchases don't affect the gameplay that much and it's got awesome depth.

- Play Link

Shadowgun Deadzone

Like to run around shooting things and the thrills of online PvP combat? Here's the game for you. Madfinger take the awesomeness of their single player game Shadowgun and turn it into a chaotic and hugely enjoyable multi-player free for all. Deathmatch? Huge guns? Snipers? Capture the flag? All the usual stuff you'd expect from this kind of game is present, with a few twists.

Essential.

- Play Link

Dead Trigger

FPS, Zombies, free to play. How can you go wrong?

Another great title from Madfinger that really shows off the capabilities of the Nexus 7's Tegra 3 chip. Check out that video. You're scared already aren't you?

- Play Link

Plague Inc

Take over the world with a deadly virus. Play around with DNA and mutations. Sounds gruesome and it is, but you've never had so much fun watching the world burn. Plague Inc, is a great strategy game that will have you questioning just why you enjoy watch that death counter go up so much.

Optional IAP's let you jump ahead and get more features, but it's all available through gameplay anyway.

- Play Link

Heroes of Order and Chaos

It's DOTA and League of Legends on your Android Tablet. Developer Gameloft does a great job of converting the popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) format to mobile devices.

Great gameplay and tons of heroes to choose from, (many available for free) mean an awesome experience.

- Play Link

If you enjoy the games, why not share your experiences with our Android Gamer Google+ Community. We'd love to hear from you.

Zenonia 5: First Impressions

2012-12-03T10:30:00.000Z

It's the latest instalment in Gamevil's action rpg game series. But does it bring anything new to the table?

OK I've been playing the Zenonia series for a while now and it's been interesting to watch it's evolution. Zenonia 4 raised the bar with some great HD graphics, but also continued the "freemium" model from Zenonia 3 that frustrated many. So... what were my first impressions after installing?

First up, the graphics are fantastic on my Nexus 7 and HTC One X. Sharp HD with big colourful sprites and great background art.

However, first impressions are that the gameplay is the same old "grind, or pay" model. I'll reserve judgement on this until I get a bit further into the game, but it all looks pretty familiar so far. There's an interesting change to the "quick" actions on the right that now rotate with a swipe instead of switching with a button.

I was a bit disappointed that, unlike previous games, your character doesn't change appearance when changing equipment. That was a cool feature of the previous games.

More in-depth game review on the way, when I've had a chance to play it a bit more, but overall I'd say it's the best looking Zenonia so far with more of the gameplay and freemium experience you've come to expect.

Get it on Google Play HERE.

Wild Blood: Android Game Review

2012-10-23T13:14:00.000+01:00

We review Gameloft's Wild Blood on the HTC One X. Sword swinging nonsense, or legendary epic?

To get started, I was waiting a while for this one. The trailers looked great and although I'd been put off Gameloft a bit since they started (?) cramming their games full of In-App Purchases (IAPs) I had high hopes for Wild Blood and so bought it on the day of release, (for Android. It had been out for ages already on iOS of course).

Firing up the game and slashing through the first level, I was immediately impressed with the sword swinging and demon-carving action. Maybe the graphics were slightly underwhelming, but it was definitely fun to play through.

I immediately noticed the IAPs. When you go through your inventory menus, there's clear links to buy stuff. (more gold, etc) It's not a huge deal and you certainly don't have to pay to win, but it is there and that will annoy some people in a paid game. (£4.99)

Gameplay is stylish and satisfying (?) with an occasionally dodgy camera. You'll hack your way through several atmospheric levels and there's a multiplayer arena if you get tired of beating on the AI. There's also a slightly weird first person turret shooter game that pops up a few times and breaks up the flow of the gameplay (IMO).

The available weapons are decent. The Bow is a difficult weapon to use and as some parts of the game depend on you using it, you may get frustrated at points.

Overall, it's a fun game, with a dark vibe that many will enjoy. I was left a bit underwhelmed though and felt that it could have been a lot better, with some missed potential.

Solid effort though!

Play Link: Wild Blood (£4.99)

Games for the Nexus 7: Triple Town Review

2012-10-17T14:39:00.003+01:00

Today we're going to take a brief look at Triple Town, one of my favourite games for the Nexus 7.

Triple Town is basically a puzzle game, where you combine groups of 3/4/more objects into new objects. Sounds simple and it is, but mastering it can be fiendishly difficult.

This game pops up on lots of Platforms. (Android, iOS, Facebook, Google+) but I play it 99% of the time on the Nexus 7 (just tried it on Google+ today).

