Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Android. Show all posts

Wednesday, 1 April 2015

The Kitten - 4 Stars

What is it?
The Kitten is a platform game with a cute kitten as the main character. The aim of the game is to get as far as you can without killing the kitten. The kitten bounds across the screen under your control by power of the tap. As the kitten runs, there are items to collect to increase your score whilst avoiding road obstacles, swooping birds of prey and gaps in the road. There are special features that can be collected that slow down and speed up play making you concentrate more on keeping the kitten alive. One special feature makes the kitten roll into a ball and zoom through game play, which is challenging as its easier to fall through the road gaps.

Like an old school arcade game you are given three lives that allow you two collisions, but don't worry there are tokens to top this up as you play. In addition, when you are on fast mode you don't lose lives but will die if you fall through any gaps. 

Something the app doesn't tell you, and I learnt in a panic to avoid a gap, is that you can double tap the cat to make it jump higher, which is great to avoid silly falls!

I instantly liked this app, and not just because I like cats! This is a well designed and animated game, and you can tell the developers have spent time on creating and producing it. The game is a refreshing change from the current pixel games flooding the market.

One frustration with this game is that it isn't on the GameCentre so I can't see how well I am doing against other users. There is a High Score section but mine doesn't work and just stays on the loading screen which is a shame. 

I have let a few people have a go on this app while I was reviewing it, and it was an instant hit with the younger player. Interestingly they asked if they could change the appearance of the cat, as you are given a black cat as the sole character. I couldn't find this feature but maybe something to consider for the next version ;)

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 5
This is a simple tap game and very easy to play. I think this app is good for kids too, it's playful theme and easy functionality makes it very appealing!

Price - 5
This is a free app with no in app purchases. 

Adverts 3.5
I had to go back into the app to check for adverts as I didn't remember any! There are header and footer adverts in the screen but they aren't invasive. Unfortunately in doing this I came across an advert that has a swear word in it, which is such a shame :( I am tweeting this to the developers as this could really put parents off allowing children to the use the app. This does, however, go to show that letting ads on your app isn't only frustrating to the user but can also tarnish a developers hard work!

Overall Rating 4
I really like this app, it is a fun quick game to play and is good for all ages, especially if you like platform games. As the high score function doesn't work and considering the issue with the advert, I, with regret, have dropped this rating to a 4. 

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

Where to find it:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-kitten/id907630296 
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.gameever.thekitten&hl
Twitter: 
 

Monday, 15 December 2014

Mahjong Worlds - 25 Days of Gifts - 2.5 Stars

What is it?
I found this app looking for some festive fun. I love Mahjong, I always have, so I was looking forward to matching Santa, holly and baubles in a recognisable way! The opening screen promises festive fun, very bright and colourful with Christmas images galore, but then I went into game play I was disappointed :(

When you first access the game play screens there are different stages, the first being Eldorado. Having a look at the the other stages there are some that could be Panto names but nothing that screamed Christmas. 

I started in Eldorado and there are few levels in the world, the game is easy enough to start by tapping in the unlocked level. You are then taken to the tile selection, only the classic version was unlocked, the Christmas tiles were there taunting me, but I couldn't access them :(

If you know Mahjong, the game of pairs with tiles in a stacked order, then this does what it says on the tin. As you go through the levels the difficultly and number of tiles increases which is good and keeps you interested.

There are ads throughout the game and some can be a little annoying. I will be honest, I have stopped playing in search of true festive game but if you like Mahjong, then this is free so why not?


Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use 5
Do you know how to play Mahjong? If yes then this is simple to play. If you haven't played you basically make pairs until all the tiles have gone, but be careful some are locked in or hidden below other tiles. The selection of the tiny tiles is surprisingly easy and I can honestly say I made few mistakes. 
Price - 5
This is free. 

Adverts 2
Annoying. I encountered a 15 second ad, yes 15 whole seconds!! In a positive there aren't layered ads that frustratingly result in visiting the app store and crosses to close most of the them are easy to spot.

Keep, jury is out or delete - Jury is out
I like Mahjong, but I was looking for something festive, so I have mixed thoughts about this game. The game is easy to play and considering how small the tiles are they are easy to select, view and pair :)

Overal Rating - 2.5
I would have loved to give this more, but it didn't live up to festive expectations. 

Where to find it:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mahjong-worlds-25-days-gifts/id433618104?mt=8

Saturday, 6 December 2014

Christmas Pics Quiz - 4.5 Stars


What is it?
I decided to get into the festive swing of things so did a search for 'Christmas' on the app store and stumbled across Christmas Pics Quiz. I had 100 Pics on my phone a while ago for a play off in work to see who could complete the categories first... a very productive week! This game gives a bit more as it also combines the with the awesome game Guess the Emoji! I loved the original game of this and completed it within a few days. Unfortunately I lost my score in the great washing machine incident where, god rest its soul, my iPhone 5 went to phone heaven! I couldn't face going through the 200 levels to get back my score, so this game had ultimate appeal!!

There are several categories within the app, but my main game play has been Christmas pics, of which there are about 20 (easy to complete) and then the 100 levels of Christmas Emoji which was a welcome surprise!

The aim of the game is to guess what the series of emoji's are, for each correct answer you earn some coins. Each level appears by showing the available letters, normally more than needed, the blank boxes to create the words and the emoji's hidden below four squares. Each square you remove shows part of the clue but also reduces the amount of coins that you can win. 

There are a great mix of items in there, but some repetition. If you are good at word puzzle games, there are some levels that you don't have to uncover any of the emoji's. With that said there are some that did my head in! I mean seriously in German and Italian so some Google help was required. 

The coins are important as they can be traded in for clues. You can reveal a letter that will appear in the answer section, this was my favourite hint tool! You can also remove letters from the selection, but for the Italian and German ones this was of no use to me. 

The coins quickly run down and the game does, maybe a little too eagerly, offers to let you buy more. The game also asked you after a wrong guess if you needed help and offered to sell you coins, this was a little frustrating when I had only guessed wrong twice!

A good feature of this game is the notifications. On the first night I played it got turned off in a bit of a huff as my tired brain couldn't figure out what the hell the answer was. While in work the next day running between meetings I had the normal notification of 'come back and play' but with the awesome addition of a freebie clue of a free letter!

I will be sad to complete the series of festive levels but I am looking forward to trying the Winter, TV Shows, TV Stars and Cartoon sections!

Now for some ratings.....



Ease of use - 5
If you have played any of the Guess the Emoji type games then this will be second nature to you! If you haven't, then it is just tap on a letter to add it to the board or tap it again to remove it! Very easy game!
Price - 5
Free! There are in app purchase and some of the other categories are payed. Although that may be frustrating the free categories have up to 100 levels and are good fun!

Adverts - 3
There are adverts in this game and sometimes they can't be avoided based on how quickly they show up between levels. There are banner ad's throughout the game but they don't interfere with game play. I will say that the ad's didn't make me put the phone down unlike games like Scrabble and the god awful Christmas Cracker game last year (it still angers me after 12 months!).

Overall Rating - 4.5
This would have quite easily been a 5, but the full screen adverts that popped up resulting in me in the App Stored just stopped it :( 

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep
Without doubt I will be keeping this game until it is complete! My deadline for this is December 17th when my shiny new iPhone 6 WILL be arriving.... if only my scores would be transferred over! Definitely recommend this to people that like word games and are partial to a bit of Catch Phrase! Happy guessing!


Where to find it:
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/christmas-pics-quiz-fun-festive/id755281885?mt=8