Paperama App Review – free app

I didn’t know what to expect when opening Paperama. I assumed it would be an origami app, how that would work I have no idea. I certainly didn’t think it would be one of the most challenging puzzle games I’ve played all year. Centring around an origami theme, Paperama presents you with a sheet of paper and a certain number of folds. Inside the paper is a dotted area showing you your aim for the level, simply fold the paper to fit inside the lines.

Now, when you first start this game, it might seem like a exercise in concentration. The levels start easy, with the game easing you into the controls, how to fold paper, undo etc. Gradually though, as you progress, a feeling starts to sneak up on you that each level is taking more and more thought and less trial and error. Shapes become more complicated and can only be completed in the correct order. Each time you might get close but it will take the perfect folds to get all three stars.

The puzzle aspect of this game works extremely well. Only needing 80% shape accuracy to move onto the next level keeps the user from getting too stuck and also leaves a challenge for the determined gamer. It is also an extremely original idea making you think in a different way to most other puzzles games out there. Once you get into the main part of the game trial and error isn’t enough to perfect every level, its difficult to describe the feeling of being stuck and having no idea how to figure it out logically. Paperama is unique in this respect.

The look and feel of the game is brilliant. Bright colours, simple graphics, somehow managing to grasp that feeling I always felt when getting out the coloured paper as a kid and doing some origami. The graphics and well put together and the folding aspects of the game is super smooth and bug free. This game is a simple concept but one which would have been ruined without a well put together interface surrounding it.

A few negatives to end with, but only a few. While playing in this bright origami world there is still a subtle sense of emptiness. The game feels like it could do with something to pull it along instead of relying on the gamers desire to complete it. This coupled with the controls sometimes being difficult to manage, my finger gets in the way a lot, can sometimes make the overly frustrating. All in all this game won’t change your world but is definitely enjoyable and worth a download.

TL DR:

The Good
– Highly original new look on the puzzle genre
– Great graphics and look of the game
– Good mix of difficulty for a large range of gamer

The Bad
– Controls are sometimes frustrating
– Game feels like it is lacking a personality

Final Words
Many people will brush past this app not realising it is a game. Paperama is one of the toughest puzzles games I have played in recent months due to its left field take on the puzzle genre. Trial and error just doesn’t work with so many different permutations of fold. Instead thought and logic are required and wrapped up in a beautiful design providing a great user experience. Lacking in personality somewhat, this game is hugely original and fun, but leaves you feeling it is missing what the truly great games possess.

Rating: 74/100

Adding in app purchases in Sand Box mode

Adding in app purchases is an extremely easy and useful tool enabling programmers to test their app without having to submit it to the app store. All the information on how to do this is on the internet but unfortunately it is often spread out, requiring numerous different posts, blogs and stack overflow questions to fully grasp. Even then every website will have a slightly different check list to make sure you have everything down and correct. I personally spent numerous hours struggling with this and am therefore writing a start to finish guide on everything required to get in app purchases up and running on your app.

This guide falls into three sections, I would go through each one and double check that each step has been completed, otherwise skip to a specific one to help with its specific area.

1. iTunes Developer Account

Create product identifiers
Create provisioning profiles

2. iTunes Connect Account

Add the app
Add a test user
Add the in app purchases
Confirm contracts
Submit Binary

3. Configure the App

Add the identifier
Add the in app purchase identifier set
Enable In app purchases
Log out
Test the app

A note on the third part of this section. The code for in app purchases is complicated and requires time and effort to put together to create a working example. This blog post is assuming your code is working correctly and that there are problems occurring with your set up else where. I personally found this component really useful when doing in app purchases: http://www.binpress.com/app/inapp-purchase-manager-for-iphone-and-ipad/1390

It is an in app purchase manager, simple add the folder to your project and you can call get products, buy product etc. Figuring it out myself would have taken much longer than an hour so for $30 this saved me a lot of time. If you are coding this yourself the configure may still hold some solutions to problems you are having.

