Phoenix Spirit - Press Release

The game Phoenix Spirit is coming to Android soon. To quote directly from the horse's mouth:

The game can be summarized as being an action exploration game in the same manner as Metroid, Castevania or Aquaria. The true goal in the game is to uncover the cause of the disease which is plaguing the mother tree.

To progress through the forest you will need to collect new abilities, cure diseases that stands in your way as well as collect hidden powerups. The Gameplay is comparable to a traditional shooter but with the freedom of flying. Using your accelerometer or thumb to guide Spirit through the forest adds exciting new gameplay in a whole new dimension.

and here's the trailer with, unlike some trailers, actual game footage...

Flick Kick Football

I was hesitant in writing this review as I'm trying to focus on games that offer something new. I've already reviewed Flick Kick Field Goal and elected against Flick Kick Rugby as, correct me if I'm wrong, it looked too similar to the aforementioned title. Enter Flick Kick Football, with that being football as in Europe, and maybe we've got something a little different. I was correct. And this is the best soccer shoot out style game I've seen, with that being soccer as in the USA, having tried several. I guess it makes sense when you've got a good graphics and physics engine for kicking a ball to milk it as much as you can. Although, at a dollar a game I suppose I can't make too much of an argument in terms of milking the title. Code reuse is good...

Flick Kick Football features three main modes of play in addition to a practice mode. They are arcade mode where you take shots until you miss, bullseye mode where you not only have to put the ball in the net you are also aiming at various bulls eye targets, and a time attack mode where you score as many goals as you can in a minute. Each of these modes has a bit more to it than that such as arcade mode allowing you to earn extra lives (i.e. misses) and having the goal potentially defended by several cardboard cutout soccer players. The cardboard cutout thing is actually kind of neat as when you plink one with the ball it gracefully topples. The game, as with other Pik Pok titles, features Open Feint support for sharing and comparing scores with other players.

The graphics are comparable to Flick Kick Field Goal and the sound is great with a crowd cheering, good 'ball contact' sounds, ..etc. There's plenty of similarity to the field goal version of the game so what's different? Well, obviously you're kicking into a net that has a top. You can overpower the ball and send it sailing too high. The big difference, though, is the kicking. There's no wind to worry about, but instead you have the ability to curve your flick and have the ball curve around any defending players. Don't pay attention to those negative app store reviews... this does work and I don't know if other users are having problems on low end hardware or what (and this review was done on a Motorola Droid so hardly top of the line hardware as of today). The curving is kind of interesting as it can be challenging to control. I will say that when I don't need it I avoid using it. A straight kick has proven far more reliable. However, as the game's difficulty progresses you'll need to weave a shot through some defenders here and there and thus learn to excel with those curve shots.

Pik Pok has easily captured the crown respect to flick kicking games. Should I be expecting Flick Shot Hockey soon? That I don't know. Should you get this game? That depends on your love of flicking a ball at a goal. If you've got the field goal game and play it extensively (as I do) this will easily be a dollar well spent. If you don't yet own a Flick Kick game then I can't see too many people going wrong with such an addition. If you've got one of them and aren't totally enamored with the idea then you can probably skip acquiring more. This is a 5/5 star title that shares a substantial amount with its cousins, but not everything. And at the dollar price tag it's a winner.

And now for a video that has almost nothing to do with the game it advertises...

Reckless Racing

The bad news is that, after releasing some of the best games in the Android Market, Polarbit's quality has been a bit shaky. The good news is that Reckless Racing piggybacks on their initial trend of top notch games. I've tried a few top down race games on the Android and have never really come away as impressed. Reckless Racing changes that and is a keeper.

It's simple... Reckless Racing is a top down racing game (meaning that your perspective is as if you are flying overhead looking straight down at the track). The game features three modes of play in single player mode called Dirt Rally (a straight up race), Hot Lap (race solo for the fastest time possible), and Delivery (pickup and deliver). Once you've selected all of your options you start the race. The graphics are very pretty with dirt roads, bridges, puddles to splash through, cones to knock over, ...etc. The environment has lots of stuff to knock around. Couple this with some appropriate, deep south banjo music and, as much as I hate banjo music, the game sound great. When controlling your car you have three options... two touch screen layouts and a tilt option. I played mainly with the touch screen choices as that felt good and I'm already tilting my phone back and forth a bit as I wind around the tracks. The touch screen controls are tight and I didn't have any issues maneuvering around tight turns.

The game also features network play and leader boards along with a variety of cars and tracks. One thing that would have been cool, given the graphics and physics engines they have built this game around, would have been a demolition derby mode. I love demolition derbies and have to admit that it was almost as much fun ramming into the other cars and seeing the sparks fly as it was crossing the finish line first.

