Sale: Check Out Free Titles from Colto during August

Kids might be starting to go to school already, but the summer is not quite over yet.  Colto is trying to ease the pain of “back to school blues” by offering one of its iOS titles for free every day in August.  If you have young kids you might want to check out one or all of these titles.

1-11 August – Eli Explorer
Trailer: Eli Explorer on Youtube
Colto, Eli Explorer – Fun educational game for preschool kids to learn and discover their first 100 words and phrases in 10 languages with a flying bunny – Free

12-18 August – Star Gurus
Trailer: Star Gurus on Youtube
Colto, Star Gurus – Fun educational dot to dot game for preschool kids to learn numbers and how to count in different sequences – $0.99

19 – 31 August – ABC Gurus
Trailer: ABC Gurus on Youtube
Colto, ABC Gurus – Fun educational alphabet and phonics game for preschool kids to learn letters and their phonetic sounds – $1.99

… Read more

Sale: Check Out Free Titles from Colto during August

Red Game Without A Great Name in Review: At Least The Game Is Great

Red Game Without A Great Name suffers from one major problem: it doesn’t have a good name.  I’m assuming this isn’t a turn-off for those of you that are already reading this, otherwise you probably wouldn’t be wasting your time in the first place.  I’m afraid it might prevent many from trying this game, however, which would be an absolute shame.  This game is unique, challenging and often makes me want to pull my hair out.  Unlike something along the lines of Flappy Bird, though, this frustration is completely worth it.

Your task is simply to deliver a secret message, and just like the fabled postmen you must complete that task regardless of rain, sleet, snow… well, you get the picture.  Of course so far weather hasn’t actually played a factor in the game, but maybe that will be coming eventually.  It’s not like the game needs it, given the extreme challenges the game already provides.  You see, in order to get the mail where it needs to go you’ve devised a rather clever mechanical bird that can teleport from one spot to another.  The problem is that aside from the teleporting the bird is constantly in motion, and it’s always travelling the same direction unless something causes it to do otherwise.  Oh, and did I mention the level is moving as well?

This constant movement turns the game into an interesting combination of reaction and memorization, and even when you know the level like the back of your hand there’s still no guarantee that you’ll pull a move off the same way twice.  Naturally there are also all of the standard obstacles like walls that simply stop your movement (but not the level’s), barbed wire strands that stop you permanently, and gates that try to crush you.  Occasionally things will pop up to alter your journey, like jets that change your direction, gas clouds that cause you to speed up and glowing masses that give you the power to destroy cracked walls.  When it comes to these “aids”, the trick is in determining when they are useful and when they will just make your trip harder.  I will give you a hint: usually the cracked walls are either hiding something or give you a bit of protection from danger, so be sure to check each of those out at least once.

To teleport the bird you simply drag a line from it to where you want it to go.  Conceptually this is a great idea and more often than not it works fine, but when you’re in a hurry to make your next move it’s easy to accidentally not select the bird, in which case any dragging you’re doing is worthless.  Also, while the line drawing method is good for more lengthy movements, it’s not great for small, precision tweaks in your flight path.  Each level has three cogs to collect, and if you’re like me and gotta have them all then you’ll probably drive yourself nuts on some levels trying to get the one that’s in a tight spot.  The game also keeps track of your deaths on each level, so once you’ve gotten all the cogs you can go back and try and better that ranking if you wish.  The game is even kind enough to record a video of all your attempts in a given run, so you can depress yourself even more when you realize you managed to kill yourself 33 times in just under seven minutes!

The visuals are great. While it’s not all about red like one might expect given the name, there’s definitely a limited color palette.  This combined with the simpler yet still detailed shadow like design of the graphics makes for a rather appealing and slick looking world.  The one issue I have is that sometimes things are so dark that it’s hard to tell what’s going on, which can make already challenging areas much more difficult.  The sound effects aren’t bad, though I do get tired of hearing the screech the bird makes when it dies after a while.  The music is easy to listen to and has a nice, jazzy beat to it.

Red Game Without A Great Name has two potentially off-putting issues for casual gamers: it can be insanely difficult at times, and the simple controls often feel problematic.  Unlike so many other games on the App Store today, though, the difficulty is tempered by the fact that there are levels you can actually finish, giving you a real sense of accomplishment.  Combine that with a fresh game mechanic and some cool graphics design and you have a great entry in whatever genre you wish to label this as.

