Looks like there are several more games on sale for the 4th of July weekend...
EA Mobile
Tetris - $1.99
Bejeweled $1.99
Namco
All titles are $2.99 including the recently released PAC-MAN Championship Edition
Glu
As previously noted, most titles (every but Guitar Hero 5?) are $.99
GameLoft
Looks like their games are a couple of bucks off... $4.99 instead of $6.99, but you have to visit their website at http://www.gameloft.com/android-games/top/ to buy and download the games.
Happy gaming and Happy 4th!
Jul 3, 2010
MLB Power Pros 2010 is here!
I was pleased to see a second baseball franchise debut in the Android Market and immediately pulled it down. A full review is forthcoming, but I do have a few initial impressions.
First, note that there are two versions... check the handset list before buying and make sure you get the right one for your phone. Personally, I hate that... I wish they'd code the app to detect and gracefully degrade if specific capabilities aren't there. I don't like the two versions thing. Consequently my review is specific to the Motoroloa Droid version on a Droid. The game plays smoothly and is also an officially licensed game so I can take the role of my favorite team (Go Mets!). I'm happy to say that I haven't had any issues with performance so far. In the game you basically pitch and bat... the computer auto-fields, but given my limited time I'm not going to say there's not an option here somewhere. I basically jumped into an exhibition game to get playing as quickly as possible. Pitching is done by choosing a pitch and then, as the pitch is in progress, adjusting a target to place your pitch inside/outside/high/low. The batter can move back and forth as well and swinging is done by pressing a swing button, and that's my main issue right now... I'll be so focused on the ball that I'll miss the swing button. It's not like there are other controls around there? Konami Mobile needs more tolerance so that when I press near the button my batter swings.
Aside from that I'm enjoying the game... and a more detailed review is coming once I get a couple of hours in and get a chance to play around with the game's options. So far this looks great, though, despite being pricey at $6.
Update: After playing with this more I can say that there's a VK button (virtual keyboard?) on the lower left that changes the pitching/batting controls. With VK off the whole 'press here and exactly here' aspect of batting turns into 'press somewhere on the right' and it's a 500% better experience. I was starting to think that was going to be the downfall of this game having struck out too many times due to missing the virtual button. I find batting works better with VK on... just wish I didn't keep having to switch. Also you can enable it so that you control your fielders and base running. I have not tried it yet... I'll save that for the review.
First, note that there are two versions... check the handset list before buying and make sure you get the right one for your phone. Personally, I hate that... I wish they'd code the app to detect and gracefully degrade if specific capabilities aren't there. I don't like the two versions thing. Consequently my review is specific to the Motoroloa Droid version on a Droid. The game plays smoothly and is also an officially licensed game so I can take the role of my favorite team (Go Mets!). I'm happy to say that I haven't had any issues with performance so far. In the game you basically pitch and bat... the computer auto-fields, but given my limited time I'm not going to say there's not an option here somewhere. I basically jumped into an exhibition game to get playing as quickly as possible. Pitching is done by choosing a pitch and then, as the pitch is in progress, adjusting a target to place your pitch inside/outside/high/low. The batter can move back and forth as well and swinging is done by pressing a swing button, and that's my main issue right now... I'll be so focused on the ball that I'll miss the swing button. It's not like there are other controls around there? Konami Mobile needs more tolerance so that when I press near the button my batter swings.
Aside from that I'm enjoying the game... and a more detailed review is coming once I get a couple of hours in and get a chance to play around with the game's options. So far this looks great, though, despite being pricey at $6.
Update: After playing with this more I can say that there's a VK button (virtual keyboard?) on the lower left that changes the pitching/batting controls. With VK off the whole 'press here and exactly here' aspect of batting turns into 'press somewhere on the right' and it's a 500% better experience. I was starting to think that was going to be the downfall of this game having struck out too many times due to missing the virtual button. I find batting works better with VK on... just wish I didn't keep having to switch. Also you can enable it so that you control your fielders and base running. I have not tried it yet... I'll save that for the review.
Jul 2, 2010
Glu Mobile 4th of July Sale
Most of the games from Glu Mobile such as Super KO Boxing 2 and Build-a-Lot are on sale for the 4th of July holiday at the low price of $.99. There are definitely many values to be had... just do an Android Market search on 'glu' to see them all. Looks like Guitar Hero is the only one that is not on sale.
