Athenion: Tactical CCG Review
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Athenion might not have the pedigree of some other deck-building card games available for mobile, but that shouldn't put you off. This is a game that's packed full of bright ideas, fresh new gameplay modes and enough content that you can lose hours of your life to.
Battles take place on a 4x4 grid, and see you taking it in turns with your opponent to lay down cards. You draw up to five cards from your deck of forty at the start of every turn.
These are the units you're playing in the fight, and they range from hulking monsters to flighty fairies, from magical trees to fearsome undead dragons.
Your cards have arrows on them that you show you which direction they can attack. You'll also notice a bunch of other numbers on the cards. These let you know the hit points a card has, how powerful its attack is and how many soul points it grants you.
Those soul points let you attack your opponent and they're the key to victory. The first player to lose all of their own hit points is the loser.
There's a lot more going on than that though. For one thing you need to pick from one of six different factions before you even get to the fights.
These factions have different strengths and weaknesses and figuring out which of them best suits the way you want to play is the first step of a pretty long journey.
Different factions have different special moves as well. Some let you link together cards to make them more powerful, others are all about sacrificing weaker units to create pockets of dark magical energy. One lets you build giant rock walls that you can use to protect some of your units or power up others.
There are single-player challenges, regular events and much, much more as well. You're never short of something to do in Athenion, and the pace of the matches lets you get a lot of them in in a single setting.
The Good
There's a staggering amount of depth to Athenion. It's going to take you a good while to get to grips with the basics and once you've done that there are layers and layers to peel back. Every time you win you'll figure out a new strategy and every time you lose you'll be trying to find a way to right that wrong.
The game looks amazing too. The cards all sport a brilliant anime art-style and you'll want to collect all of them just so you can check them out. The speed of the fights is a massive plus too - they deliver huge chunks of tactical action in the sort of short-blast sessions that are perfect for mobile play.
On top of that there's a brilliant community to the game, and you never have to wait long to find an online battle. There are a number of different modes that let you practice with different decks, take part in intriguing events and fight it out in ranked and casual multiplayer matches.
The Bad
There's a pretty steep learning curve here, so if you're not in for the long haul then you might be better finding your card-based fun somewhere else. Even when you've got the basics down you've still got a lot to learn and it can be punishing to come up against an opponent who knows more than you do.
There are also a lot of currencies, crafting materials and other rewards to figure out. The game does tell you what they do, but the tutorials are pretty brief and you're left on your own for a lot of the time to try and get to the bottom of things.
Overall
Athenion might not be the easiest game to understand, but once things start clicking it becomes something really rather special. There are some brilliant ideas here and they're woven into a bright tapestry of gorgeous visuals and wonderfully paced mobile play.
It won't be to everyone's taste, and it's fair to say that some players are going to put it down before they've even got to the good bits, but this is one CCG that it's well worth sticking with.
8.2
OVERALL
Replayability 8.1
Game Controls 8.2
Graphics 8.7
Sound/Music 8.2
Gameplay 7.8
Athenion: Tactical CCG
ZERO-bit Company Limited
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
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Question Everything in ICEY, an Intense Hack-n-Slash Action Game
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
ICEY ($2.99) by X.D. Network is a side-scrolling action game that's rather meta in and of itself. This is a mobile port of the ICEY game that was released on Steam in November 2016. If you enjoy other hack-n-slash titles like Super Samurai Rampage and Severed, then you'll like what ICEY brings to the table, but it's not without some flaws.
When I'm feeling a bit stressed, I enjoy getting my pent up frustrations out through video games. There's nothing better feeling than just unleashing a flurry of attacks on some digital enemies and watching them fall, you know? While I haven't heard of ICEY until now, I knew that this was a game I had to check out after seeing screenshots and video of the gameplay. And while I'm liking it so far, it definitely isn't without some flaws.
Super Samurai Rampage
Brackish Games
Severed
DRINKBOX STUDIOS INC.