It's Freemium

I was initially put off by the game's "freemium" tag. I've gone on the record many times for hating on freemium "games" like Farmville where the main purpose of the game's existence is to suck as much of your hard earned cash as possible. Triple town does have In-App Purchases (IAPs) but I only purchased one (to unlock "unlimited turns") and haven't felt the need to pay anymore. The game doesn't pressure, or push you in the direction of paying to play and that's a great example for other Freemium game developers to follow.

It looks great and works great on a touchscreen.

I love the graphics. The colourful sprites scale up perfectly on the big screen and the UI fits the Nexus 7 perfectly, in Landscape view (see above), or Portrait (see below)

The game suits a touchscreen brilliantly. It's responsive and with clear, easy to press buttons + actions. A lot of games persist with fiddly menus + unresponsive buttons and it's great to see a game that takes full advantage of the platform.

Recommended!

All in all, a must-have game for Android that suits the Nexus 7 perfectly.

Grab it at this Link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spryfox.tripletown&hl=en

State of Play: 16th October 2012

2012-10-16T13:26:00.002+01:00

First in a series of posts looking at what we're playing now and what we're looking forward to.

This "State of Play" series will be posted regularly (kind of) as a way for me to get into blogging about Android games. I'll be talking about what's on my phone/tablet right now and what I'm looking forward to playing in the coming days/weeks/months.

At this moment in time I do my Android gaming on a HTC One X and a Nexus 7. I'm finding that some games play better (for me) on the phones rather than the tablet and vice versa.

This is my Gaming folder right now on my Nexus 7:

No Dead Trigger? Wild Blood? Bard's Tale? How about ShadowGun: Deadzone? They're all on my HTC One X:

There's a few reasons for this.

To start with, I find First and Third person Shooter type games like ShadowGun: Deadzone and Dead Trigger a LOT easier to play on the smaller screen of the HTC One X. It's much easier to move the camera around at a fast pace.

There's also the space factor. My HTC One X has a LOT more space than the Nexus 7 meaning that games like Bard's Tale (3.75GB) are better suited to be on there (another solution would be to play less damn games at the same time)

Oh and what's the deal with all the Zenonia games Thomas? Well, I like them but never get around to finishing them. So they stay on there for now.

Adding to the lists of games above I also have MAME, SNES, PSX, Genesis, GBA, NES, Master System, Gameboy and N64 Emulators on both the Phone and the Tablet.

OK, that's all for this post. It's been good for me to get started with this blog again! Tomorrow I'll go into more detail on on a few games and offer up some reviews.

Until then, have fun gaming!

MAME4Droid Reloaded

2012-04-09T15:04:00.002+01:00

If you're into MAME, Arcade and/or Retro gaming and you own an High-End Android device, you need to check out MAME4Droid Reloaded.

We're big fans of MAME4Droid. It's one of the best MAME emulators for Android and it fared well when we compared MAME4Droid with Tiger Arcade a while back. Things have moved on though and the developer has released a newer version that you owe it to yourself to try out.

Here's the blurb from the Play link:

MAME4droid Reloaded emulates arcade games supported by original MAME 0.139.

This MAME4droid version is targeted to Dual-Core devices (1GHz and 512MB RAM minimum), because it is based on a high specs 2010 PC MAME build.
Anyway don't expect arcade games of the 90 to work at full speed. With some games that are really bad optimized (like outrun or mk series) you will
need at least a 1.5 ghz dual-core device (Cortex A15). This is related to MAME build used, since it is targeted to high specs PC's as i said before.
This version doesn't have an UML back-end ARM dynamic recompiler, which means drivers based on high specs arcade CPUs won't be playable
(it has not sense since this games will be slow in any case).

Said that, with a low end device, use at your own risk. I suggest you use MAME4droid (0.37b5) instead.
Remember that games that can be emulated on both MAME4droid versions will run much faster on MAME4droid (0.37b5) than on MAME4droid Reloaded (0.134),
and will drain less battery.

This version emulates over 8000 different romsets.

Check out the video below to see it in action:

Play Link

Hit Game “Where’s My Water?” Gets New Chapter "Rising Tide"

2012-04-05T16:39:00.005+01:00

Disney mobile has announced an update to their hit game "Where's My Water?" The new Chapter is called "Rising Tide" and is available now!

Full press release from Disney:

DISNEY LAUNCHES NEW UPDATES FOR ITS HIT GAME “WHERE’S MY WATER?”