iTunes Developer Account

Open this link to access the developer account (you will need a developer licence): https://developer.apple.com/membercenter/index.action

1. Create product identifiers

Click “Certificates, Identifiers and profiles”
Click “Identifiers”
Click “App IDs” and then the plus button in the top right
Follow the instructions to create the app identifier

Note: Here is a good walkthrough: http://blogs.telerik.com/appbuilder/posts/13-10-23/how-to-create-an-app-id-for-your-ios-app

2. Create provisioning profiles

Click “All” under “Provisioning Profile” in the left hand menu
Click the plus in the top right

Note: Here is another good walkthrough: http://blogs.telerik.com/appbuilder/posts/13-10-28/how-to-create-and-import-an-ios-provisioning-profile-using-the-icenium-extension-for-visual-studio

Note: When you download the provisioning profile, click the download and it should switch to your Xcode screen. This means the profile has been loaded into Xcode and you are good to go.

iTunes Connect

1. Add the app

Log in to iTunes connect (https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa)
Click “Manage your apps”
Click “Add new app”

For this section fill in all the required fields. You will need app icons and screenshots of the required size.

2. Add a test user

In the main screen of iTunes connect click “manage users”
Then click “test user”
Click “Add new user” and fill in the required fields

Note: Each user must have a unique email address to be added as a test user. Google mail is useful as it allows multiple users on the same google account.

Note: You only need to create one tester user for all your different test apps. Once you have then you can reuse it for any subsequent test apps.

3. Add the in app purchases

Again, click “Manage your apps”
Click on your app name
Click “Manage in app purchases” in the right hand side menu
Click create new
Choose the type of in app purchase you want
Configure an in app purchase for each of the consumables in the app.

Note: Each in app purchase will require one payment. If you want each item to be sold separately then they need an in app purchase each. If you want to combine them all into one thing to sell then only add one row.

Note: This link has a walkthrough of how to add them: https://developer.apple.com/library/ios/documentation/LanguagesUtilities/Conceptual/iTunesConnectInAppPurchase_Guide/Chapters/CreatingInAppPurchaseProducts.html

4. Confirm contracts

Click “Contracts tax and banking”
Make sure all the contracts available are in effect. You will probably need to input information about your contact details, bank details and tax details.

5. Submit Binary

Click on your app
Click on “View Details”
In the top right hand corner it should say “upload binary” – click this
Click the appropriate answers to the questions then click done

Configure the App

1. Add the identifier

Open the App
Click the small folder button in almost the top left of the screen
Look for a file which ends: Info.plist

eg testApp-Info.plist

Click on this file

Change the Bundle Identifier String to the bundle identifier chosen on iTunes connect and in the provisioning profiles.

eg co.deluge.testApp

2. Add the in app purchase identifier set

Click on the app delegate and then add the following code into the didFinishLaunchingWithOptions: function.
Replace the product identifiers here with those of your own in app purchases.

[[BInAppPurchaseController sharedController] initializeWithProductIdentifiers: @[bStickerPackIdentifierAnimal, bStickerPackIdentifierSport]];

Note: This code is taken from the previously mentioned binPress component. Here we are initialising the in app purchase controller with our added products.

3. Enable in app purchases

Click on the folder button in the top left of Xcode
Then click the name of the project, it should have a blue picture just to the left of it
Now look on the inner screen, directly right of where you just clicked, it should say the name of your project with an up and down button next to it. Click the name of your project and choose the version with the ‘A’ made of wood (not the blue background blueprints)

A new main settings screen will be opened – click capabilities at the top
Open the “In app purchases” tab and make sure it is set to yes

4. Log out

Before you test the app log out of your current itunes account so you are testing the app with no itunes account. This means that when you load the iTunes store you can log in with your newly created test account to enter the sandbox mode.

