100 Balls App Review – free app

I was very excited when I decided to review 100 Balls. I love games which involve tracking falling objects and 100 balls looks like one of the first good ones in a long time. Floating cups rotate around a fixed container which holds 100 yellow balls. Touching the screen lets your balls drop down to the cups below, which scores points. Different colour cups offer increased numbers of points. No balls in a cup? Lose the cup! Miss a cup? Lose the ball! How long can you survive?

I’ll start with the good things about this game. The graphics are simple and smooth with the stark colours contrasting well on the grey background. This game is not complicated so the changing colours of the cups and the bright colours of the balls go perfectly with the simple mood of the whole app. The soundtrack, which is dangerously close to the Muse song “Starlight”, turns out this great song to play 100 balls to.

Phew! Good to get that out the way. Now for the rest:

The gameplay is awful and the game quickly goes down hill, once you start playing, due to being incredibly boring. I only lasted 3 games before I found an excuse to do something else. The problem really comes from games taking too long coupled with the lack of point in playing. It just isn’t enjoyable! Dropping your balls into the cups isn’t satisfying meaning the game gradually drains your enthusiasm in a slow demise which can last about 10 minutes. The developers have tried to add some variety by changing the colour of the cups but considering how this doesn’t change the dynamics of the game they can’t of thought about it for very long. Where are the different cup routes, the different sized balls, why do we only get to use 20 balls at a time, any variation at all, just give me something! But no, after the first couple of games (there are no instructions meaning you won’t know how to play initially) you’ll be bored. 😦

This raises an interesting question. The game has loads of reviews which mainly sing its praises, who the hell are these people that rate such a boring game so highly? For me there seems to be something very fishy about the iTunes store review system. I enjoyed flappyBird as much as the next guy, I have played most of the popular games on the iPhone for the last few years, reached level 440ish on Candy Crush. How can I be so different to the majority with regards to this game? I must conclude that it isn’t me and it is something else.

TL DR:

The Good

• If you like Muse you’ll enjoy the soundtrack

The Bad

• No variation to the gameplay
• How have they managed to make dropping balls, into cups, unsatisfying
• Games take too long to complete
• Linear and unimaginative achievements

The Ugly

• After 1 or 2 plays you will be bored and won’t want to play any more

Final Words

This is probably the most boring game I have played on the iPhone since I first got one. Never have I put down a game after so short a time. It is difficult to tell how they went to wrong with this game, the premise is a classic, but the combination of too long game times, lack of variation and being devoid of any sense of satisfaction go to make this game a very disappointing experience. Take my advice, don’t download this game, don’t read the reviews, don’t waste your time.

Rating: 5/100

Monument Valley App Review – paid app

Monument Valley is part of a new revival of apps on the app store which are focusing on quality and mood instead of cheap gains and in app purchases. A 3D puzzle game, the vague plot revolves around directing our “silent princess” through various 3D castle mazes to reach the end point in each. The distinguishing factor of this game is the Escher-eque level design which encourages you to think outside the box to solve the seemingly impossible situations. With its distinctive graphics and mysterious lead lady, Monument Valley, has a lot to offer.

The graphics of this game are absolutely mind blowing. Each level has been sculpted to fit together perfectly and looks amazing. As the game progresses you will navigate castles in the sky, pandora’s box, battlements rising out of stormy seas and many different designs. Each is beautiful in how the blocky graphics delicately fit together to form the world. The characters equally are simple but immaculately designed, I love the playful but sinister look of the crow people who come in and out of this game and are deep down part of the ongoing plot.

This couples excellently with the overall mood to the game. The storyline leaves a lot to the imagination and slowly reveals clues as the game progresses, our protagonist doesn’t speak which seems just right in this calm and beautiful world. The music jangles, discordant, and serves to, again, build a mood and atmosphere which draws you into the game.

Developing this game must have been a monumental challenge due to the complexity of the graphics and the levels. They really went all out creating this game but in this the level design I feel they fell short. While playing I experienced moments of clarity and amazement, when the answer is suddenly obvious, but these are spread thinly between levels which are too easy, only requiring a point and click. It was a strange experience for me. I wanted to finish the story but, at times, I was bored completing some levels, even set in this amazingly detailed and created world.

TL DR:

The Good

• Amazing graphics
• An interesting storyline filled with simple but engaging characters
• Brilliant music which fits the game perfectly
• Some moments in the game will blow your mind

The Bad

• Too many levels are too easy reducing the overall enjoyment
• Not much replay value

Final Words

Monument Valley is a game that I want to love but come away with mixed feelings towards. Everything about this game is balanced perfectly to transport the player to a magical kingdom, unfortunately when you get there the gameplay doesn’t live up to expectations. I would definitely recommend this game to anyone, any age, the experience is truly on another level. It’s just a shame the gameplay let down what could have been a very memorable game.