New free levels continue the stories of Swampy the Alligator and his reluctant pal Cranky

Disney Mobile announced today that its hit game “Where’s My Water?” has been updated with new chapters. In the ninth chapter of Swampy's story, titled “Rising Tide,” timing is put to the test as players control where the water flows through 20 new levels of intricate networks of pipes. By using valves to divert water to Swampy's bathtub while working with fans, switches, and triggers, players can unlock new collectibles and make Swampy happy in his quest to be clean.

In addition to “Rising Tide,” Disney also released today, “Bulking Up,” a whole new chapter in the story of Cranky, Swampy’s Swampy's reluctant companion and occasional adversary. Players who downloaded Cranky’s Story, the first premium level pack for “Where’s My Water?”, can now play 20 challenging new levels for free and unlock new collectibles. The new update brings Cranky’s Story to a total of more than 60 levels.

Since launching in September of 2011, “Where’s My Water?” has reached the No. 1 spot on the App Store in 80 different countries and most recently, Apple announced that “Where’s My Water? Free” made App Store history as the 25billionth app downloaded. The game also launched on Android platforms in November of 2011 where it has enjoyed similar success.

To download “Where’s My Water” for Android, please visit: http://bit.ly/wxP0Et

Xonix Blast - Xonix remade for Android

2012-04-05T10:11:00.002+01:00

We were sent a link to this remake of Xonix from developers Omegalabs and it's worth checking out:

In their own words:

Xonix Blast is an Android remake of Xonix. You need to sweep over a field, cutting off chunks from it with your moving trajectory. Game has several types of enemies, different bonuses, and also the player can buy an assistant bot to make playing easier.

The game supports English and Russian languages and is available for devices with Android version 2.1 and higher. The full edition offers 96 levels (http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.omegalabs.xonixblast), Free edition has 32 levels (http://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.omegalabs.xonixblastfree).

Check out the Video demo below:

Game Review: Avenger

2012-01-04T13:48:00.000Z

Avenger from CWA Games promises "powerful weapons, magnificent skills, smooth gameplay and awesome graphics." Does it deliver?

Game: Avenger
Developer: CWA Games
Price: Free (with IAP available)
Available on Market: Yes

Avenger is an easy to pick up hack and slash game from Chinese developers CWA Games. An upgrade of sorts from their previous title Castle of Shadows.

It plays like a lightweight hybrid of Devil May Cry and Castlevania. The action is fun, intense and full of gaming staples like Combos, Leveling up and Ridiculous Weapons.

The graphics are nice and the enemies come thick and fast and it's certainly enjoyable to rip through them for a while, but the paper thin storyline and dodgy english translation prevent this from being a great game.

Still, it's fun and free (with the option to buy stuff if you want) and we recommend you pick it up and give it a go.

Link

Game Review: Sentinel 3: Homeworld

2012-01-02T11:57:00.000Z

Mobile gaming is full of Tower Defense games, but how does this Sci-Fi take on the genre from Origin8 Technologies hold up against the competition?

Game: Sentinel 3: Homeworld
Developer: Origin8 Technologies Ltd.
Price: £1.85
Available on Market: Yes

We played quite a few games over the holiday period, but this one kept our attention more than most. A bells and whistles TD (Tower Defense) game that gives you a ton of options.

Great HD graphics and lots of explosions and sci-fi effects provide the eye candy. There's also an option to download an extended graphics package to up the prettiness even more.

There's a wide variety of weaponry in your turret arsenal to keep the invading forces at bay. You also have a Commander Unit, that can zip about the battlefield dealing death (you can level him up between missons) and various other cool stuff like "orbital ship weapons" and "automated drones" to ramp up the destruction levels.

We had a blast playing it and recommend you go and pick it up. As well as the Android Market, it's also Free on Getjar Gold.

Creating A Shooter: OrangePixel's Dev Diary on Google+

2011-12-21T11:26:00.000Z

How about this for a cool way to use Google+ Pages?

Game developer OrangePixel has set up a Google+ Page to track development of their new project. The Page is called CreatingAShooter and went live on December 1st.

They've been updating the page all this month with information on the game name, graphics and gameplay:

Some code from OrangePixel's classic Java-mobile game "Black Metal" (2005) was copied. The code uses level markers to move enemies around in flexible and interesting patterns. The code is now working and the aliens now move around the map in various ways, making it easy for level design to also do the attack design.

And a name is born... !