Visually, ICEY is gorgeous. The game features a heavily anime-inspired aesthetic to it, especially with ICEY's character design. ICEY is rendered in 2D, but the backgrounds are rather detailed and provide a bit of depth to everything, so it's almost like pseudo-3d. Environments are fairly detailed and textured, along with enemy robots. If you're an anime fan, you'll feel right at home. ICEY has smooth and fluid animations, so there was no issue with lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. The atmospheric and ambient soundtrack is soothing to listen to, and the sound effects are done well. On top of that, the unique narration that you hear as you play is incredibly human-like and sounds natural, but will make you question everything. As you may have guessed, this is where the meta part of the game comes into play.
Since ICEY is a side-scrolling action game, players must go through everything in linear fashion. You'll navigate through a series of connected rooms in order, and the only way to proceed is to clear out all enemies in the room you're in. There are also some tough boss fights that you'll be put up against. The game starts you off with a tutorial that explains all of the controls and basic actions to you, which I recommend paying attention to because things can get a bit tricky. The story is a bit generic and cliché, involving the typical hero who awakens from a deep slumber and must set out to defeat an evil villain trope that's been overdone.
The narrator will narrate everything that occurs on the screen, and even point you in the right direction to make progress, but you may not always want to listen. The meta part of the game involves breaking free of an omnipresent force and forging your own path. After all, can you really trust a mysterious omnipresent force like that without questioning its true motives?
Controls in ICEY are simple, but take a bit of time and practice to fully master. In the bottom left corner is your virtual joystick for horizontal movement. The bottom right corner has four buttons placed in a diamond formation, and each one is labeled with a number and a symbol. With the "01" button, you perform a basic attack. The "02" performs a heavy attack, which is capable of breaking through enemy defenses. The "03" allows you to jump (double tap for double jump) and "04" does a dash forward. Eventually you get a "05" button in the very bottom corner that lets you do special attacks once you've unlocked them.
While the game does a good job of explaining the controls, I wish that there was the option to change key bindings. I often found myself pressing the wrong button because I'm used to controls from other games, and end up dashing instead of attacking, or attacking rather than jumping. Hopefully the developers consider giving players the option to customize the button positions or bindings for a bit more freedom and streamlining in with the controls in the future.
ICEY's health bar is shown in the top left corner. Underneath the blue health bar is the yellow shield gauge (looks like arrows pointing right). The shield protects her from some damage but has to recharge after it's depleted. Performing a dash uses one charge, and you only have three available at a time. However, dash charges refill quickly enough, so you shouldn't have an issue with being completely out.
The key behind ICEY are combos...a lot of combos. The damage that ICEY does is increased for each consecutive hit that she's able to land. She's also capable of executing crazy combos from the ground and air alike, so it's best to experiment. And make sure to break through enemy defenses with her heavy attack so then you can unleash your fury.
For those of you who care about trophies and achievements, there are plenty to discover and unlock in ICEY. You'll also come across floating panels that can be activated with a hit from ICEY. These allow you to get upgrades for ICEY's moves and abilities by spending the cash you acquire from defeated foes. It's important to take advantage of these when you come across them, because they'll make battles easier.
ICEY is an intense side-scrolling action hack-n-slash style game that is rather meta.
The Good
ICEY is a great little side-scrolling action game that is sure to delight fans of the genre. The anime style art is polished and appealing, while the music and sound effects are a nice touch. The controls work well enough but require time and practice to master. The game's story is the typical fare, but the meta part with the narration and questioning of the omnipresent force is a nice element to the game. Battles are fun and intense, and should appeal to fans of hack-n-slash action.
The Bad
While ICEY is pretty good for the most part, it's not without flaws. I mentioned earlier that the controls should be customizable with the bindings, as it would streamline the process for players who are used to other key bindings for similar games. Also, the difficulty level, even on Easy, can be a bit hard because of the controls. Hopefully the developer can fix that.
The verdict
Overall, ICEY is definitely a game that fans of the side-scrolling hack-n-slash action genre should check out. The game features amazing visual style, great sound, and the narration can be rather humorous and serious at the same time. Controls are okay, but should be fixed in the future. The key to victory in battles is dependent on your combos, so make sure to mash on those buttons and land as many hits as you can. The game says "don't think, just fight," and that's exactly what you'll want to do when robots are trying to get you.