Rating: 65/100

Smash Hit App Review – free app

Smash Hit is a side scrolling game with a difference. With stylish 3D graphics, futuristic music and a novel twist on the “survive as long as you can” genre, it certainly looks like a bargain, being free, on the iTunes store. The game involves travelling a predetermined road while navigating glass objects moving in your way. The only defence you have is a limited amount of ball bearings, which you can fire with a screen tap, to smash anything in your path. Upgrade the number you fire by hitting crystal targets and survive for as long as you can.

The first time you play this game it is surprising how enjoyable it is. The speed ramps up slowly enabling you to get to grips with the controls and as you progress the obstacles in your way get faster, studier and harder to anticipate. The game rewards you for hitting streaks of targets and this keeps you continuously on your toes. One miss and you are back to only one projectile, making the game significantly harder. The music is good and adds atmosphere and each level has a different twist to the last adding variety.

The problem comes when you start your second game. Unless you pay for the game you have to start back at the beginning and this combines with other features making the game quite boring.

The Culprits

• One attempt takes too long for even the experienced toilet gamer
• The game is initially too easy and then gets too hard too quick reducing the satisfaction of playing
• Hitting targets isn’t satisfying – I don’t know why but it really isn’t
• Levels look and feel very similar

I could talk more about each point individually but sometimes a game just doesn’t work and this game doesn’t work on almost every level. For the sake of a fair review I have gone back and played multiple games but each one is just a bit tiring. You die when you run out of ball bearings and the game slowly leeches them from you meaning you can see your inevitable demise. But even with the end in sight this game makes you continue for at least 5 minutes before you can finally die and do something else.

In my opinion, they have gotten pretty much everything wrong. There is no incentive for me to pay and no incentive for me to play, I just want to go back to playing 2048 (still stuck on that damn 4096 square).

It’s hard not to be all doom and gloom about Smash Hit. The music is upbeat and engaging and the graphics are really nice to look at. Very few games on the iPhone attempt to release in 3D and this one really lifts itself above the other with it’s smooth and good looking graphics. Who knows maybe you will enjoy it more than I have.

TL DR:

The Good

• Nice 3D graphics
• Engaging music

The Bad

• Very little satisfaction from playing
• Low replay-ability in the free version
• Levels are long, so so long

The Ugly

• Repetitive and boring gameplay

Final Words

Smash Hit looks great but, on closer inspection, has nothing going on inside. This game is a step down from many new games coming out, it lacks the inventiveness and inspiration that others have which apps need to make them big in the app store. Rarely have I killed myself in a game just so I could stop playing it but Smash Hit takes too long to play and every minute of that game will be a minute wasted. Sorry Smash Hit but this game is awful.

Rating: 11/100

Universal Zoom App Review – paid app

On first glance Universal Zoom might not look like much but, on closer inspection, a hugely detailed and interesting app is revealed. Universal Zoom is an educational app which puts everything in the known universe into perspective of its actual size. Starting in the middle, with humans, swipe left or right to get bigger or smaller. From there, go from the smallest particles, to the edges of the known universe, passing everything else in between. This app is a snapshot of the minuscule and the massive with interesting information, about each, at every turn.

The first thing you will notice when opening this app is how interesting it is. You’ll recognise most of the initial items and animals (elephants, cicadas, ostriches) but it doesn’t take long for more unusual objects and animals to pop up (pangolins, Olympus Mons, the world’s smallest snowman). This is the real magic of the app. Slow swiping brings back many long forgotten memories, as a child poring over books on space ships and insects. It is amazing how we forget, as we grow up, the amazement we used to have with the world around us. This is an app that attempts to rekindle that feeling. Whether for use with children, or just interest as an adult, this app hits the nail on the head.

From an educational standpoint this app is excellent. While swiping, a quick click opens a dialogue box. This rewards you with a small amount of information about the object that you are looking at. For any age this kind of interaction really sparks the imagination and gets the user intrigued. I am not saying that I am going to research every single object on the list but it certainly got me thinking about the world around me. For kids this feeling with be replicated ten fold. All a child needs is a pinch of information and their inquisitive natures shine through.
The great thing about this app is, due to its very nature, the range is huge, meaning there is something for everyone to get excited about.