5. Test the app

Testing the app, using break points and going through line by line is the most important part of the whole process. There could be hundreds of reasons why it is not working and the ones above are just the ones which are most likely assuming everything else in your app is working. I personally can not sing the praises of the in app purchase controller enough and cannot imagine implementing them into my app without it.

Otherwise I hope this has been useful and somewhere along the way you have come across the problem that was holding you back from getting in app purchases working. If you have any questions or comments then get in touch and I will try my best to explain in the cases I have not been clear.
Good luck 🙂

Folt App Review – free app

Candy Crush…I mean Folt, is a game which revolves around matching up blocks and making a certain number of colour matches. Moving the block around the screen, when you have enough of the same colour touching, they vanish. Block yourself into a dead end and you lose. Simple.

From the very beginning this game is uncomplicated and elegant. The icon, the blocky interface, the level map, the way your blocks fold out of each other when you make a move, all speak of the time and effort invested in this game, looking, and feeling, like a real puzzle game.

The gameplay is surprisingly fun. After I got past my initial annoyance at the game (you should read my first draft of this review), and started getting the hang of the tactics, squeezing out of tough situations to complete a level. Levels vary from making a set number of matches, matching with certain tiles and placing a specified number of blocks. This keeps each level fresh as once you get tired of one type, a newer variation comes along to challenge you further.

Unfortunately, nothing in the world can save it from itself. This game is a blatant and embarrassing rip off from Candy Crush. Only having 5 lives, having to wait 30 minutes to gain one back, the level map winding down the screen and, of course, the ability to pay to skip these annoyances. Candy Crush hit the world by storm sucking in users with its addictive game structure, Folt though isn’t Candy Crush (although you would be hard pressed to distinguish them) and so doesn’t have the same effect.

Folt is just worse than Candy Crush for a number of reasons:

• It isn’t as fun
• It doesn’t have the same detail and scale
• I has been released over a year too late

My frustration with these games stems from the change in goal of the developers when making the game. Instead of trying to make a game fun they are purely trying to make money from a game. This means every now and again there will be levels which are almost impossible in the hope the user will pay to skip it. This game has the real feel of a game created to make money, not make you happy.

TL DR:

The Good

• Nice simple interface
• Original puzzle design with a satisfying gameplay

The Bad

• Puzzle side of the game seems random sometimes making it an exercise in time rather than thought
• The graphics are simple but not striking, detracting from the atmosphere of the game
• Stuck on a level? Pay pay pay. This game has been designed to make money not to entertain the user
• Too long: I want a game with quality not just quantity

The Ugly

• The blatant and unembarrassed copying of every factor seen in Candy Crush

Final Words

What a sad state of affairs the app store is coming to, when more and more app clones are being released in the pursuit of profits. Folt could have been a great stand alone game. With an original and fun level design, great graphics and an interesting new twist to the puzzle genre it would have done well standing on its own two feet. Unfortunately the developers ruined this game by trying to copy the “saga” quality of Candy Crush. With a huge number of generic levels and irritating “pay to play” themes running through this app is a wasted opportunity and is certainly not worth a download.

Rating: 20/100

Bridge Constructor Medieval App Review – paid app

Bridge Constructor Medieval is a game based, as you can probably guess, on the building of bridges. Set in medieval times, the story line revolves around missions needing completion, around your kingdom, with the construction of different bridges and completion of certain objectives. Will your bridge be strong enough to carry the load, will it be cheap enough to complete or can it withstand attack? These, and more, are all factors that come together to make this game one which requires both thought and attention.

The visuals in this game are top notch. Each mission is set in a different landscape, a different terrain, and has different materials to work with. You are given a lot of control of when it comes to creating bridges. There are many different varieties, (with struts, suspension ropes, covers etc) and the graphics make them look really good. Like other bridge constructing programs I have used, the materials show the strain being put on them to help you figure out the weaknesses in the bridge, unlike others I have used, the villagers and infantry scream as they plummet to their deaths, a nice touch to the game.

