Halloween Sales

I know a lot of Halloween Sales have been going on over the weekend and it's awesome to see these sales finally spreading to Android. We're closing in on the end of them so hop to it if you've been missing out.

First off... Riptide GP has dropped from $6.99 to $2.99. It's an awesome Hydro Thunder type game for Tegra 2 devices such as the Transformer tablet. It looks and plays great and is now available at a great price, too.

Next... Polarbit is having a $.99 sale. A lot of their games are a steal at that price and I've reviewed several of this. Reckless Getaway is one of their recent hits and Raging Thunder 2 is a great, albeit older, racing title. Toki Tori is a fun little puzzle platformer. And their Family Pack - All In One looks like a great value at this steal of a price.

And then there's Electronic Arts... not quite as generous at Polarbit, but Madden 2012 is $2 off at $4.99 and FIFA 10 is just $.99. All of their titles have a price reduction of some sort including The Sims 3 which is also $4.99.

Finally note that Chillingo's titles are under the EA umbrella and games like Spider Jack and The Wars are just $.99.

Happy Halloween gaming!

Flick Golf!

I really was apprehensive about Flick Golf! and its claim of an 'accurate in-flight spin control', but tonight that changed. I've played a lot of Flick Kick Field Goal and have to admit that sometimes the question of accuracy enters my head. I don't think there's a problem with that game... I think it's probably a combination of my inaccuracy as a human and my phone's hardware (probably more so the former than the latter), but there are times when I'm convinced I've just knocked the ball dead center down the middle and for some reason it hooks. But we're not talking about football... we're talking about golf. Flick Golf!'s secret? You not only flick the ball off of the tee, but you can also control it while it's in flight. That sounded weak to me at first, but after playing it I am a believer. In a nutshell, their system lets you flick while the ball is in flight, but your flicks carry less weight in your overall shot as the ball approaches the hole. And that's actually pretty cool because it means if you hook it then you've got a short moment to work on correcting that so while it may not be realistically it sure is fun and that's what games are all about.

But first, let me say that Flick Golf!'s graphics are beautiful and include great attention to detail. Furthermore, the game looks great on my phone's small screen and my tablet's big one. This is one pretty game. On the audio front there's not much to talk about. Sound effects match the game and are not a distraction, though. And control consists entirely of short swipes (aka flicks) and that is handled well. The game also plays very smoothly.

Your goal? To get as many points as possible. The game does feature unlockable courses and essentially each hole is like a target and the closer you get to sinking a shot the more points you earn. Let's also note that, unlike golf, you get one shot at a hole and those extra swipes after the initial shot do not count against you like extra strokes do in real golf. Instead, you're working against a timer. That adds some pressure to get that ball in the air as soon as possible instead of plotting and planning your next, great shot.

Flick Golf! does give you control over the camera although I've had no need for it. It's always been clear as to what I'm aiming for and the timer forces me to avoid playing with the camera. All in all, this is a game I've enjoyed far more than I thought I would. I enjoy flicking games and really though nothing would eclipse Flick Kick Field Goal. Does this eclipse that? No. But they're equals and that really speaks highly of this as I'm much more of a football guy than a golf guy. And at a tad over a buck this is a game to get if only to stare at the scenery. 5/5 stars.

Clowning Around

I was first introduced to Clowning Around on my iPad and was pleased to see it make the jump to Android. It looks like they did a pretty good job on the conversion, too. This is among the few games that my five year old loves and, given that I'm a bit surprised that she's not more into games considering my massive collection, I am always grateful to a publisher that can capture her attention such that she actually ASKS to play it again. Notable flops include Kinectimals and I'm still puzzled over that as it's a solid game, but I digress.

Clowning Around is clearly one-upsmanship on Cut the Rope. Instead of candy, you've got clowns. Instead of a monster waiting to eat the candy, you've got barrels that the clowns are trying to land in as a part of their act. Then you have various pieces of circus equipment such as platforms, trampolines, cannons, and, of course, chains that need to be cut in the proper sequence with the proper timing to allow everyone to reach their intended destination in a timely manner. I should also note that levels can include multiple clowns of different colors and each clown must land in a like colored barrel.

Is this better than Cut the Rope? No. I think it's equivalent. The tutorial is well done and progression is smooth. And, yes, my five year old loves Cut the Rope, too. At the time she'd play whichever was available (i.e. on the device I wasn't using) as I had Cut the Rope on my Android tablet and Clowning Around on the iPad. Now, it doesn't matter... they're on both. And they're both excellent games. Looking for something like Cut the Rope, but want some new challenges? You'll be in heaven. Love circus music? Well, you'll be treated to a nice musical score while the game gets started.