Part of the reason I enjoyed using this app so much were the memories it brought back. The interface really adds to this affect. The pictures feel like they have been taken out of the old books I used to read from. The rockets and animals, the buildings and the stars, all seem familiar to me. The interface itself fits together really well and is very easy to use, making it perfect for users of any age. Swiping left or right increases or decreases the picture size and they scale with your swipes, until they are too small, or big, to see. This means that at any one time you only have a few comparable items on screen at once. This really helps keep proportion with what you are looking at,  and saves you from information overload.

The music on this app is its only negative point. Like waiting in a lift or being left on hold, it seems like a song one would put on to calm children when encourages them to behave. I don’t know what music I want to hear but this one is too clean and sterile for me. It, somehow, made me feel less interested by being so mundane. You can turn the music off, which I recommend, but it is a shame that the music didn’t reflect the rest of the app in its quality and attention to detail.

TL DR:

The Good

• An interesting app that will remind you of your childhood books
• Simple but detailed and very factual
• Nice smooth interface with excellent graphics

The Bad

• The music is mild and boring
• The app is quite expensive

Final words

This app is one of the first I have seen which is aimed at educating, rather than distracting, young to intermediate kids. The pictures are great and the app goes deeper into detail offering glimpses at topics to encourage children to look further. There is a huge amount more content than first assumed and stumbling onto quirky scaled objects adds a nice light touch. It is a shame that this app is so expensive as I think it might put people off. I would definitely recommend downloading this for kids of any age as it will go a long way in increasing their interest in their surroundings and the world as a whole.

Rating 77/100

2048 App Review – free app

If this is the first time you are hearing about 2048 then free up your schedule and prepare for long toilet breaks. A very simple concept, combining numerical squares in a 4×4 grid, at first glance might not seem obviously fun. Why then, is this game currently sweeping the world? You’ll see soon enough. Swipe the board in any direction to move the squares to that side, if any two identical squares get swiped together then they combine into their sum (2+2=4, 4+4=8 etc). After every swipe a new 2 or 4 tile appears on the board, gradually, as the numbers get higher, the board starts to fill up and the real quest begins. Creating that hallowed 2048 square.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “It doesn’t sound like much” “I’ll get bored in 5 minutes”. Go on then, play it for 5 minutes, you’ll see what I mean. This game is one of a new breed of games emerging: simple to play, difficult to beat. This is no flappy bird. Gone is the random luck. Mistakes will cost you just as much though, one wrong swipe won’t kill you, but you’ll feel the repercussions for the rest of that game.

The simplicity of this game is a big part of its success. The interface is basic but marries up perfectly to give a really good gaming experience. It requires no menus, even the highscore feature seems to be an afterthought, all you need is the board to complete the challenge. When you first play you’ll feel the same satisfaction we’ve all felt, in swiping two tiles together and them combining nicely. Don’t worry, this satisfaction never leaves. If anything, it probably gets greater the more you play due to stringing together bigger combos and squeezing out of impossible situations. It might be difficult, from the outside, to see why this game is so satisfying, but it is.

Unfortunately with a simple game like this there are always going to be negatives. The music is absolutely atrocious. I don’t think I could create a soundtrack that grates and jangles together worse if I consciously tried. Never play with the sound on! How the person who created such a satisfying feeling of combining two blocks then created such a repetitive and irritating noise is completely beyond me.

The other feature which manages to almost ruin some versions of the game is the ads. With this game being such a huge success all over the world I would have hoped they would have released some cool backgrounds for people to buy. Instead they have relied on ads. This means that every couple of minutes a swipe goes astray and off you go to the app store. You can pay to remove these ads but I always feel that paying to remove ads is like buying a tshirt and paying extra for it to be clean – why can’t you just give us a good product? In the long run they’d reap the rewards.

2048 seems to be a game which has come together perfectly. The difficulty is just right to make the game very difficult but possible through perseverance and thought. This makes it a great game to compete with your friends on. I swore that I would stop playing once I achieved a 2048. Now, with my friends closing in on the 8192, I’m not so sure. This game might end up being a flash in the pan, but during this flash, being the best is important. Once someone maxes out the game the race is won, but until then, game on!

TL DR:

The Good

• Fun and satisfying to play
• Difficult enough to encourage competition
• Simple but requires thought to complete

The Bad

• The music is awful
• The ads are a pain
• Won’t be fun once everyone is bored with it

Final Words

Play 2048 soon, if you’re late too the party then you’ll have missed out. Like Flappy Bird in its hey-day, a lot of the enjoyment comes from its social aspect. With all of your friends playing, going for a high score is fun and challenging. The dynamic is simple yet satisfying and the game itself is difficult enough, and time consuming enough, to keep even the most avid gamer distracted for weeks. Once bored of the game, though, you will never come back. There is nothing to enhance this game further. Gimmicks will be added, similar games created, but essentially this game is too simple to entertain for an extended period of time.