App Summary
Title:	Red Game Without A Great Name	Developer:	iFun4all
Reviewed Ver:	1.0.3	Min OS Req:	iOS 6.0
Price:	$2.99	App Size:	94.70MB
Refreshing game mechanics 60 levels to conquer Great visuals Jazzy, upbeat music		Levels can get really frustrating Controls don’t work well for pinpoint accuracy Sometimes visuals can be too dark

… Read more

Red Game Without A Great Name in Review: At Least The Game Is Great

MISSING: An Interactive Thriller in Review – FMV Done Right?

In the 80’s and 90’s there was a movement in videogames to enhance the stories with FMV, or Full Motion Video.  From an animated perspective the genre is best personified by Dragon’s Lair, while “live action” video enthusiasts might fondly recall games like Night Trap or The 7th Guest.  The concept as a whole was more miss than hit, and as it became more practical to render cool 3D cutscenes that flowed seamlessly with the game the concept sort of faded into obscurity.  Now that video technology is tightly integrated with mobile devices we’re starting to see a resurgence in this format of storytelling, and the detective / room escape game Missing actually manages to handle the situation fairly well.

Right off the bat I’ll warn you that this game is pretty short, so if you’re looking for an in-depth experience you might want to steer clear.  On the other hand, if you’re the type that’s always craving something different and likes to see old ideas revitalized in a fresh way, you’ll definitely want to check out Missing.  The video sequences are well staged, and it’s actually interesting how they transition into certain puzzles.  There are also sequences during the videos where you have to react with taps ala Dragon’s Lair, though those could have been a little more challenging.  Finally you’ll encounter situations where the game plays more like a first person point and click adventure.  These experiences tend to break the immersive nature of the game a bit, and sometimes it can be hard to spot the objects you need to complete a certain puzzle, but overall they provide a level of interaction that you won’t find in most FMV based games.

The majority of the game is you by yourself as a kidnapped victim trying to escape, and the one sequence where you take on the helm of a detective and interact with a cop is fairly brief, but the acting seems decent enough.  For the most part it does feel a bit more polished than most of the FMV fare that came out in the 80’s and 90’s, so at this point we’ll call it a B+ / A- production instead of the typical B-movie filler that was the hallmark of the first generation of this genre.  The visuals outside of the video sequences are good, though as mentioned earlier it can be difficult to discern where the items are that you need to pick up.  The off-screen voices seem a bit stiff, but the overall sound effects are decent enough.  The music is actually pretty good and provides some nice background ambiance.

If this is where the FMV genre is headed I think we’re in for a treat.  Hopefully the next installment of Missing will be a bit longer with some more interaction, but while this offering may be short it’s pretty sweet.  If you’re one of those gamers that loves concept over quantity and have been looking for something new in the world of adventure games, you’ll definitely want to give Missing a try.

Notes: This game was reviewed on an iPad 2 running iOS 8.3 and a promo code was provided for review purposes.

App Summary
Title:	MISSING: An Interactive Thriller	Developer:	ZANDEL MEDIA
Reviewed Ver:	1.0.19	Min OS Req:	iOS 7.1
Price:	$1.99	App Size:	505.22MB
Transition between video and puzzles is well done High production value in videos Story keeps you engaged Nice music		Game is pretty short Hard to find objects in puzzle sequences

… Read more

MISSING: An Interactive Thriller in Review – FMV Done Right?

Interview: The Developers behind The Lost Treasure Island 3D

I recently had the opportunity to speak with the fine folks over at Canavan Communications, LLC about their upcoming iOS adventure game The Lost Treasure Island.  The game will challenge your problem solving skills while shedding some insight on a real live hidden treasure, and the developers are determined to bring you some first class story telling for your mobile devices.  Read on to find out what brought them to where they are now and what they have planned for the future.

First of all, I want to offer the customary “thank you” for taking the time to talk with me.

1. How many people are on your team, and what kind of experience do you have in the gaming industry?

We have about 22 experienced people on the team, all part timers, from all over the world. Most people work only on the weekends. Every person on this team is very passionate about creating an amazing experience.  Although we are all new as a team, Project One Games is about making you, the player, the focal point and your entertainment our first priority.