Slow progress on the game, a lot of tweaking left and right to get the game running as smooth as possible, but after a test on an old HTC Hero (yeah that was stupid!) the small worries of having an action game running at 60fps became bigger.

Looking at the stats on the previous games, it does seem that most people are running the newer and populair HTC, Sony, Samsung and Motorola devices, and those shouldn't have a problem running the game at 60fps at all.

OrangePixel games are known for their toughness and this one looks to be no exception. They've said that this game is damn hard, even for an Orangepixel game.

We'll be following this one with interest and you can go check them out yourself on Google+

Google's Ten Billion Sale - Day 9

2011-12-14T10:56:00.002Z

More games on sale today as part of Google's Ten Billion promotion. Today's apps are (so far)

[1] SwiftKeyX

[2] Sleepy Jack

[3] Deer Hunter 3D

[4] EzPDF

[5] Tank Riders

[6] Zenonia

[7] Collapse

[8] MX Moto

[9] Guns and Glory

via Reddit

Ten Billion Sale - Day 8 - More Games!

2011-12-13T11:26:00.003Z

More games on sale as part of Google's 10 billion promotion.

Spotted so far today

Where's My Water
Train Conductor 2: USA
Block Breaker 3 Unlimited HD

day 7 of Google's ten billion sale.

2011-12-12T13:22:00.002Z

Day 7 dawns on the madness that is the Google's 10 billion sale.

A lot of games listed for today:

Doodle Jump
Roll in the Hole
Flight Control
Blow Up
Block Breaker 3
Roll in the Hole (Rest of World)
Flick Soccer
Super KO Boxing 2

Don't forget that some of the other games listed on earlier days are still available for their sale price, eg Backstab HD and Captain America

via android central

Game Review: Spirit HD

2011-12-09T13:18:00.001Z

One of the Apps featured in Google's 10 Billion App promotion. We check out Marco Mazzoli's retro-influenced Arcade game.

Game: Spirit HD
Developer: Marco Mazzoli
Price: £0.10 (during promotion)
Available on Market: Yes

How does it look?

Check out the Video above, it looks gorgeous. Fluid animation and lots of neon. One of the best lookers out there.

How does it play?

Fluid and intuitive gameplay. You'll find yourself diving in straightaway. Unsure if there's a lot of long term value here, but it's a fun pick up and play game.

The touchscreen native controls are well implemented and it's good to see games that are made for this platform.

On smaller screens you will find it a challenge to beat later levels when the screen fills up with bad guys.

How does it sound?

Great ambient techno/trancy music fits all the neon.

Should I pick it up?

Even before Google's current app promotion it was worth your coin. Now it's an absolute steal.

Our Score:

4/5 - Good looking fun. (and on promotion right now)

Market Link

Featured Game Series: Zenonia, (get your RPG on)

2011-12-07T15:01:00.001Z

If you play a lot of Android and/or other mobile games, you'll already know about Gamevil's ubiquitous RPG series Zenonia. For those that don't here's an Introduction.

Background

Zenonia is an action RPG series from Korea. Zenonia however is uniquely a mobile RPG series and appears on most mobile platforms from PSP to Android.

It first hit Android in 2010 and 3 more sequels have since been developed which speaks for the popularity of the series. (the latest one Zenonia 4 is currently only available in Korea).

Gameplay

The gameplay is pretty similar for each game in the series. with small tweaks to each new game. Choose a class from RPG staples like Mage, Warrior, Assassin, etc and then start levelling and picking up quests while fulfilling your destiny.

The action is controlled via d-pad and some fiddly menu buttons that usually work pretty well.

Gameplay is challenging and does involve a lot of grinding. As par the course with many mobile games, you can spend some real money to buy extra stuff.

From the second game onwards there's also PvP action to keep you going.

Looks

It all looks great with a fun cartoony graphics style that fits the action perfectly. Well animated sprites and colourful detailed environments.

All in all a recommended series that you can pick up and play anytime.

Pick up the Zenonia series from the Android Market

Emulators: A Short Guide To Retro Gaming On Android

2011-12-02T14:41:00.001Z

Search for "Emulators" in the Android Market and you'll get a ton of results. It's a bit of a minefield out there, so what are the tried and tested apps that are guaranteed to work?

The Android market has a lot of great games, but sometimes you want to replay a classic 8-bit game, or try out a game that you missed out on when it was first released.

To do that you need to use Emulators. These apps will let you run ROMs from classic game consoles like the SNES, Playstation, or even Arcade games. Emulators can be found in the Android market and are also downloadable from sites outside the market.