Rating: 75/100

Duet App Review – paid app

Duet is a highly original game the like of which is distinctly lacking on the app store. The game ‘revolves’ around the concept of dodging moving blocks but with an original twist. Pressing the right or left sides of the screen rotates two orbs in clockwise or anti-clockwise directions. Both orbs must survive the course and make it through the obstacles that gradually increase in speed, difficulty and opacity. Each level repeats when you die meaning that gradually you will learn the intricacies and tricks to each helping survival rates.

The gameplay of this game is great, starting slow and teaching you the basics, Duet gradually ramps up the speed and complexity meaning you are constantly being faced with new situations to manoeuvre. Initially I found the concept quite daunting, keeping the relative position of two objects in your head, and looking after them both, is not something that comes naturally. Gradually though you learn the game and progress, getting much better at anticipating the dangers and moving your orbs instinctively. The speed of the orbs is set to perfectly compliment the moving obstacles meaning you can link combos together to navigate as efficiently as possible.

Another really cool feature which seriously enhances the game is the “paint”. Your orbs, blue and red, seem to be made of some sort of paint, that splatters the obstacles when you die. This paint remains for the duration of your play session reminding you where you previously met your demise. For me this was a lovely touch as it breaks up the monotony that could be felt on this rather black and white game. As well as helping you recognise tough spots it also bundles each effort into the whole level experience. No attempt is wasted as each time a marker of previous fails welcomes you and helps you out.

One of the reasons this game appeals to me so much is that it is difficult, but in an fun way. I am tired of games which seem to be aimed at young kids with bad spacial awareness skills. This game is a breath of fresh air as it is hard, but manageable, with practice and perseverance. Each of the levels has it’s own distinct quirks and challenges but each is very possible if you are quick and accurate enough. Unlike other repeat-to-win games it requires skill to complete. I have often spent over an hour on some of the particularly difficult levels, coming away no closer to completion, only to complete it first go in the next session I tried.

For those of you who really like a challenge, Duet has a great surprise in store. Each level, as well as testing your reactions and skill, now tests your problem solving. During the first completion survival is the only goal. The second time you can try to ‘perfect’ every level but completing it with the lowest screen touch score possible. This, once again, breaths new life into the game, the easiest level gets harder and the hard ones get maddening, as one mad dash completion won’t cut it this time.

The music of this game, when compared to some of the other games I have played in the last few months, was the only let down for me. Repetative and without feeling, the music plays on loop, rewinding back when you die, in a mild techno theme. For me it seemed to highlight some of the repetitive features of the game I previously had been oblivious of. I did find, after a while, the music faded into my subconscious and helped slightly in staying in rhythm with the level but for me it didn’t add as much as it potentially could have.

The game also provides a lot of replay value with a range of modes keeping you supplied with new and original levels. Endless mode provides a constant stream of steadily increasing levels and a slowly increasing life bar to allow you some wiggle room with mistakes. The new daily challenge mode is also good as every day it provides three levels of varying difficulty and encourages you to complete them every day to maintain your streak. All in all a lot to keep you going.

TL DR:

The Good

• The gameplay is a fresh and original idea excellently developed
• Orbs painting the landscape seriously increase the enjoyability and replay-ability
• Wide range of difficulty to satisfy evening the highest level of gamer
• Lots of features to keep you playing for hours

The Bad

• The music, though good, doesn’t quite do it for me

Final words

Duet is a rare foray onto the app store with a new game idea. This game will challenge your mind in ways that you couldn’t of thought possible and is really satisfying to practice and master. The levels are each unique and the running commentary in the game breaks up the possible boredom of level progression. With a huge amount of content, and loads of levels, this app is a must for everyone.

Rating 82/100

Talking Angela App Review – free app

Angela is a cat, sitting in a cafe in Paris, who just wants to chat to you. Have a conversation with Angela about anything and she will respond, not only, to what you say but your facial expressions too. She can express a range of emotions depending on how you interact with her, Angela is an AI app which is aimed both at adults and children meant to be fun and interesting to interact with. I find this a really cool concept which is only going to get bigger as we move forward into the future.