Unfortunately the gameplay lets down the brilliant look of the game. Bridge building is just too technical to be fun and if you don’t enjoy the building of the bridges then there is not much else in the game to keep you hooked. The story line keeps the game rolling and different objectives manage to keep the game fresh but in the end I think my main gripe is that this game just too difficult to be fun. I have a background in maths and physics but am no a civil engineer. I can build most of the bridges, but when it comes to completing levels with three stars the game comes down to too much trial and error instead of thought and planning. With no hints and tips for building bridges this makes for a frustrating time.

While playing this game there were many little things that irritated me and made the game experience ever so slightly worse. For instance:

• When testing the bridge there is no fast forward, after watching a few completions the time taken for your villager to go across is boring.
• The lack of information on how best to build bridges, you can get solution hints but I want to be able to understand how I need to build it not cheat to get the solution.
• The options screens are unintuitive to access.

All these things though I could have forgiven and ignored if I had actually enjoyed building bridges, I didn’t though, I just didn’t get satisfaction from completing one and didn’t take interest in the building.

This sums up the game well for me. It has been excellently put together, the graphics are great, the music matches the theme perfectly and the challenges are well done and difficult enough to keep you trying. If though you don’t enjoy building bridges, then none of this will matter and this just isn’t the game for you.

TL DR:

The Good

• Great graphics, beautiful landscapes and a really nice feel to the game
• Very technical. This makes you have to think about the materials and objectives to complete the game
• Good level variation to keep the challenges fresh

The Bad

• I didn’t enjoy building bridges very much
• There are still interface tweaks that make the game feel clunky

Final Words

I really wanted to like this game, it looked really fun. It’s like every time I go back and try liquorice and every time I still hate it. I wanted to like this game but I couldn’t. The levels are difficult to complete, requiring knowledge that wasn’t on offer and which I don’t have, meaning I ended up trial and erroring many levels which completely ruins the satisfaction. Couple this with level after level of very similar structures and I just didn’t get on with it. I think lots of people will love this game, but, lots will hate it too. My recommendation, check it out online, watch some user videos and see what you think as it is a great game, just maybe not for everyone.

Rating: 45/100

Stay in the line App Review – free app

Stay in the line is pretty self explanatory, move your finger left and right to keep the green dot on course and inside the line which wiggles around the screen. Try to get a high score by getting surviving as long as you can.

By far the hardest thing about this game is not clicking on the ads. With an ad banner in the least convenient position at the bottom of the screen the precision needed to play this game without clicking it increases the difficulty dramatically. Pair this up with a full screen ad that pops up about every third play and you have to manage not to click this while trying to start a new game. This is the first and lasting impression of the game, full of ads and empty of content.

The game itself is very dull. With no real skill involved it stays comfortably in the “too easy” zone before launching you into the “far too difficult” zone at random intervals. The line is completely random and sometimes moves horizontally across meaning you have to swipe quickly to stay in the line. Unfortunately the interface is badly coded meaning sometimes when you go off the line it doesn’t realise and sometimes it thinks you are off the line when you are not. There is nothing worse than a shoddily made game and this one really takes the prize.

The game is summed up well by the phrase “what’s the point?” Each trial takes about 10 seconds and so after 5 minutes it becomes obvious that there isn’t anything more to experience. The challenge of setting a high score is pointless as there is no reason to set one with no enjoyment in the game. How this game has made it to the top of the iTunes charts is completely beyond me. Looking at the reviews we see the continuing trend of comments each with the word “addictive” in the title. Over and over again, almost like they weren’t written by real people?

Anyway, I have no doubt this game will not last at the top for long, even if it is only being downloaded by fake online people. Eventually even they will get bored. Once actual people start reviewing it then it’s true mettle will show through.