The graphics in this game are good. The clowns are more like 'clown balls' as the clowns are rolled up in the balls as they acrobatically drop and bounce into their water filled buckets. As each one arrives you'll be treated to a nice 'ta da' style bow. Another nice difference with this game is that there's a physics element as the clowns will bounce and roll to their destinations in addition to just dropping. Sound effects are solid and, just like Cut the Rope, touch screen swipes are all that you need to play although admittedly I've had a glitch here and there with that that I hadn't encountered with the iPad version more than once. However, when I would test it to try and prove a problem I could never do so therefore I have to conclude that perhaps the glitch is with me.

Clowning Around is some solid circus fun and that's coming from a guy that's scared of clowns (yes, me and Cosmo [wonder how many will get that reference]). It's available in both a paid, ad free format and a free ad supported format although the ads are unobtrusive. 4/5 stars.

Schoon's Top 10 Android Games - October 2011

There are so many good games on the Android platform now that it is becoming of difficult to keep up with them all.  With the Droid Incredible's problem of "Not enough space" rearing its ugly head quite often for me I usually try to keep no more than 30 or so Apps on the device.  This doesn't leave me with a lot of room for games but the ones that I do have I really enjoy playing.  I decided to summarize my top 10 favorites as of October 2011 and place them in a post with links to the marketplace in case some of the new Android users out there may have missed some of these gems.  With that, here is my current list of top 10 games on my phone.  This list is in descending order with the number one title being my current favorite.  Remember, we all have our favorites and this list is mine, you don't have to agree but please be nice if you decide to comment, thanks!

10.  Fruit Ninja - A lighthearted, easy and quick to play game that was born on iOS.  Basically you use your finger as a "sword" and try to slice fruit as fast as you can while avoiding the bombs.  Great graphics and a very nicely done interface.

9.  Angry Birds Rio - After having all the Angry Birds titles on my phone for quite some time I have settled at this one being the only one currently occupying space.  It's the best of the bunch in my opinion and the most challenging.






8.  Dynamo Kid Touch - A great side scroller similar in vein to the classic mario series but quite a bit more challenging in some respects.  Just try to get past world 4!







7.  Enjoy Sudoku - Simply put, the best Sudoku game I've found in the marketplace.  Easy and intuitive controls and virtually endless puzzles.

6.  Lane Splitter - For a nice arcade racing rush you simply can't beat this one.  Uses the accelerometer for turning and gets harder and harder.  The global high scores keep you coming back for more.

5.  Peggle - For the money, a great puzzle game that is hard to master.  Lots of levels and you can play a single level in about 5 minutes which makes it a great time killer.  Only complain here is the slow load times.

4.  Stellar Escape - Another side scroller but this seems to be one of my favorite genres on the phone.  Another quick pick up and play and finishing a level without mistakes can be quite challenging.

3.  Words with Friends - Even though this thing is still buggy as hell I keep coming back to it.  It's scrabble with your facebook friends.  Just get it.

2.  Cut the Rope - Another great puzzle game that originated on iOS but has decent Android support.  Too many levels to mention, a great value and lots of fun.

1.  HexDefense - I think I mentioned this in my full review of this game but to this day I fire this game up more than any other on my device.  Hands down the best tower defense game I have played on the small screen.  Get it.





Once I put this list together I went back and dropped a few and added a few.  Other notable titles are iRunner which I recently reviewed here and Greedy Spiders which is a bit new to be on an all time favorite list yet.  Other favorites are Hanging with Friends, Plants Versus Zombies and Random Mahjong Pro.  Finally, for a gem swapper you simply must try Tropical Fish Shop, it's a blast. I hope you enjoy my list, as it changes over the months I will strive to create a new Schoon's best-of post.  Thanks for reading!

Why Android is starting to suck... (or bye, bye SNES9x)

What a controversial statement! Where am I going with this?

Quite simply a core reason I chose Android over an iPhone is the heavy handed practices of Apple in choosing to disallow Flash support and heavily monitoring all apps available on their devices (which translates to no classic game console/computer emulators). Since then the Android Market seems to be gradually digging up and rooting out emulators. First it was the N64oid and Ataroid by yongz that got the boot. Next, I can't find Atari800 via searches (even though it still seems to be there via direct link). Now it's...

http://snes9x.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=31254&sid=c2e475a1848822cc69ed9ad6f6b367c7

SNES9x that is the target. The best part, however, if it Google has a problem with you they just say "there's a problem..." and you're screwed. There's nothing more than a vague explanation. I've read similar stories from people with AdSense accounts. Do you run a business revolving around AdSense income? Google can take it away in a flash with no explanantion or dialog. Quite frankly, Google is becoming a scary company to deal with that is too big for its own britches.

Now, I'll give you that I can still install .apk files on my own and other 'third party' markets currently compensate for this. And, at the very least, Google lets me run what I want to on my phone even if they don't directly approve of it. But the heavy handed policies of Apple apparently exist on the other side of the aisle as well moreso than we might like to think.