The reason I chose this app to review was due to the media furore which has been whipped up around it. This app is apparently ‘created by a paedophile ring, trying to get the personal information of children everywhere and spying on the children using it’. Reading some of the reviews is really quite hilarious due to people claiming that if you take a screen shot you can even see the pedos watching from out of Angela’s eyes. Fortunately this is just a big indecent hoax sweeping the internet but I wanted to look into the app to see if there was anything behind the rather creepy things Angela comes out with and if without this media attention, Talking Angela requires any notice at all.

I found that talking to Angela is, initially, quite a novel experience which quickly loses it’s charm and becomes boring. I put this down to two main reasons:

1. Angela doesn’t have much of interest to say – and for an app I am expecting to talk to this is not ideal. Normally starting on clothes and the weather she often ends up running a quiz which engulfs the entire conversation. It is not that these topics of conversation are boring, it is just that she doesn’t really have much to say on the subject. When Angela is talking at her most human she is generally telling a story which don’t rely on you saying anything except “and” to keep her going. This is similar to the quizzes, they show none of the intelligent AI that I was hoping for. Today she started talking to me about the winter olympics and asked me 4 inane questions making me wonder if it had transferred me to the child’s version by mistake. In this instance she was so interested in what she was saying that she kept bulldozing forward no matter what I replied.

2. Angela doesn’t seem to understand what I am saying most of the time. She is meant to be a computer that can grasp what I type, say or look like, then respond appropriately to this. Except she doesn’t understand much of anything meaning I spent most of the time trying to contend with her attention span jumping from here to there. In those rare glimpses of understanding talking to her feels pretty cool. In those instances it is as if she is actually understanding and listening to me. These occasions are don’t last long though and mainly occur when talking on only the most basic of subjects. Angela is great at asking questions but falls down when needed to show interest and intelligence on a topic for more than a few seconds. This might shows she is programmed extremely realistically as I have a number of friends that show this conversation quality too.

Now one part of the game which I quite liked was the facial recognition bubble. Easy to toggle away, it showed a small thumbnail of the user and allows Angela to react to your expressions during the conversation. If you yawn she might enquire if you are tired, you can stick your tongue out, smile or laugh at her jokes (though I doubt it). All these things make the experience more immersive. Like in a real conversation, if you look bored then usually it will be noticed. This facial recognition gives us a taste of what could be possible in the future. Unfortunately Angela can only recognise a limited amount of expressions and sometimes doesn’t seem to even notice those. Anyone who has spent time playing this game will have spent 5 minutes making stupid faces at Angela to try to force a reaction. Disappointingly, even this part of the app is lacklustre and under utilised when you swiftly realise that she doesn’t really have much to say on the subject either.

Finally, what game would be complete without an intra-game money system to despise? A large part of the game is oriented at children which gives even more reason to fill the game with useless content to buy. Children are expected to customise the game and give Angela gifts. Obviously all these have to be bought with in game currency and expensive gifts for Angela can be hugely costly in real world money ($1 for a picture of a scooter next to her). You start with no coin and there is no real way to build it up in the course of normal play. I am in danger of sounding like a broken record here, complaining about the in app purchases blighting our apps, but luckily Angela will save you from that. The in app purchases are so useless and the game so banal that you won’t have to put up with the ads and purchases for long. With no way to “earn” game money there is nothing encouraging you to use the game at all. Phew!

TL DR:

The Good

• Angela sometimes seems to understand what you are saying

The Bad

• Talking to Angela is boring as she doesn’t have anything to say
• Angela frequently changes the subject sharply. Mainly when she doesn’t understand what you are saying

The Ugly

• The game being a thinly veiled front to get children to spend their parents money

Final Words:

What a wasted opportunity this game has turned out to be. With AI technology advancing at an astounding rate I was hoping for something cutting edge to entertain and amaze. Instead I found something worse than you can currently find on the internet. CleverBot has been around for years and makes Angela look like a toaster in comparison. This game is a hollow money making shell, painted bright colours to attract the kids attention, but completely devoid of any interesting content.

Rating 0/100

Badland App Review – paid app

Describing Badland is a difficult task. For anyone who played Abe’s Exodus as a child, this game should awaken long forgotten memories. A sprinkle of Shift, a dash of Mega Jump, a dollop of Dark Nebula and a side of Flappy Bird all combine to make this great game. Comparing this game to Flappy Bird is a serious injustice to Badland, as the essence of this game has everything Flappy Bird lacked. Hold the screen to make your sloth-like, character rise and fall. Navigate intricate worlds, use power ups to dodge the ever moving and interacting landscape, clone yourself to survive dangerous situations, all in the pursuit of the tube at the end, sucking you into the next level.