Wait, outside the market?

The Android market is by no means the only place to find Emulators for retro gaming. Many of the best ones (in our opinion) lie outside in the wilderness of the Internet. That can be a bit scary for some, but as always, keep your wits about you and only install stuff that you're confident is OK, or that has been recommended by others. (obviously we accept no liability, etc.). Explore a bit and you'll find a whole world of retro gaming goodness.

So, without further ado....

First Stop: Yongzh on SlideME

(SNES, Megadrive/Genesis, Gameboy/Colour/Advance, N64, Master System, NES, Atari-2600)

Yongzh's very good emulators used to be on the Android market, but for various reasons we won't go into here, they're no longer there. That shouldn't stop you from heading over to SlideME and grabbing them RIGHT NOW. In our opinion, they're the best out there for emulating all the Sega and Nintendo consoles. Other apps are capable as well, but these are pretty much flawless. (with one exception: the N64 emulator is still a work in progress)

Link: Yongzh on SlideME

Next Up - Playstation (PSX) and it's back to the Android Market

There's not a lot of choice when it comes to PSX emulation on Android. Previously we would have recommended PSX4Droid, but issues with that app means there's only one real contender FPse for Android.

FPse for Android (market link) is a very well put together app with active development and an actual website with an Android forum where you can go and get technical issues resolved, or just ask some noob questions. (the community is pretty helpful)

How about MAME?

For your Arcade gaming needs, we recommend two emulators: MAME4Droid and Tiger Arcade. Check out our article comparing the two apps:

MAME4Droid Vs Tiger Arcade

And there you go! Hopefully you've found something to get you started in this article. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by email, or on Google+

Game Review: Winds of Steel

2011-12-01T15:52:00.001Z

We check out Winds of Steel and it's promise of Epic Air Battles. How does it handle?

Game: Winds of Steel
Type: Air Combat
Developer: DeckEleven Entertainment
Price: £1.99 (and free demo)
Available on Market: Yes

What's this about?

It's an Air Combat game that sees you take the controls as a Pilot fighting in World War II battles.

Graphics?

I'd say solid. Not quite up to the high bar set by some games coming onto the market now, but good enough to create a believable and good looking game environment.

Gameplay?

Simple controls make playing this game a lot of fun. Accelerometer moves the plane around and you hit different buttons to Roll, Loop, Fire and Bomb.

I did think though, that maybe the gameplay was a little too simple and lies in a odd place that's between an Arcade shooter and a Flight Sim type game. I felt that the game needed to either go more Arcade-like and spice things up a bit, or ramp up the complexity and make it more like a Flight Sim.

(I also found it a little tough to get the bombing right, but that might just be me. )

The Demo version has a good amount of content and you can pay for the full game to get extra missions.

Should I pick it up?

Yes, definitely check out the Demo and get the extra content if you like it enough.

Our Score:

3/5 - A fun Air Combat game that's worth checking out.

Market Link

Developer Website

Coming Soon: My Brute for Android

2011-12-01T12:18:00.001Z

Fun looking fighting game "My Brute" is due to hit Android this Christmas. Already a hit with iOS and Facebook users. (2 billion fights played!)

Check out the video below:

Game Review: World of Goo

2011-11-30T09:48:00.001Z

Indie smash-hit World of Goo makes it's sticky way on the Android market. We all know it's going to be fantastic, but let's take a closer look.

Game: World of Goo
Type: Physics-based Puzzler
Developer: 2D Boy
Price: £1.99 (+ Free Demo)
Available on Market: Yes

What's it about?

World of Goo is a physics-based puzzle game that involves guiding Goo balls through a series of challenging, often beautiful and dangerous levels.

How does it look?

One of the best looking, (if not the best looking) games on Android. Beautiful graphics, animation, artwork, design, etc. The game simply looks fantastic and really shows what Android is capable of.

How does it play?

All the elements of the PC classic are here and if anything, they work even better on a touchscreen. Lots of things to discover and it's a real joy to play through the challenging levels. As for technical stuff, we ran the game on a Nexus One and found no issues with lag.

How does it sound?

The soundtrack is one of my favourite things about World of Goo. Inspiring music that really draws you into the atmosphere of the game.

Should I pick it up?

You haven't already? Go, go now and buy it.

(Note that some older phones (eg Nexus One) may have issues picking this up from the market. Never fear, we have your back. Go here)

Our Score:

5/5 - Flawless port of a great game. Go buy it now.