TL DR:

The Good

• Ummmm… it loads and almost resembles a game

The Bad

• The game is repetitive and dull
• The coding is poor meaning the finger and dot detection work badly

The Ugly

• Ads, ads and ads galore
• Ads which try to pop up into your clicks, breaking up the flow
• The fact that it is such a poor game but is top of the iTunes chart

Final Words

This game is a complete waste of time. It is a hollow excuse for a mini game bolstered by fake reviews and sponsors ads. With the wealth of good free games on the iTunes store this game is an embarrassment, offering barely 5 minutes of distraction and little to no original content. The only reason to download this game would be to give it a bad review before deleting, hopefully this will discourage similar games in the future.

Rating: 0/100

Limbo App Review – paid app

Wow, Limbo, where to start? This game begins with our character, the silhouette of a young boy, his eyes bright and sparkling, waking up in a shadowy forest. No menus, no walkthroughs, no indication of what we need to do. From here the game is a dark and slightly disturbing puzzle adventure game. Navigate this grey world and get past the challenges in our path, for what end? I don’t know.

This game is enough to send a chill down my spine. When first playing, it really feels like you are in a limbo state, I immediately imagined that our character got hit by a car and woke up in this sinister world of shadows and monsters. The graphics reflect this perfectly and seamlessly. Screen static shimmers in your view, hauntingly reminiscent of “the ring”. The outside world gradually changes as you progress through your journey, from a haunted swamp, through an industrial wasteland, past a chemical plant, on and on our character travels on his unknown crusade.

The game itself is simple but very enjoyable. I can’t help but draw parallels to both Badland and Abe’s Oddysee in its macabre puzzle based approach. As your journey unfolds you will come across various obstacles and challenges that you must manoeuvre to continue. They range from the mundane to the murderous. Being drowned, grinded, squashed and electrocuted are all just a few ways our young avatar can meet his demise. All these even before you have to face some of the games harder and creepier bosses. The puzzles themselves normally involve getting over an obstacle using the world around you with each one is subtly different from the last. Timing, care and precision all play a part, but don’t expect to make it through this game without dying. Part of the fun is encountering something new and the suspense that comes from dealing with the unknown dangers it poses.

The music has been matched to the game flawlessly. A calming score, of almost classical music, is backed up by a fuzzy droning sound which perfectly reflects, in sound, the grey fuzziness of the screen. It gives off a buzzing quality, almost like a fly, which draws you into this world we find ourselves in. This music isn’t entirely pleasant, but then neither is this game, the music sets you on edge and enhances the realism of the game itself. It is difficult to describe but once you play you will see exactly what I mean.

Lastly I want to mention the Limbo world. The game gives a real feeling of journey with movement through the landscape. With no loading screens our path takes us through a variety of landscapes that slide into each other. The background, the weather, the obstacles change as we progress, always moving to some unknown goal. This really sets the stage for an epic journey and is incredibly powerful in its use.

TL DR:

The Good

• Atmospheric and haunting graphics and music
• Engaging and frustrating story line – where are we and what’s going on?
• Challenging gameplay but you will never be stuck for too long

The Bad

• No real replay value but who cares

Final Words

Limbo had me gripped on opening with its mysterious feel and absorbing mood. The experience offered is so much more than just a string of puzzles. The landscapes and other inhabitants of this dull black world intrigue, making walking between puzzles just as good as the puzzles themselves. As mentioned before, this shadow world has been designed perfectly to make us feel we are somewhere “wrong”, somewhere we must escape from. The puzzles strike a perfect balance of difficulty: never stuck for long enough to get bored but just long enough to have to think through the answer. This game is creepy and very moving and I would definitely recommend a download if you want an experience like no other on the iPhone.

Rating: 91/100

Secret App Review – free app

Secret is a new social media app which has managed to rise above the slew of apps which are now hitting the app store. These days social media needs to offer something different, with Facebook and Twitter covering most of the bases. Secret does this by playing on peoples curiosity while hiding them inside the comfort of a shield of anonymity. Secret is an app which enables you to tell your deepest and darkest secrets without fear of people finding out who they belong to. See your friends secrets and popular secrets from around the world.