This is a game of intrigue and mystery. The music and graphics enhance the player’s experience and also ask us questions of who we are and what we are doing. All we know is that we came out of a pipe and are travelling through a living world of shadows, trying to survive. The background speaks of a magical and mysterious world, part biological and part mechanical, filled with white eyes creatures watching us as we pass. The foreground, completely silhouetted, is extremely effective, lending the game atmosphere and enabling it to run quickly and smoothly.

The game itself is very enjoyable. I was worried at first with the ease at which I completed levels but it just eases you in gradually accustomising you with the power ups and traps that you might encounter. Every level has a similar format, out of the pipe, navigate obstacles without getting killed, make it to the next pipe which vacuums us in. The developers have customised each level exquisitely, either through the addition of new power ups or the levels theme. This makes each very unique and different. Some are quick requiring fast reflexes, others are longer requiring more thought and care to survive through to the end.

With only what I have mentioned the game would still be good, but with the addition of the clones the developers hit upon something very subtle making the game excellent. As you fly along you can pick up lots of different power ups (size changing, speed, spin, stickiness, time speed etc) but the most important is the one which clones you. Each clone reacts the same to your touches giving the game an extra dimension of awareness of how to save as many clones as possible while traversing the different gaps and traps. Sometimes clones have to be sacrificed to enable others to pass. The path might be too thin, it might be too dangerous. This meant I really started to care about the clones as I was playing. Whatever the situation though their addition it makes you think about and analyse the level while playing, I often feel sad when I see what is up ahead due to the knowledge that everyone won’t make it.

The feel of the game, which I have touched on previously, really blows you away while playing. The world itself seems alive to the touch of your character, whereas many backgrounds of games seem sterile and fixed, this shadowy world responds to your every touch. Rocks might scatters dust due to a delicate brush, plants and branches will bend and mines explode on contact. These little details drag you into the game and into the world itself. Although not everything effects your progression, sometimes they do. The path ahead might require earlier curiosity to trigger events and open the way. As I mentioned before, this game is spookily like Abes Exodus, and has a similar feel of macabre and evil. The traps and dangers don’t hold back with saws to rip, spikes to skewer and rocks to crush.

I am going to finish this review by talking about the multiplayer, which could be a separate game in its own right, being such a fun and original twist to the actual version. In this, the screen is split up into quadrants, with each player controlling a sloth by touching his, or hers. Now the game continues but with survival as the main goal. This version of the game, cast it in a different light, requires you to play levels but with a completely different strategy from before. Block players off, grab power ups first, suddenly every part of the game is a new factor influencing how you play. Best played on an iPad but compatible with the iPhone also, the developers have created levels especially for the multiplayer version, refreshing the game and making it great to play with friends as well as alone.

TL DR:

The Good

• Incredible graphics
• Very atmospheric music
• A constant adaption of gameplay to keep gamers of all levels interested
• A very enjoyable multiplayer mode giving the game excellent replay value

Final words:

The more I played this game the more I loved it. The attention to detail is extraordinary and the game play is adaptive and fun. Badland constantly evolves, adding new aspects to think about and enjoy. Gamers of all ages, and abilities, will enjoy it due to the ease to learn and play combined with the skill and perseverance required to complete it 100%. The macabre feel of the app is subtle, allowing kids to play oblivious of the darker undertones, which enhance it for the older gamer. This game has made me feel such a range of emotions: sadness, frustration, satisfaction (especially when a large cloud of clones is sucked up into the end pipe) and many more. A real masterpiece and a definite download.

Rating 95/100

Mega Dead Pixel App Review – free app

A game to Pixel your problems or is it Mega Dead Boring? 

The game, Dead Pixel runs in the same vein of Doodle and Mega Jump, its point of difference: it runs in reverse. You are a pixel in an infinite pixel universe. Your goal is to stay alive as long as possible. Dodge larger pixel clusters and pickup upgrades to increase your score. In amongst this there are loads of upgradable tweaks which subtly affect your little pixel and the world he inhabits.

As Dead Pixel says on the loading screen, “use headphone for best experience” and they are not lying when they say this. Grab some headphones and prepared to be assaulted with the blocky, pixelated music which sums up the game so well. The bassy, beaty and boppy soundtrack starts slow and then gradually notches up, enhancing the feel of a the game which has been designed and developed incredibly well. Welcome back to the 80s, with the Pong-esque pixels speeding down behind the navigation screens, the violent background colours, the fonts. Everything in this app has a retro tinge to it which really gets you immersed in experience.