If you're interested in top down racing games and the southern theme isn't a turn off then I have no doubt that Reckless Racing is for you. At $2.99 it's a more than fairly priced game that I'm enjoying a lot. I wish I could direct those that are still questionable to a demo version, but there isn't one at present. However I do have a video of the game below. 4.5/5 stars for the best top down racer in the Android Market that I've played.

City Jump

Simplicity. Often the simple games can be the best. No complex rules... no complex controls... just challenging game play. A game in which you know you're improving even when your performance in each game isn't necessarily superior to the last is a key ingredient to addiction. I think City Jump hits much of this formula and that leads to a very satisfying gaming experience. And it's free.

City Jump's premise is simple. You're a super hero (with the original intent of being Superman based on various clues in the game) scaling the walls of buildings on your way to ward off danger. Several obstacles stand in your way. This is best illustrated in the screen shot. In essence there's a building on the left and on the right of the screen. You're on one of the two sides (on the left in the screen shot) and can jump back and forth between them. As you scale the walls you are vulnerable to enemies. When jumping you are also attacking and can smash through and eliminate enemies for points. Should you eliminate three identical enemies in a row you power up and become invulnerable for a short period of time racking up even more points. Sounds easy, but it's hard. This actually reminds me of a simplified Doodle Jump that doesn't lose any of the fun in the conversion.

The graphics are pretty good and the frantic music that plays along with the drop off upon your demise are excellent and really add to the mood of the game. Even better... controls consist of simply tapping the screen when you want to jump. This is a game you can play in one hand with your thumb. As stated the game is free as in 'ad supported'. There aren't a lot any options for customizing your experience in terms of difficulty or anything and no, this isn't a game I play for hours on end. But this is a game I've been coming back to several times a day for more abuse.

Conclusion? I love it. This would be well worth $.99, yet it doesn't cost a thing. The advertising that pays for it is unobtrusive, and it's an ideal mobile "pick up anytime you've got a minute or two to play" game. Go get it!

Finger Dance Revolution

I'm a software developer by trade and when I worked my first job we'd always make fun of the marketing guys as "do nothings". We'd hear of them going golfing or out to nice dinners with clients and think "That's work?". Here I am 15 years later with a completely different understanding that marketing isn't just work... it's hard work! It's just different from what I was doing. And maybe that's why the marketing guys would make fun of us for sitting around playing with our computers while thinking thoughts similar to those that we had.

And now to change gears (don't worry as we'll come back to it)...

Finger Dance Devolution is Dance Dance Revolution for your finger. It's the second stop on my search for good music games on Android, but it won't be my last. Finger Dance Revolution is just what you'd expect. Arrows fly up the screen and you've got to tap them as they meet the arrows at the top with precise timing to score and nail the dance steps. The graphics are nice and the songs are generally pretty good. One disappointment is that the full $1.99 version has only 8 songs versus its lite (aka free) cousin's 4 and I'm not sure that's enough to warrant a purchase.

The graphics are good and the arrows move smoothly to the top of the screen. The touch controls execute well. And while this isn't nearly as satisfying as playing with my feet it is certainly a solid engine for this kind of game. Enter what I perceive as the big problem... the track data. Just like I didn't appreciate the marketing/sales department many years ago I think often we don't appreciate the intricacy of the skill a game level designer has to employ. And without good 'level data' a game can be left in shame. In the case of Finger Dance Revolution I just don't feel like the arrows match up to their songs very well. DDR always made me feel as if I was conducting the music. Repeated patterns in a song had the same dance steps and they were fun to repeat. I'd look forward to a particular song. It was a thing of beauty. Here, I don't feel like the arrows always match the beat of the song very well, and I certainly don't see that there are patterns used for similar musical sequences. Often I'll find myself adjusting to the beat only to realize I'm no longer tapping arrows. And I certainly don't see patterns matching up to the chorus of a song. It's almost as if the steps were randomly generated for each song and while I doubt it's that extreme, and I'm exaggerating this a little I do feel like this is the reason I won't be coming back to the game.

Conclusion? It's a shame to see a piece of software where the game engine is expertly developed, but that suffers from weak 'level data'. If you're looking for this style game, and there's no reason not to try out the lite version, then this isn't a horrible choice by any means. Actually it's quite good compared to what I've seen so far. Just not good enough for a 5 star review. I can only hope this gets fixed to make the game a 5 star title. For now it's 3.5 stars.

Edit: I'm more than interested in hearing from anyone that disagrees with my assessment of the level data.