2. From what I understand this game has at least some grounding in actual facts.  What was the inspiration for the story, and specifically for focusing on a real life treasure?

The “Lost Treasure” is actually the world’s largest and most ancient lost treasure.  It was first gathered together in ancient Egypt, was captured by the ancient Romans and grew to an enormous size, until it was lost for almost 800 years, when it was found by The Knights Templar around 1099 AD.  This treasure has been the topic of many great films, books and TV series.  Some people believe that in 1398, the Knights Templar, with stone masons, hid the treasure behind some very devious tricks, traps and puzzles on a remote island, to keep people from finding it. This is the focus of The Lost Treasure Island.

3. In your initial press release you likened The Lost Treasure Island to The Room, which I thought was an interesting comparison.  From the video I’ve seen and what I’ve played so far, I’d think a more likely peer would be Myst.  What were the influences behind this particular style of game play?

The core team is the four of us, Mike, Jeff, Chris & Nicole. We are brothers and sisters. As kids, we were all into role-playing games from a very young age. (Dungeons & Dragons mainly). Our favorite adventure was “Tomb of Horrors” by Gary Gygax.  We wanted to create an adventure that allows the player to free roam and solve puzzles, tricks and traps. We have been looking for something for years to fill this void.  One evening, in front of a roaring fire, we decided that we would just do it, we would create an amazing experience, whatever the time and cost.  Although we took influences from others, we had to build something entirely new and innovative.  It took us about 5800 hours to get to this point after two years, but we finished what we started.

Q4. Assuming a game player with average problem solving skills, how much game play would you say The Lost Treasure Island offers?

Well, if you play it perfectly, it takes me about 3 hours and 20 minutes. For an average player, it would take about five hours to complete.  What is interesting, is that you don’t have to solve every puzzle, it is not sequential.  And there is an advanced “hint engine” that figures out when you get stuck and offers you in game hints.  Originally, the adventure was much longer, but we decided to shorten it to be closer to the length of a film, which is usually 2 hours 20 minutes.  And you can finish the entire adventure without doing any “in app purchase” or “IAP”.  It is 100% optional to purchase the “IAP” to finish the game, it just makes it much easier.  So, it should entertain you for between approximately 2-4 hours.

5. I found the combination of free form movement and tap-to-move waypoints (much like the Infinity Blade series uses) rather intriguing.  Why the decision to allow both at the same time, or to even use the waypoint method for that matter?

That’s a great question. When we started, we did not have waypoints, or tap to move spots.  We spent a lot of time play testing this adventure with many people. And many “non gamer” people (like my wife) felt “Lost” on the island. So, we found that providing a suggested path helped them have a better experience. For gamers (like my son), we wanted them to have freedom to explore.  The game is designed for all levels. However, I will say that you will miss a lot in the middle of the game if you stick to the tap-to-move waypoints.  We encourage you to explore.

6. With mobile games plunging further into the abyss of F2P, why choose the mobile platform for this type of game?

Let’s be honest, “free to play” isn’t free. For a large percentage of today’s most popular “free” games, the player pays a lot to continue his/her journey. The cost of coins, gems, additional lives and ammo costs a lot.

Our adventure immerses the player into a very realistic, alternative environment, where it requires concentration and effort to survive. Our thinking was: why ruin that immersion by zinging the player with a purchase request that yanks them out of their adventure? In-app purchases and annoying pop up ads ruin the experience.

For almost the cost of a cup of coffee, you get an amazing, personal adventure that will entertain you for a few hours. This is the model that we believe in.

7. Providing a relatively easy in-game method of letting the users connect with the developers is a pretty bold move.  How important is the relationship between customer and developer to you guys?

The Player is King to us.  Any feedback we get, good or bad, we consider a great gift.  We built an infrastructure that allows any player to connect to the core team from within the game itself. If someone has a suggestion or an idea, or gets stuck, we are there. Feedback is very important to us.  Listening is critical.  This is only episode one of seven.  We expect to retain people from episode one, through seven.

8. So you mentioned to me in an email that you have a vision for 7 episodes.  That seems like an awful lot for a game coming from a relatively unknown development team.  Why such big ambitions for a first project?