I recommend giving ICEY a try if you're looking for a fun and frantic hack-n-slash game. You can find ICEY on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $2.99. There are no in-app purchases.
8.1
OVERALL
Graphics 9
Replayability 8
Sound/Music 8.5
Gameplay 8
Game Controls 7
ICEY
X.D. Network Inc.
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
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Apollo Reddit Client Looks Like Apple Made It, and In a Way, It Did
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Christian Sellig, a former Apple intern, was never happy with the quality of Reddit clients for iOS. They usually don't follow the iOS user interface guidelines, Sellig says, so he set out to create his own Reddit client. He gathered feedback from thousands of Reddit users over the course of several years, took what he learned working at Apple, and put a lot of work into developing a gorgeous, powerful Reddit client called Apollo.
narwhal for reddit
Rick Harrison
Reddit: Trending News & Tips
REDDIT, INC.
Submarine —Powerful Reddit App
Julian Weiss
Apollo is a gorgeous, easy to use Reddit client. You don't have to sign into your account to use it, but you're certainly missing out on the entirety of the experience without doing so.
Images in Apollo are, by default, presented inline. You can change this by switching to Compact view in Settings, but the speed and beauty with which Apollo treats images is a welcome improvement over the normal experience. Even comments benefit from this, with inline previews of the content.
Even images from sites other than Reddit, like Imgur photos, are rendered inline, so you don't have to change to another app to see them.
If you click on a link within a Reddit post, that link opens in a web viewer within Apollo — no more switching to Safari and back to follow links.
Navigating in Apollo Reddit Client is equally fantastic, with a lightning-fast jump bar and groupings of popular and trending posts.
The way Reddit *should* look on an iOS device
The Good
Apollo has become my go-to client for Reddit on my iPhone. Since Sellig designed it following iOS guidelines, it just feels like an app that was destined for the iPhone or iPad. It's right at home, looks and acts like many of the apps Apple has preinstalled on the devices.
The ability to switch between Large or Compact mode is terrific for those times when I need to quickly peruse Reddit topics. I can get the images out of the way, and just read the titles. When I'm ready to just browse, I turn off Compact mode and enjoy the gorgeous image rendering the app affords me.
Navigating between subreddits is a breeze, with the fast jump bar. You can tag your favorite subreddits, and then access them quickly from the top dropdown menu.
Apollo features great gesture controls, fully customizable, for upvoting, downvoting, replying, and saving posts. You can also upvote, downvote, collapse, or reply to comments with simple swipe gestures. Other control groups include your inbox, profile posts, and profile comments.
The Bad (Spoiler alert: there is no bad)
There isn't much not to like about Apollo Reddit Client. It works beautifully, looks like a native iOS app, and offers plenty of functionality.
The only real "negative" is that you don't get all of the features for free. I totally understand that, since Sellig obviously wants to benefit from his development and maybe even make a living.
You can unlock all of Apollo's features with a Kind Tip of $2.99. That will provide you with the following features, on top of the free ones:
- Submit posts
- Multiple accounts
- Auto dark mode
- Custom app icon
- Touch ID and passcode
- Customize gestures
- Keyword filters
- Comment color themes
- Default Reddit homepage
- Gif timeline scrubbing
If you really want to give more, Sellig also supports additional tips of $4.99 or $9.99. There aren't any recurring costs or fees, and the contributions help support an amazing client.
The verdict
Apollo is an amazing creation, and does everything so well I had to struggle to find something negative to say about it. Sellig has done an amazing job of bringing Reddit to the iPhone and iPad in a way that makes it look right at home.
9.8
OVERALL
Lasting appeal 10
iPhone Integration 10
User Interface 10
Does it well 10
Is engaging 9
Apollo for Reddit
Christian Selig
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
FROST is a Puzzle Game Bursting With Life
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
FROST ($4.99) by kunabi brother is a soothing puzzle game experience that makes reality melt away. If you enjoyed recent puzzles like Campfire Cooking and Motif, then you are bound to love FROST.