The quality of this app is obvious immediately upon downloading. I am always drawn to an app with a nice icon, something many apps don’t have, and this well drawn, cheeky fox, sums up Secret perfectly. The interface flows nicely in front of you, showing pictures associated with secrets, and seems to glide upon your touch. This matches nicely with the simplistic central theme of the app with the main view bringing a tall column of secrets just waiting to be discovered. Creating your own secret is easy and allows subtle customisations to personalise it further. This app is easy to explore and exquisitely put together.

Unfortunately for me the inside of this beautiful app was disappointingly hollow. Browsing through other peoples secrets it becomes obvious that my initial curiosity will not be sated. The posts are mainly boring comments, with a hint of humour, about peoples mundane lives. I know this is almost the essence of social media, the interest in the small details of other peoples lives, but Secret misses the point of social media but not being very social. When you don’t know who is saying these things why should you care what they say at all.

Unfortunately, somewhere between

and

I realised that I can’t see myself ever coming back to this app.

As someone who held out for years not caring enough to join Twitter, who doesn’t bother with Instagram and who rarely frequents Facebook you can take my opinion or leave it. Personally I found browsing through other peoples “secrets” was more of a time wasting exercise than an enjoyable activity. Maybe if I had lots of friends on the app it would be slightly more enjoyable but for me social media really comes alive when it connects people together. Secret gives people the freedom to share their secrets through secrecy and so takes away the enjoyment of interacting with those you know.

TL DR:

The Good

• Original and fun idea
• Exceptional interface, really simple to use and very easy on the eye

The Bad

• Good concept in principal but, in practice, it just doesn’t work
• No secrets just people’s daily musings
• Dull once the initial amusement wears off

Final Words

Secret is a flash in the pan app very representative of our current society. A unique and original idea, it has piqued enough interest to gather internet acclaim and users. Sadly all original ideas eventually lose their shine and for me there isn’t enough fun inside maintain Secret for long. I loved the idea when I heard about it and couldn’t wait to try it out. Unfortunately in this case the idea was much better than the reality of mildly amusing stories from people you don’t know. I can’t see myself ever using Secret regularly  and I can’t really see why anyone else would either.

Rating 45/100

Blek App Review – paid app

Blek is a weird new game which will surprise you with the skill and thought required to beat it. A puzzle game, move your finger in a pattern and, when released, a jet of black ink will repeat that movement over and over again. The goal is to pass through all the coloured blobs on the page, dodging the black holes, using this technique. Simple? Try for yourself.

What first strikes you with Blek is the simplicity, it doesn’t even have a menu screen, instead depositing you immediately at the current level you are on. All you are given is a screen filled with black and coloured dots and off you go. The initial levels start easy, helping you to get used to the game, and gradually increase in difficulty and complexity

Due to this change in difficulty I went through two stages of thought with Blek. Initially I was didn’t enjoy it. Requiring mainly trial and error tactics to complete levels, I didn’t find it satisfying. Gradually though, as the difficulty increases, the real worth of this game starts to shine through. Thinking about the answer to these problems brought a huge satisfaction, and enjoyment, which the easy ones lacked. Having to think about the space available, and the movement needed, tests your brain in unusual ways. Then having to match this thought by tracing it with your finger is very tricky. If you get it right you are rewarded by watching your line dodge past black holes, collect the tokens and, all by itself, complete the level. There is something very enjoyable about the process of thinking, setting the line on a course and then watching it play out. It offers a very different kind of experience to most games.

The gameplay of the levels also evolves to keep the user thinking. Just when you have your mind wrapped around one aspect a new one is introduced to shake it up again. Some tokens now need to be hit in a certain order or at a certain time meaning that just because you can follow the right path does not mean you can complete the level.