This Lost Treasure is a very complicated story that spans many centuries.  The story is really too much to convey in one episode.  We want to create great experiences for people, and we believe we have a new formula for doing this.

People might notice that everything in the adventure is physically possible to replicate in the real world.  This was intentional.

Is more than one episode already complete?

Yes, episode two is 80% completed. There are some very exciting components planned for the next episode that we cannot wait to complete for the players.

Q9. Sorry for a generic ending to this interview, but do you have any closing thoughts for the readers?

As kids, we read The Harry Potter books, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, and even Sherlock Holmes. We played Dungeon and Dragons extensively. The games and books were a series. The series was an adventure. You’d put down one, and pick up the next… and there would be continuity. We noticed that the art of story telling was missing from mobile games. Our adventure will provide a series of connected episodes which tells a story. Each one builds upon the previous.

We just hope the readers dare to become players and enjoy our adventure!

Once again, thank you for your time.

Thank you, for hosting us on your excellent website.

Jeffrey Canavan, The Lost Treasure Island 3D – Escape Adventure Puzzle Game – $0.99

Note: The game requires an iPhone 5s / iPad Air or newer to run.

 

… Read more

Interview: The Developers behind The Lost Treasure Island 3D

10 App Store Games To Watch [7/27/15]

The summer’s drawing to a close, at least as far as school is concerned in our area.  Thankfully the App Store doesn’t care if there are kids around to play its games or not, and the new offerings are still flowing on a daily basis.  One of my favorites this time around is Rush Star – Bike Adventure, an over the shoulder “infinite runner” style game with some cool motorcycles and intense level design.  If you prefer to do your racing on the water you might want to check out Driver Speedboat Paradise, a game that somewhat pays homage to the arcade classic Hydro Thunder but offers so much more game play.  Maybe you’re just not into motor vehicle games at all, in which case you might consider MicRogue, a game that looks like a rouge-like but plays more like a puzzle game.

Spandex Force: Champion Rising [12/17/14] – While I’m somewhat of a match3 hybrid addict, they are starting to feel more and more alike to me.  Thankfully there are still some that stand out, and Spandex Force is one such game.  You’re an average Joe or Jane that some crotchety old wizard is convinced he can turn into a superhero in 30 days.  This will be no luxury heroic life, however.  You’ll have to train in one of three disciplines to build up your super powers, round up all sorts of hooligans to gain street credit, and actually earn money to pay for everything – apparently the wizard doesn’t have a bankroll.  Every confrontation or event is handled with a match 3 game, but the rules vary slightly depending on what you’re doing and the rewards are also different.  One thing I really like about the match 3 portion of the game is that if you make a match of 5 or more items you’ll also clear off some adjacent tiles, so the more you match the more it really benefits you.  The graphics have a nice comic book touch to them, there’s actually somewhat of a story with some witty dialog at times, and the whole game just feels pretty polished.  The only down side is that instead of capping at a certain skill level or something of that nature, the free version of the game appears to give you only an hour of play time per new game.

Miro Karjalainen, Spandex Force: Champion Rising – Free

Rush Star – Bike Adventure [5/1/15] – Rush Star feels like an infinite runner, but there is a definite end to each level.  The trick is actually making it there in one piece.  At least you get to ride one of several different bikes, each of which can be unlocked by riding a certain distance with the previous bike.  Sadly you can’t upgrade the bikes themselves, but you can purchase up to 4 different boosters to help you beat the courses.  There are also power ups that show up occasionally on the routes, but you won’t know which power up you’re getting until you collide with the constantly changing sphere, and not all of them are good.  My favorite is the semi that gives you a lift for a bit, because it can even derail a speeding train.  Take that, Optimus!  Along the way you’ll collect coins that can be used to pay for the boosters or the new bikes once they are unlocked, and you can also pick up “collectables” that earn you even more coins.  The other form of currency is dollars, and this is used to continue the game once you’ve met one too many unfortunate incidents.  The course designs are some of the best and some of the toughest I’ve seen for this style of game play, and the graphics do a great job of immersing you in the environments.  Even if you’re kind of burnt out from the “may be an infinite runner, maybe not” genre, you should give this one a try.