Car Traffic Control
I've avoided reviewing Car Traffic Control due to similarities with other games and the desire to focus on new and innovative titles. However, last week when I was itemizing the games I need to review I noticed its high ranking and figure it was time to give it it's day in the sun. I'm glad I did...Car Traffic Control is a repeat on the tired theme of landing airplanes, but in this case you're guiding cars to parking spaces. Once parked the car refuels (or something?) and then has to be guided back on its merry way. The game has 4 basic types of vehicles... cars, fancy cars (?), buses, and taxis. Each has its own spot in which it needs to be parked. Naturally, buses move slower and so forth.
The graphics are pretty basic as is audio such as the fiery explosion that occurs when two vehicles collide. Where this games shines, however, is with its controls and its leniency for parking vehicles. At first I was concerned that I had to get my car exactly in its space... nope, just get your car in the basic area and you're fine. That means the games isn't fiddly and is actually pleasing to play. Next, drawing lines to guide vehicles works very well here... the cars don't do odd things like make sudden u-turns and I've had little difficulty getting cars to do what I had intended. Perhaps I'm reviewing this from a jaded perspective, but the game has a good feel to it.
As any mobile gamer knows, Flight Control on the iPhone is the game that seems to have lit this genre on fire. There are now MANY plane landing games and a few variations on that theme. One that I like is called Harbor Master because you are responsible for docking your boats and then guiding them away once cargo has been unloaded. The extra dimension of having to guide the boat away made a big difference to me. Car Traffic Control brings that feel to the Android. So far my high score is around 48, and the game features a leader board so you'll be able to complete against the world.
Jul 1, 2010
Pinball
As I've aged Pinball, for some reason, has become more interesting. As a kid I though the game was pointless most likely because of it's simplicity. What could be hard about pressing a button as the ball approaches a flipper? And there's a Who song about this?? Now I see that the game coupled with the complexities introduced with new tables is far from that and it's become quite interesting. Lately I've been playing a lot of 'The Deep' on my iPod Touch which is an outstanding video pinball simulator... the ball physics is beautiful and the table is so detailed. Then it occurred to me... I should be playing this on my Droid! Well, 'The Deep' isn't available, but a free game called (and this is genius) Pinball IS available.
Pinball is free courtesy of ads placed at the top of the screen. It offers several differently themed tables based on themes like bowling, water, soccer, ...etc. Simply hold down to release the plunger and then tap to trigger the flippers. The varied themes are quite nice... in bowling you have to bowl down pins and in soccer you have to flip the ball into the net at the top of the screen (with two sets of flippers).
The game's physics are ok, but not on par with 'The Deep' and I don't like the fact that I can't trigger the left flipper or the right flipper alone... it's all or nothing. Consequently, all too often, I seem to have the ball roll across the flippers as I'm flipping and then get trapped under the other flipper only to lose the ball as the flipper fall back down. Hard to express in words, but let's just say it's frustrating.
Still I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth given that it's a freebie and while there isn't enough competition for this to mean much this is the best set of pinball games available so far. It also is enjoyable to play and thus has earned some storage space on my phone, but after playing 'The Deep' I am also hopeful that better comes soon. 3/5 stars and certainly worth a look for pinball fans and cheapskates alike.
Pinball is free courtesy of ads placed at the top of the screen. It offers several differently themed tables based on themes like bowling, water, soccer, ...etc. Simply hold down to release the plunger and then tap to trigger the flippers. The varied themes are quite nice... in bowling you have to bowl down pins and in soccer you have to flip the ball into the net at the top of the screen (with two sets of flippers).
The game's physics are ok, but not on par with 'The Deep' and I don't like the fact that I can't trigger the left flipper or the right flipper alone... it's all or nothing. Consequently, all too often, I seem to have the ball roll across the flippers as I'm flipping and then get trapped under the other flipper only to lose the ball as the flipper fall back down. Hard to express in words, but let's just say it's frustrating.
Still I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth given that it's a freebie and while there isn't enough competition for this to mean much this is the best set of pinball games available so far. It also is enjoyable to play and thus has earned some storage space on my phone, but after playing 'The Deep' I am also hopeful that better comes soon. 3/5 stars and certainly worth a look for pinball fans and cheapskates alike.
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