Unlike many other games replaying levels isn’t a negative factor for Blek. As mentioned before, the simplicity of the whole app is balanced perfectly. Levels start immediately when you die and also can be reset by touching the screen. This makes it very easy to rattle off practice runs without having any down time at all (Something I think many other games could learn from). It also facilitates the ability to play around with the ink line, instead of completing the level, which turns out to be really fun.

Unfortunately as with almost every game there are bad parts. Thankfully the one in question here can be muted. The music and sound effects really detract from the game by squeaking, clicking and whizzing annoyingly at different points in the game. I personally would have enjoyed only the subtle swish of the line as it proceeds about its business but instead I had to play in silence to play at all. Why the developers chose this particular theme is beyond me but it is a very minor point from an overall excellent game.

TL DR:

The Good

• A completely new vein of puzzle game
• Difficult enough levels to satisfy and challenge every gamer
• Simple and quick level restarts
• A very wide variety of level styles

The Bad

• The music and sound effects are truly awful

Final Words

Blek is one of the few games in a long time which has had me stumped. Not from being too difficult, like flappy bird, but from really making me think through the puzzle that is in front of me. This game is for the real gamer who wants a challenge and will reap the rewards through completing it. Many games try to cater for everyone with their apps, Blek has set a bar with their levels which will challenge even the cleverest gamers and this is certainly one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. A definite download!

Rating: 85/100

Dungeon Keeper App Review – free app

The advantage of not being an avid PC gamer means I have no reference, when EA rerelease a classic, on if they have butchered it. Dungeon Keeper is a strategy game revolving around building up a dungeon in hell. Upgrade building, mine new rooms, recruit minions to raid other bases and defend your own in this huge single and multiplayer game.

The most difficult part of reviewing Dungeon Keeper is getting across the pure scope of the game. With so many different facets it is difficult to know where to start.

The game focuses on your dungeon and this is where you will spend most of your time. It can be enhanced by constructing buildings and traps and also by upgrading any structures currently made. Upgrades are financed through stone and gold, of which you have two mines for each located in your dungeon. Unfortunately these mines are also entrances for other players, real and computer, to stage raids on your base. The player must strike a balance between defence and offence when deciding what to upgrade and when. This is nicely managed due to your dungeon being completely customisable, dig away rock to create unique passages to trap and confuse raiding players.

A key concept of this game is time. Everything takes time, digging away soft rock (3secs), building a new trap (30mins), upgrading a building (1-4hrs), digging away hard rock (1 day). When completing a task set one of your imps at it and it will complete after its time has expired. EA have of course created ways to speed up this waiting, by purchasing gems, but I think the game is actually better without them. Like the online game EVE, much of the enjoyment from this game comes from upgrading your base and minions. Many players will only have short amounts of time to play this game, on the toilet or the bus, and so makes it perfect for setting something going and then having it done by the time you come back to it.

The plot and campaign of the game revolves around raiding other dungeons and defending your own. This is also a really enjoyable part of the game. Raiding other dungeons requires thought and care as obviously other players will have constructed their dungeons to withstand a raid. Different minions, or which there are about 12, go after different parts meaning there is a huge amount of tactics which can be used to succeed in a raid. As you progress through the game gradually you face tougher and tougher dungeons with larger and larger armies which keeps you wanting to achieve the safest personal dungeon and the best attack record.

This game initially seems too good to be true but the problems creep up on you gradually as you play.

Gameplay balance? Defending your base and attacking others is fun but usually is either too easy or too hard. This means the skill and satisfaction is reduced. There is also the issue of ‘what’s the point’? Why spend all this time upgrading a virtual dungeon when by the time you have got it to the higher levels the gameplay gets boring anyway? I suppose this argument can be used with any game but considering most of your time is spent waiting for upgrades I felt the ‘what’s the point’ feeling a lot.

