Replica Island

With 250,000+ downloads I must be the only Android gamer to have missed the release of Replica Island. If not then please allow me tell you about my recent find.

Replica Island is a free 40 level game in the same genre as games like Super Mario Bros. In it you control Android (and yes, he looks like the Android logo) and your goal is to find 'The Source'. For free this is a stunning game. At $5 it would still be impressive. Did I mention this game is free?

The game starts off with a nice tutorial which other games should take notice of. In the tutorial you learn the basics of how to move and fly. You also learn about the different things to pick up, how to take control of other objects such as enemy robots, and how to do 'drop and smash' attacks. The game has depth. The game also supports different controls across the various available Android devices (and in my case supports my Droid's DPad so I'm in heaven). The game also has some cutesy dialog with the professor that engineered you as he teaches you how to play.

The game play is smooth and the controls are responsive. I haven't had any issues with stutter and the graphics are good for this style of game. Replica Island is also among the first platform style games... I admit that I haven't really missed them as that's not my genre of choice, but after playing this it hit me square in the face that this category is not represented well. Is this game perfect? Well, one time while playing the first tutorial mission I fell through the floor (it happened right before collecting my first red gem) and couldn't get out. But I couldn't reproduce it and have played for about an hour without a hitch since. So no, the game isn't perfect.

I don't know what else to say... the game would be a 'get it' in my book for most gamers at $3 or less and maybe $5, but at free... what are you waiting for? Go download it now! Or take a look at the sample video below if you're skeptical. Oh, and I see on their website (among the best Android game websites out there) that the game isn't even two months old so I guess I'm not that late to the party... but still... 250,000+ downloads!! I think people with Android's do indeed play games and use the Market. I wonder what kind of Android Market action they would have seen at $1 a copy? 5/5 stars... no question about it.