The game itself is refreshingly new. Tapping left and right drags my pixel across the screen, allowing me to dodge large pixel shapes, catch power ups and generally fight for survival. If I skim the side of a pixel shape I activate those pixels and get a score boost as well as a boost to my power bar. Max this bar and I’m transformed into a giant pixel, wreaking havoc on those shapes I previously lived in fear of. Don’t get too used to this though as very quickly you’ll be back to square one, or one square, and fighting for survival again.

I found I went through a number of stages when playing the game. Interest, enjoyment, frustration and finally boredom. As I have previously mentioned this is an original take on this kind of game making it feel fresh and different. I played this game on and off, using my slowly gained money to upgrade here and there, for about 3 days before starting to tire or it. Here are my main culprits for this:

1. Tedium of clicking no thanks

I find it amazing how people are still spending enough money on these games that they make more money asking, over and over again, for you to spend than they lose by people quitting the game. It feels that after every game in Dead Pixel they are trying to get you to spend your hard earned gold coins. But don’t worry if you don’t have enough as of course you can buy more. I know there is going to always be some sort of paid aspect in a free game (although it is a sad state of affairs that this is now almost always true) but it really gets tiring being constantly asked, over and over again.

2. Lack of skill required

With games like Flappy Bird topping every chart sometimes I think I am the only person that still enjoys games that involve skill to play rather than time and luck. Games like FallDown required skill that is hard earned from hours of play. My high score means something and sets me apart from my friends. Dead Pixel requires time and luck and this reduces the satisfaction of playing. The randomness of power ups, the increased speed making it impossible to do anything but bludgeon through pixel clusters, and other small factors in this game all move it away from skill and towards boringly difficult.

3. Time required

I have noticed in recent years a movement towards games which are short and difficult. No one likes spending lots of time to get to their high score instead we want to be able to beat it waiting for the bus or on the toilet. Dead Pixel seems to be placed in a limbo between the two. It takes so long to get close to my high score that, when I die, I sigh, knowing it’s back to the beginning, like I have a hundred times before. It also ramps up the speed meaning you are just swinging backward and forwards for survival instead actually having control. Very quickly your downward velocity is too quick for control but slow enough to draw the game out.

The achievement system in this game deserves a paragraph of it’s own as, for me, it is the partial saviour of this game as well as being the final nail in the coffin. Like in Temple Run, there are always 3 achievements to be working on. Completion of these achievements rewards you with gold coins. Although gold coins can be picked up in game, completing achievements is the only way to noticeably increase your total without buying them. These achievements are great for two reasons.

1. They give you something to do while playing the game
2. They give you a way to earn gold coins

As touched on before, Dead Pixel gets boring quickly. One reason for this is that I didn’t really care about getting a high score due to the randomness of it all. Having these achievements gives the game a much better replay factor, adding something to do. This couples well with my second point. The game has a lot of content which extends the game and makes it more interesting to play. Gold coins are the only way of accessing this for free. Completing achievements enables you to earn coins and buy extras which make the game more enjoyable. Simples.

The achievements though are a double edged sword. For me they were the beginning, and end, of the dying breath of time that I spent on this game. The problem with them isn’t immediately obvious but, after a while, is very noticeable. The issue is the number of achievements and the the fact their difficulty increases incredibly slowly. Even after completing the first 40 I am still being faced with challenges which only take time or money, but no skill. The feeling slowly dawns on you that completing the achievements isn’t a challenge which removes the last vestige of enjoyment the game was clinging to.

TL DR:

The Good

• Enjoyable gameplay
• Great graphics
• Really nice feel to the game

The Bad

• Game gets boring quickly
• Too many achievements which are too easy
• Lots of content only realistically available if bought
• Game quickly requires little skill

The Ugly

• Pop ups always getting you to go to the shop

Final words:

For a free game Dead Pixel has a huge amount of content, playability and is a definite download. Unfortunately it is a free game trying to make money by bombarding you with ways to do it. Rather than being a memorable game, it slots nicely onto the shelf of games ruined by their freemium content, ready to gather a layer of dust, and be forgotten. The visuals and music are great, making this game so much more disappointing for the potential it has. Hopefully Chillingo will concentrate in future on games which you buy, and get full content, as this is what they seem to do best.

Rating 40/100

Faded App Review – paid app

An app with not enough exposure?  Or one which is gone in a flash?

Faded is a photography app with a difference. Instead of trying to sell you a super app, every filter and lens crammed into one, it is giving you the vintage photo feel, done exceptionally well. This app enables you to take photos and apply different vintage themed filters to them while also allowing current photos to be adjusted too.