Life's been fairly stressful for me lately, so I enjoy just sitting at home and relaxing with games on my iPhone. While recent games like ICEY are perfect for me to get some frustrations out, I usually prefer puzzles to help me unwind. I love puzzle games because they're calming and stimulating at the same time. And while I've gone through most puzzles on the App Store, I can't help but be on the lookout for new ones when the opportunity arises. FROST is one of those games that mesmerizes you with screenshots, and I knew I had to check this out for myself. Like the developer's previous release (BLEK), FROST does not disappoint.
Blek
kunabi brother GmbH
Campfire Cooking
Layton Hawkes
Motif.
Tarik Canturk
Visually, FROST is gorgeous thanks to Apple's Metal 2 GPU. The game consists of nothing more than glowing orbs and light particles, yet it's all beautiful. While FROST appears to take place in a 2D plane, because the flow of the particles can change, it may look a bit 3D at times when the particles appear to come out towards you. It's a nice effect that's rather peaceful and tranquil.
The colors in FROST range from bright neons to more muted tones, but everything meshes together nicely. All animations are smooth and fluid, with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. There's an ambient and atmospheric soundtrack that plays in the background, and the whimsical sound effects are delightful to listen to. The developers did an excellent job with FROST's visual and audio design, that's for sure.
Like other puzzle games, FROST is level-based and players must go through each stage in chronological order. It's unclear how many total levels there are since you have to go through them all to find out, but there's definitely a good amount for the buck.
The goal in FROST is to guide the flocking spirits (particles of light) back to their home planets (glowing orbs). The game starts out easy enough, but then you have to figure out correct pathways, perfect timing, and other obstacles that stand in your way. Despite the difficulty picking up at a gradual pace, the game is still incredibly relaxing thanks to hypnotic light particles.
Controls in FROST are simple and intuitive. In each stage, a flow of spirits comes in somewhere on the screen. You must draw a path with your finger from that stream to the corresponding planet. You'll see your path appear "depressed" on the screen, as it will end up being slightly lighter than the background. Small particles indicate the path that the spirits will take once the current gets picked up. To get rid of your paths and start fresh, just tap anywhere on the screen.
As you get the spirits to their home, you'll notice a ring fill up around the planet. This indicates the number of spirits each world needs, and once it's full, you'll have a limited amount of time before it slowly begins to deplete. When a level involves multiple planets, you must make sure to get the spirits where they need to go in a timely manner so that all planets are filled and don't run dry. It sounds easy enough, but it's much harder than you think, especially when multiple colored spirits and differently sized planets come into play.
FROST is a game that's all about the universe and life, which is apparent as you watch the particles dance and freely flow on the screen. There's also mysteries behind everything that will unravel and reveal itself as you make progress in the game. FROST is always in constant motion, and it's all about balance.
The makers of Blek have a new path drawing puzzler for you.
The Good
FROST is downright stunning with the exquisite graphics that are made possible by Apple's Metal 2 GPU. This is a game that makes a great case for showing off the capabilities of your iPhone or iPad. The sound design is also peaceful and delightful to listen to as you guide the spirit particles, so it's an excellent choice to relax with after a long day. Controls are simple and the puzzles themselves are rather challenging the further you get.
The Bad
For the most part, FROST is excellent. But the game does not explain much to the player, whose left to figure things out on their own. While it's not a big deal for me, some may be annoyed by the lack of guidance. And if you're not impressed by watching many light particles floating around on a screen, creating some wickedly cool designs, then I'm afraid this game may not be for you.
The verdict
I love games that help me take a load off after a long day, and FROST does exactly that. The graphics are top notch quality and show off what our iDevices are capable of. The music and sounds help put your mind at ease and focus on figuring out the puzzles, which can be challenging later on. Controls are cleverly designed and intuitive for the platform. There's plenty of content for the price, and this is one game that you'll find hard to put down once you get going.
I recommend giving FROST a try if you're in the mood for a soothing puzzle game about life. You can find FROST on the App Store as a universal download on the iPhone and iPad for just $4.99.