JellyBus Inc., Rush Star – Bike Adventure – Free

eVubble [6/27/15] – Finally, a bubble dodge ‘n smash game that feels different!  Instead of just running into smaller bubbles to get bigger or simply avoiding bubbles altogether, in this game you must guide your bubble into the other bubbles in a color sequence defined by the squares at the bottom of the screen.  You only have a certain amount of time to collect each sequence, and when the time runs out the game is over.  When you collect the sequence you get some time added back to the clock and a new sequence begins.  If you botch up the sequence you don’t have to start over, but your bubble will get bigger.  In this game you don’t want that because a bigger bubble inadvertently hits other bubbles, and if the bubble gets too big it will explode, which once again means the game is over.  You increase your score by collecting the right bubbles, and increase it even more by collecting plenty of bubbles in a row without hitting the wrong ones in between.  More importantly than score is the stars you collect along the way which allows you to buy and upgrade power ups.  The game also offers two leaderboards: one for high score and the other for longest streak.  There are 10 achievements to earn as well, but those mainly revolve around getting the power ups.  The graphics are simple and slick, the music is easy to listen to and the overall experience is just right for a casual, pick up and play game.

Yosuatreegames LLC, eVubble – Free

Deadlings [3/4/14] – I’m digging into the archives again a bit for this one, but I think it’s worth it.  Artifex Mundi has always brought some intriguing hidden object games to the iOS platform, but it turns out they’ve got a pretty good action / puzzle game as well in Deadlings.  Death is lonely and friendless, and apparently decides to humor himself by building a factory to train the undead to do his bidding.  You’ll have to master the skills of 4 different types of zombies in more than 100 levels spanning four different worlds.  The zombies are easy to control, but it will take some finesse to conquer all the traps that death has laid out for testing purposes.  Some levels require more than one type of zombie to complete them, and every level has a limited supply of testers unless you want to spend hard earned skulls for a rescue pack or simply start over after they are all extinguished.  There are three stars to be earned for each level: one for completing it, another for collecting all the brains and a third for beating it in under a specific time.  There’s a leaderboard which ranks you based on your total point score as well as 48 achievements to earn through game center.  Toss in some great pixel graphics and a decent sense of humor and you have an action oriented Lemmings game for the Undead, which in my opinion works really well.

ONE MORE LEVEL S.A., Deadlings – $1.99

Shake Duck Off [7/1/15] – If you’ve been yearning for that Duck Hunt experience ever since you sold, lost or broke your NES, this probably isn’t going to do it for you.  The game means well, and I like the added touch that you actually control the dog to try and shoot down the pesky ducks.  The problem is that the “tilt to aim” control is flawed and frustrating, and at the very least needs to be inverted so that tilting left or right does in fact move you left or right respectively.  Still, if you can deal with that the game is a cool if not simplistic take on the genre, with ducks getting scared and trying to escape if they’re too close to a shot and a fever mode that lets you score ridiculous amounts of points.  There is a leaderboard via Game Center, and hopefully achievements will be added in a future update.  The visuals have an incredible style and the music is fun to listen to.  There’s definitely a lot of potential here, which is why the game made my list, but ultimately it’s going to fizzle out if they don’t do something about the control scheme.

Pine Entertainment, Shake Duck Off – Free

Goblin Quest: Escape! [3/18/15] – You are a goblin that just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Your boss decides that you are going to be the one to help test all of his new traps in his deadly dungeon.  That means you’ll have to dodge all manner of critters, catapults and more as you attempt to simply make your way from one end of each room to the other.  As you wander around you’ll collect coins and gems which can be used to buy and upgrade one use items as well as clothing that gives you permanent power ups.  You can earn up to 3 diamonds per level, one for completing it under a certain amount of time, another for not dying and the third for finding the secret area.  In addition to providing accomplishments for the levels, a certain number of diamonds are required to pass gates between certain levels.  The game has 26 levels, 9 of which are free and the other 17 available via a onetime IAP purchase.  Goblin Quest is an interesting combination of dungeon crawler and tower defense where you are actually the object being defended against, and it works quite well.