Faded is an app that hits you as soon as you open it. It has an image and style that is perfectly balanced. Combining the vintage feel with a modern approach, the apps interface, together with the website, make for a really good user experience. This feeling doesn’t go away. Opening the app reveals stark photos inviting you to explore the rest of the app. I say explore on purpose. Faded has a huge amount of content for the relatively small asking price. The symbols along the bottom each offer up a different effect, each of these splitting into yet more with those again having multiple choices to pick from. While using this app you can really feel the vintage vibe pulsing through. From the pictures to the simple icons this app exudes class and quality.

But the proof is always in the pudding and no matter how good the interface looks, if it doesn’t work then what’s the point? So this weekend I am very fortunate to be off to Laneway festival in Melbourne, Australia and I am going to be taking my new app with me to put it through its paces.

Now using the app during the festival was a very different experience to what I expected. In the living room, taking vintage pictures of every day objects, it doesn’t really matter how things turn out, my favourite mug looks better whichever filter is applied to it. Obviously, though, at an event this is not the case. It is moments that we are trying to record. Take a great photo, choose the wrong filter and you could end up with much worse than you started with. This was an issue with the app throughout the day. Without a significant amount of time exploring and learning the different effects it is very difficult to choose a good one. When taking pictures quickly or trying to concentrate on what you are photographing the app can feel slightly cumbersome with the slow export to the phone’s library.

With great flexibility comes great complexity and this is both the power and the weakness of the Faded app. There are so many different filters and effects to try out that if you don’t spend time experimenting then it will be difficult to make the most of the app. In the right hands though this app has huge potential but don’t expect to pick it up and find your way around without some serious time exploring.

The time spent is worth it though. The effects are not initially obviously different. Each one subtly alters the look and feel of the photo. Combine various filters together and save as an ‘action’ enables you to create shortcuts to your favourite and most used filters saving you time. After a few hours playing with the app I have now got to a point where I feel more comfortable about taking a photo and making it look cool. Most of the time I use Faded as a photo editor. Take photos with the normal camera, then spend the time needed to tweak and alter them later.

Now, while talking about the large number of effects available, seems an appropriate time to talk about in app purchases. You thought that your dollar bought you everything the app has to offer? For each type of filter you can apply to your pictures there are approximately 4-6 that you can use for free and the rest need to be bought, giving you about 12 filters for each effect. The app gives you plenty of content and is well worth the price tag attached to it. After using the app more though this started to grate on me. The initial app costs $1. Each of the expansions costs $1. This means that my first $1 bought me the entire app but my next one will only get me 6 extra filters. This really affected my experience of Faded. They are really reducing the value for money for what they are selling. I mentioned before that the individual effects in a section are very subtly difficult. Why, then, do I have to pay more for six extra, that are almost identical?

Now, I know this is a catch 22. If I can’t tell the difference then why do I mind not having them? If I can tell the difference then why can’t I see why people would buy them? For me this isn’t the issue. It is important for apps to make the user feel like they are getting the best deal, rarely will they spend money if they don’t. Feeling like you are getting a good deal increases the enjoyment of using an app. The feeling in Faded of not having access to all the filters but also not feeling they are worth the price tag is one that doesn’t come close to ruining the experience but certainly takes the shine off the apple.

This can be forgiven though for the sheer volume of stuff there is to have a go with. The overlay function is a really cool feature I haven’t seen before which definitely deserves a mention. Take two photos and combine them together to create really cool looking photos. I have only tipped a toe into the potential for this function and am really looking forward to experimenting further. As a developer I know just how much time must of gone into making the app work so well. It is almost because of the high quality of 95% of the app that makes it seem worse if it crashes or when something doesn’t work quite correctly. I can’t believe this app includes so much and costs so little, download it yourself and give it a go.

TL DR:

The Good

• Lovely feel to the app – Faded has an atmosphere which is cool and classic
• Freedom and complexity to do whatever you want – invest the time and you will reap the benefits
• Original and new effects – overlay, effect stacking, specialised effects
• Loads of content for the initial price
• Ability to browse filter history to get back to the original photo

The Bad

• Still slightly buggy
• The in app purchases which don’t feel worth it
• Slightly clunky in some of it’s features

Final Words:

Faded is an app well worth the measly dollar you have to pay on the app store. The developers have spent a lot of time adding loads of cool content to this app to really give you loads to do with your photos. Using this app is easy and fun and, once you get the hang of it, you really can do almost anything to your pictures. Faded’s smooth and fluid interface is comfortably learnt and allows you easy access your own photos and previously edited Faded photos. Download this app, get passionate about photography and the sky is the limit.

Rating: 70/100