Time. The game has been cleverly set up so it doesn’t take long to upgrade most buildings half way. The problem occurs as you start moving into the later stages of the game and a building a lot longer to upgrade. With limited amounts of imps to upgrade buildings this is basically EA saying “pay for our game or you won’t enjoy playing our game”.

Game dynamics: After about 20 raids on other dungeons you realise the tactics are pretty similar and all you are getting is more gold and stone. Once you have got bored of raiding there is not much left in the game to hold your interest.

This game has lots of great aspects and a huge amount of content, especially as it costs you nothing in the app store. Unfortunetly the paid aspects gradually encroach on the experience until they completely destroy it.

TL DR:

The Good

• Loads of content
• Addicting gameplay
• Fun PvP modes attacking and defending dungeons
• Great graphics

The Bad

• Sometimes connection cuts out breaking up gameplay
• Building times gradually get too long for it to be enjoyable
• Game loses its originality quickly

The Ugly

• The classic EA freemium model to try to make you pay

Final words

This game could have been brilliant. With a one off payment this game has a huge amount of content to make it evolve as you play, it is also lots of fun to play, whether against real people or the computer. Instead they released half a game trying to make as much money as possible. This game is definitely worth a download but after a few days you’ll hit the pay wall and slowly your enthusiasm will wane until your imps stand forsaken in your once great dungeon. A missed opportunity by EA – what a shame.

Rating 65/100

A Dark Room App Review – paid app *Spoiler Free*

A Dark Room is a highly original new game, which boasts a macabre mood and story using bare-bone graphics, giving a completely unique gaming experience. Essentially an RPG, upgrade your surroundings and explore, to solve the mystery of where you are and who you are.

It is difficult to review “A Dark Room” without spoiling the game for the potential downloader. Much of the fun comes from starting without knowing anything and proceeding from there. Don’t worry though, this review will be spoiler free. I will just try to put across some of the reasons why this game is enjoyable and the factors why it might not be so, in turn, forgive me for often sounding vague. 🙂

What first hits you, when loading this game, is the starkness of the interface. No fancy graphics, no capital letters, very few colours, not much of anything. As you progress through the game, although the storyline will build, this simple and basic approach is maintained. Reviews are greeting this basic interface as “ground breaking” and “earth shattering”, I wouldn’t go that far but definitely think this simple approach enhances your awareness of the smaller details in the game.

Next I will briefly touch on the storyline. This is greatest strength of the game in my opinion. On coming to the game you have no idea what will happen and where you will end up. Rarely is this the case when playing on the iPhone. Are we a hero or a villain? What are we building towards? Where are we? Subtle changes in the game, as you progress, hint and tease towards more answers and this makes it a very enjoyable, surprising and evolving experience as you play. The game also builds very well, each time you achieve stability a new path throws your course into question. This means each step forward is tentative, thought through and exciting.

Unfortunately some of the game dynamics get slightly boring. Apparently everything revolves around wood. Back to the forest you go to cart some more wood. Cart, cart, cart, wood, wood, wood. Just like farming experience in an RPG, carting wood gets boring early and a lot of the time is spent getting to a stage where you can do something fun.

TL DR:

The Good

• Engaging and interesting story
• Very visually appealing, even in its simplicity
• Huge depth. The rabbit hole just keeps going
• Challenging to complete

The Bad

• Some parts of the game get slightly boring
• Not much replay value

Final Words

A Dark Room is one of those games that doesn’t come along very often and, when it does, you have to play it. This game offers previously unexplored territory, forsaking the assumption that graphics are king and instead focusing on the experience of the user. While playing my first run through, I was gripped, I would find any excuse to keep playing, whether I ended up carting wood or not. There is something about the game that feels uncut and unrefined, whether “A Dark Room 2” or another game can replicate this is doubtful, so stop reading reviews on it before you spoil it and download this game.

Rating: 87/100