Daniel Kalmar, Goblin Quest: Escape! – Free

MicRogue [4/28/15] – MicRogue is rouge-like in the sense that the levels are randomly generated and the game is turn based.  However, it really plays out more like a puzzle game.  There are only 10 levels to conquer, but it will take all your wits to do it, and so far I haven’t been successful.  You can move up to two squares in each of the four main directions (N, S, E and W) assuming there is somewhere to move.  If you land on a creature you kill it, and if your shield is facing a creature when it attacks you automatically defend.  You only get three shields for the entire game unless you pick one up should a spare appear on a given level.  The trick with the shield is it only protects you in the direction it is facing, and it only points either East or West, so all other directions are vulnerable – and some monsters can move diagonally.  Each creature has its own movement pattern, so it pays to learn them all and use them to your advantage.  The other thing you have to watch out for is spikes, but those can also kill creatures, so keep that in mind as well.  If you’re looking for a rogue-like with unique game play, you’ve come to the right place.

Crescent Moon Games, Microgue – $1.99

Battle Of Love [7/13/15] – Have you ever felt like tower defense games were a bit too hands-off for your tastes?  Battle Of Love is about to change all that.  Your job is to protect the love of your life, who for some reason can’t see fit to actually reside in a tower with some defensive walls or anything like that.  As a result you must ward off all of the cruel king’s minions by slashing them Fruit Ninja style.  Thankfully there are no bombs to worry about, but each baddie that gets to the top of the tower takes away one of your girl’s hearts, and when all three are gone the level is over.  As luck would have it slaying bad guys earns you some coins which can be used to buy power ups like extra life or a hammer that lets you temporarily kill your opposition with one slash.  The game currently has only 20 levels, but some of them can be challenging and there is a map labeled “coming soon” to whet your appetite.  Just make sure to give your finger a rest every once in a while, because the later levels will really tax your slashing abilities.

Sivakumar kumar, Battle Of Love – Free

Driver Speedboat Paradise [4/8/15] – One of my favorite arcade games and one of the few racing games I’ve ever played outside the comfort of my living room was Hydro Thunder.  This is sort of like the iOS version of that game, and while so far the track layouts haven’t been quite as impressive, the overall game offers so much more than that classic.  There are plenty of boats to choose from, each one having four different attributes, some or all of which can be upgraded depending on the boat.  This game is just as much about the driver as the boat, however, so you’ll have to keep up with the latest wardrobe trends and fanciest house accessories in order to please your fans.  You actually have two experience meters to keep up with in this game, one for your general racing skills and the other for your lifestyle, and leveling up in each will unlock different things.  There are several locations to conquer, each consisting of multiple races.  To keep things interesting, not all races will be your typical “do a couple laps” thing either.  In some instances you’ll drag race, which introduces an entirely different line of boats, and sometimes you’ll have to keep out of last place or get caught by the cops.  For being an actual hands-on racing game rather than a management sim there’s a surprising amount of depth, and since I don’t see Hydro Thunder popping up any time soon Driver Speedboat Paradise works for me.

Ubisoft, Driver Speedboat Paradise – Free

Hoodee Hero [6/4/15] – You are the hoodee hero, and it’s your job to rid the Earth of the menacing bug like robots that have invaded.  You do this by swiping left, right, up or down in accordance with the boards that are falling from the sky.  Each board that is destroyed by matching the correct pattern earns you a point, an attack against your opponent and some coins.  Every time a board escapes to the bottom of the screen, though, you’ll lose a heart.  You only get three of those before the game is over.  The premise is simple enough, but the patterns get longer, boards show up more frequently and they often overlap so it’s hard to see certain patterns.  The coins you collect can be used to buy different heroes, some of which look really cool.  I’m not sure they make any difference to game play, however (at least the first one I bought didn’t seem to).  This game could use some variety like different character abilities, different types of monsters and maybe even some power ups.  It’s a nifty concept, however, and a nice promise of things to come.  The graphics look really cool too!

Thang Le, Hoodee Hero – Free

Well that wraps up another edition of games to watch on the App Store. As always, if there’s something you’ve played recently that you feel should be part of this list, please leave a reply to this post. Previous weekly installments of our App Store Games Roundup:

• 1o App Store Games To Watch [6/30/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [6/14/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [5/27/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [5/13/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [4/2/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [3/13/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [2/19/15]
• 1o App Store Games To Watch [1/14/15]

… Read more

10 App Store Games To Watch [7/27/15]