Pixel Chaos

I was recently asked to review Pixel Chaos. I always hate reviewing games when I'm asked to do so because I don't know if I'm about to alienate a reader if the review doesn't go so well and I've pledged to give honest reviews of games and to not be manipulated by free copies, advertising, ...etc. At the same time I like the communication and knowing that I could actually email a real, live person if I have any questions. So, what is Pixel Chaos?

The Android Market's description states that it's similar to WarioWare and, if you don't know what that is, essentially it's a series of very simple mini-games and your goal is to complete as many as you can. And that's exactly what we have here... lots of mini-games and you get a point for every one that you complete. At first I was a bit disappointed by the lack of mani-games as there were only 6, but I could see potential. With just 6 games it becomes repetitive very quickly. In fact, there's a comment as of today from someone that complains of this... I'm guessing they didn't bother to check out anything beyond the first level and perhaps some instructions could clear that point up. The game actually has 30 mini-games included and I'd guess that means 6 per level... so ratchet the level up to the max and you'll be playing them all... much better.

The graphics are very retro and perhaps also somewhat inspired by the whole 'doodle' craze.
The audio basically consists of a 'bleep-bleep-bloop-bleep' after every challenge played at various speeds to provide audio cues of the added pressure.

The mini-games are of varying difficulty. The one pictured simply requires you to tap the screen to jump over the hole. Easy, right? But as the game progresses it speeds all of its challenges up making jumping over a simple hole difficult. Other mini-games include shooting an invader, matching an image, running around a planet while avoiding a UFO (the easiest one, from my experience), avoiding search lights, ... etc. This game simply begs for more mini-games to be added as even 30 will get old eventually. There are also plenty of opportunities to better use the touch screen in ways Wario did that better utilize the touch screen or even utilize the accelerometer... e.g. cut the character's hair by sliding across the touch screen.

Despite easily being worth the traditional $.99, this game is free. I can also see it as being a big hit with the kids. 4/5 stars getting an additional bump because it's free. I'd really like to see an update with 100+ mini-games and with slightly more complex challenges. I'd pay a couple of bucks for that any day.