Can't Download World of Goo From The Android Market? Here's What To Do.

2011-11-28T22:11:00.001Z

We had some issues earlier, when we tried to download World of Goo from the Android market. When we went to the App Page we got the following message.

Incompatible? Oh no! We sent a message to 2D Boy asking what our options were and they responded very quickly with a solution.

(UPDATE: You can now download the app from the market if you have a Nexus One, or HTC Desire. Thanks for the quick response 2D Boy)

Hi Thomas,

Android Market imposes some device-specific limits to application size - I wonder if that's what's going on here.

Anyway, here is the link to our demo version:
http://worldofgoo.com/dl2.php?lk=demo

And if you like it and still can't buy from Android Market, you can buy direct from us:
http://worldofgoo.com/shop.php?platform=android

Enjoy!

So now you know. If you can't get the app from the market just go direct!

(Thanks to 2D Boy's Gil Carmel for the speedy reply)

Game Review: Samurai II: Vengeance

2011-11-28T11:01:00.001Z

Samurai II: Vengeance is a Hack N Slash game from Madfinger (Shadowgun) set in an imaginary Feudal Japan. Looks great but does the gameplay match the pretty pictures?

Game: Samurai II: Vengeance
Developer: MADFINGER Games, a.s.
Price: £1.77
Available on Market: Yes

How does it look?

Stunning. You would have a hard time finding many games that look better in the Android marketplace right now. Awesome environments and well animated characters, really make this game stand out. You also have comic-strip style cut-scenes throughout.

How does it play?

Right, here's my issue with the game. It's tough and challenging in a good way, and it should be tons of fun to slice our way through the hordes of enemies. BUT.... I found the controls really fiddly. They're too small and I found it tough to hit the right buttons on occasion. The movement is fine, but I just wish the attack buttons were a bit bigger.

How does it sound?

Music and effects are as well done as the graphics. Enough said there.

Should I pick it up?

Yep. Especially as it's free on Getjar right now. Be warned though that those attack buttons can be frustrating.

Our Score:

4/5 - Extra points for the graphics. Bigger buttons though please.

Game Review: Minecraft Pocket Edition

2011-11-25T14:24:00.001Z

Minecraft Pocket Edition has been out for a while now on Android, with new updates promised in the near future. If you haven't picked it up yet, should you? We give our opinion.

Game: Minecraft Pocket Edition
Developer: Mojang
Price: £4.29
Available on Market: Yes

How does it look?

It's Minecraft. Retro and forward looking at the same time. The graphics are resolutely old-school in a very good way.

If you're familiar with the PC version, expect more of the same. For newcomers, it can take a bit of getting used to, but you'll learn to love it.

How does it play?

Brilliantly. The controls work well on a touchscreen. Feature-wise, it's a basic sandbox mode at the moment, so many of the elements that make the PC version so good are missing. (Survival Mode and Crafting, for example) but these will be added in an upcoming update. (see here)

How does it sound?

Again, it's resolutely Retro, in a good way.

Should I pick it up?

Yes and yes. It's already great and upcoming features, will only improve an already classic game. There's been some discussion as to when the much requested "Survival" and "Crafting" features will make it onto phones, but rest assured, they will.

In conclusion:

Already classic and there's more to come.

Game Review: Where's My Water?

2011-11-24T09:52:00.001Z

"Where's My Water?" is a physics-based puzzler from Disney. It's been a massive hit on iOS, but how does the Android version hold up?

Game: Where's My Water?
Type: Physics-based puzzler
Developer: Disney
Price: £0.63 (now £0.10 as part of Google's 10 billion sale!)
Available on market: Yes

What's it about?

It's a "physics-based puzzler" and similar in style to games like "Cut the Rope". Your task is to fill up the Crocodile's bath by guiding the bathwater through a series of obstacles. Nothing particularly new in the formula.

How does it look?

Great cartoon-style graphics. (as you'd expect from Disney.) Lots of surprises and great touches. Nicely done UI. All in all, pretty faultless.

How does it play?

Awesomely. I was absolutely hooked on it and had to force myself to stop playing in the early hours. Challenging, fun and addictive.

How does it sound?

Great music and sound effects really bring the game to life. Gurgling water, hissing, boiling(!) etc

Should you pick it up?

Absolutely. An addictive and fun game at a great price. Real gem.

Our Score:

4/5 Yes, it's another puzzle game, but this one you've got to try. Addictive gaming.

Market Link

Developer Website