Mobile gaming is becoming more and more commonplace but sorting through that junk is often pretty difficult. Writing full reviews for mobile games is often tedious and boring but we still want to be able to help you guys out when it comes to figuring out what is worth your time, so sorting through the crud is what Wandering Wednesdays is all about. Each week we’ll look through the app store and try out a few of the latest releases, letting you know if something is worthwhile or not. This week I get my Pac-Attack on as well as shoot zombies, solve a mystery, travel through time and zap monsters. ~Chris
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Arguably my favorite game of this past generation is Pac-Man Champiosnhip edition. Pac-Man Dash is not that game but that is OK because what Pac-Man Dash is, is a mission based constant runner platformer. Sure, its not a true Pac-Man game. The Ghosts are terrified of you and run away as you devour them, there are no power pellets to speak of, just cookies, and most notable is that there is no maze to challenge your dexterity. But out of all the games I gave a go this week, Pac-Man Dash had me coming back over and over again because it was a damn good time.
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Zombie games are a dime a dozen on the app store, so when I sat down to play Zombies Ate My Friends, I wasn’t expecting much. What I got was a fairly witty lite-RPG with a solid turn-based combat mechanic. It has its quirks in regards to its free-to-play model, particularly as you level up your character but they are minor when compared to the amount of content bundled in for free. It’s fun art style, witty writing and RPG-lite quests should be enough for any zombie lover to give it a shot. [/one_half_last]
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It is not a secret that I enjoy classic adventure games and am always willing to gobble up a new one. The Nova-box designed Echoes is more of an interactive comic than an adventure game but I’ll take what i can get. The first episode, Greenhearth, sets an intriguing premise for the series seeing the crazed protagonist, detective Ricky Fox, writing down his thoughts as his mind cracks. The mystery surrounding the death of his best friend will put players in contact with some very interesting characters and offers up some classic adventuring dialog. What really makes Echoes stand out though is the fantastic musical backdrop which really sets the mood for this dark mystery.
A copy of the game was provided to us for this feature.
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A Thug in Time is a top down arcade styled, twin-stick shooter that tells a story of a one-time street thug cast into arenas throughout time. If you’ve ever picked up an iPhone or similar device you’ll immediately notice the conundrum with making a game that requires game sticks on it. The solution of course is virtual sticks and sometimes this works decently and it does with A Thug in Time, provided you are using the proper device. When I first gave it a shot on my iPhone 5 I thought the game was near broken, the controls were unresponsive and the game was frustrating. Instead of just tossing it away on to the ever growing dead app pile, I installed it on my iPad mini and instantly the game became 100% more functional and because of that fun. [/one_half_last]
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If zombie games are a dime a dozen, matching games must only net you a nickle because they are literally everywhere. That Monsters Game is the latest of that style of game but instead of matching the traditional three gems, candies, etc… That Monsters Game has you matching, you guessed it, monsters. The twist is that it’s not a match three game though, instead the touchpad is used to draw a line between all connecting monsters on the game board and it is timed. Because of the timer, I was forced to be quick and I think that accentuated the fun of the game. It’s quite simple and the three “lives” expire quickly but I also felt that was just about as long as I wanted to play the game before putting it down to come back later.
It should be noted that while the Blitz mode worked perfectly well during my time with it, the Challenge mode was effectively broken by an instructional pop-up that refused to disappear and forced a delete and re-install of the game. This happened on both my iPhone 5 install and my iPad mini install. So if this is your thing you might want to check and see if an update has been issued for that bug before investing time and money into the title.
A copy of the game was provided to us for this feature. [/one_half]
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Unlike Pac-Man Dash, which is a mission based constant running platformer, Banana Kong, is a traditional endless runner. Much like Temple Run, Banana Kong puts players on an endless platforming run collecting everything in site while trying to avoid the never ending stream of obstacles. Collecting bananas will allow you to buy power-ups that will help you extend your playtime and ultimate distance. Banana Kong features a crisp visual style that is very reminiscent of Rayman Jungle Run and a name that obviously apes Nintendo’s Donkey Kong. It might not be particularly original in any respect but the platforming is solid and the game is free so one could do much worse.[/one_half_last]
Are you you sampling any mobile titles this week? What are you playing? Let us know in the comments below.
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