9.2
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9.5
Sound/Music 9
Gameplay 8.5
FROST
kunabi brother GmbH
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
Enjoy an Ethereal Puzzle Experience in ERMO
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
ERMO ($1.99) by Giuseppe La Torre is a relaxing puzzle game that will charm you with its simplicity. If you enjoyed recent releases like Campfire Cooking and FROST, then you'll love what ERMO brings to the table.
Let's face it — life gets hectic for all of us, and sometimes we just need a breather. Personally, for me, I like to do that by playing puzzle games. That's because I like to relax but keep my mind stimulated, and puzzles do just that. Though I feel like I've gone through every puzzle game there is on the App Store, I always keep my eye out for new releases. When I saw ERMO on the App Store, I knew that it was another game I had to have in my collection.
Campfire Cooking
Layton Hawkes
FROST
kunabi brother GmbH
Visually, ERMO is gorgeous with a simple and clean aesthetic. The game is rendered in 2D with soothing, atmospheric landscapes in the background. If you're a fan of minimalistic design, then ERMO is jam-packed with it. The color palette in ERMO ranges from soft pastels to bold and vibrant tones and even dark shades, depending on the theme you choose to use. Animations are subtle but smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 8 Plus. There's an ambient soundtrack in the background that eases your mind and helps you focus on the puzzles in front of you. Sound effects are whimsical as well, adding to the overall delightful tone of the game.
Like other puzzle games, ERMO has a nice variety of modes and levels. There's a total of four modes available, though three of them must be unlocked first. While some modes include randomly generated stages, the game itself has about 60 unique levels, but hundreds of puzzles are possible.
So far, I have three of the four game modes available to play. They go as follows: Itinerary, Procedural, and Challenge. The final mode must be unlocked by solving level 10 in Itinerary (the main mode). The goal in ERMO is pretty simple: rearrange the blocks so that you have columns of the same color, and match them to the order that is displayed at the top. You only have a certain number of moves to get the right order too, so some thinking is involved.
But how do you move the block to begin with? Each column and row has directional arrows at the end. These arrows let you move the row or column in that direction, which is left and right for rows, up and down for columns, respectively. When you tap on an arrow, the entire line shifts in that direction. Blocks at the end move to the other end since it's all linear.
ERMO starts out pretty easy, but soon you'll find obstacles that halt block lines and other dangers. Once you begin encountering these, the difficulty of the game picks up, but it's still tranquil enough to help you relax. Each stage also consists of several parts, so you have to solve each puzzle to clear the level.
In addition to the different game modes, ERMO has objectives to complete as well. These can range from "collect 100 blocks" to "reach level 10 in Itinerary." They add variety to the game and give players something to strive for while playing. There are also Game Center leaderboards and achievements.
Shift the board to make like colored lines in this puzzle game.
The Good
ERMO is a zen-like puzzle experience that is also challenging. The game's beautiful design is minimalistic yet charming at the same time, and the sounds are done well. There's a lot of variety with the game modes and puzzles, and it's hard to put down once you start to figure it out. The missions are a nice addition, as it helps keep the game interesting over time.
The Bad
For what it's worth, ERMO has a lot going for it, but it's not perfect. I'm not a fan of the fact that the game disables your background audio for it's own in-game music and sounds, so hopefully this can be fixed in a future update. Otherwise, it's a great puzzle game for everyone.
The verdict
As a big puzzle game fan, I love ERMO. The ambience that the themes create is incredibly peaceful, alluring, and soothing to listen to. The gameplay itself is simple but tricky as you get further along, so it's welcome for anyone looking for a challenge. I like the fact that there are so many game modes, as it keeps the entire game fresh and interesting, especially the procedurally generated ones. The goals on top of that just give you more reason to keep coming back, which is always nice. I just wish that the game did not take over my device's audio, because that's a bit obnoxious for those who prefer listening to their own tunes.
I recommend giving ERMO a try if you enjoy puzzle games that make you think. You can find ERMO on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99.
8.9
OVERALL
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9
Graphics 9
Gameplay 9
Sound/Music 8.5
ERMO
Giuseppe La Torre
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
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