Become a Master Thief and Strategically Pillage Everything in Antihero
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Antihero ($4.99) by Versus Evil is the mobile port of the original Steam game. It's a turn-based digital board game that requires strategic thinking and features some light RPG elements in the mix. If you liked other games like Onirim, Card Thief, and SteamWorld Heist, then you'll like what Antihero brings to the App Store.
When it comes to games like JRPGs, I always liked to pick the character classes that let me do cool things, such as the Thief in Final Fantasy. I've always had a liking for the thief class, because they're usually agile and nimble, allowing you to do things like steal. When I saw Antihero, I was intrigued because it's a game that's all about being a "master thief" and running your own thieve's guild. I mean honestly, how can I say no to that? And while I didn't hear about Antihero until just days ago (it originally came out in July 2017), I have to say that this is a title that doesn't disappoint.
Onirim - Solitaire Card Game
Asmodee Digital
Card Thief
Arnold Rauers
SteamWorld Heist
Image & Form International AB
Antihero has a unique visual style that I'm loving from the get-go. The game is rendered in 2D but because of the angled, top-down perspective of the board, it feels like pseudo-3D. However, all of the character sprites are flat, so it's a nice contrast with the board itself. Each unit type has a unique appearance that makes it easy to differentiate from each other, and the Victorian-era towns have a cozy look and feel to them. The towns are dark and gloomy, but the red and blue shades of your guild versus the enemy are a nice complement to the somberness. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid on my iPhone 8 Plus, so I had no issues with lag or choppiness. The ambient soundtrack is also fitting for the Victorian setting, and it's delightful to listen to, along with the sound effects.
There are three ways to play Antihero: single-player Campaign, Go Online, and Skirmish. Going online requires creating an account, which is simple enough, and it allows you to do PvP with other players in asynchronous battles. Skirmishes can be done against the AI or with other players locally, but you can customize the rules for distinctive and interesting battles. However, chances are high that you'll be spending most of the time in the rich single-player Campaign.
In the Campaign, there's a large number of levels to play through, with the difficulty ramping up on each stage. You'll have to go through the levels in chronological order, and there's no option to skip a stage, so if you're stuck, well, you'll need to try harder. The first three levels serve as the tutorial and help you understand the rules and flow of the game.
To complete a level, you'll need to gather enough victory points before your opponent does. These are earned by completing various objectives, such as: infiltrating a church for Blackmail, assassinating certain public officials to fulfill Contracts, and more. The game tells you in the beginning what things you can do to earn victory points, so you just have to make sure you get enough before your rival.
Game flow and controls are simple enough. Each turn, your Master Thief can Scout, Burgle, or Attack, but each action costs an Action Point. Scouting lets you uncover hidden parts of the level, Burgle lets you steal some gold coin, and Attack can eliminate enemy units standing in your way. The Action Points refill on each turn. As you get coins, you can purchase units and expand your guild. Each unit does something different and you'll have to think about what's best for the situation at hand.
For example, Street Urchins can infiltrate businesses so you acquire resources faster (freebies each turn). Thugs can guard for two turns, Gangs can attack or evict enemy units from buildings, and Saboteurs can set up traps. You'll uncover more unit types as you get further along in the game, and each one has a useful skill that you'll want to take advantage of. As you get coins, make sure to use them to get more units if you're able to.
During each turn, you're also able to check your Guild and purchase upgrades. The upgrades cost lanterns, so you should generate free lanterns on each turn by controlling a Trade Shop. The upgrades unlock more unit types and can give your Master Thief more power, such as more Action Points and more damage when attacking. You can also choose Charity, which gives you free gold or lanterns each turn, but then you can't get an upgrade.
Once you've made use of all available actions for your units and have spent your upgrades or collected charity, you can submit your turn and then it goes to the opponent, rinse and repeat.
Antihero is a fantastic addition to anyone's strategy game collection.
Antihero is a fantastic addition to anyone's strategy game collection. The cartoonish art style is rather special and unique, and the sound design is excellent, including the voice acting. The controls are simple (just taps) and they seem perfectly optimized for touch screens. The variety in unit types means a lot of strategy and planning is involved, and the levels can be rather challenging. It's also great that there is multiplayer, both online and locally, with the option for custom rule sets to make matches even more interesting. Each round starts off a bit slow, but once things get rolling, it's incredibly addictive.
While Antihero is a great game, it may not be for everyone. If you're not the type to methodically calculate your move in strategy games, then this may end up being frustrating, as the difficulty ramps up after the tutorial. Plus, matches can take a while, so you do need time to spare for this.
The verdict
I'm usually not big on strategy games because I end up being terrible at them, but Antihero is definitely one I'll be keeping around. It has distinctive game mechanics that feel interesting and fresh, and the controls are optimized for touch. Plus, I get to live my dream of being a thief and having a guild all my own, so it's a keeper.
I recommend Antihero if you're a fan of board game style games or just want an in-depth strategy game for your collection. You can find Antihero on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $4.99.
9.5
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Sound/Music 10
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9.4
Gameplay 9
Antihero - Digital Board Game
Versus Evil
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
PortraitCam Brings Portrait Mode to Any iPhone or iPad
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
PortraitCam ($3.99) by BrainFeverMedia is an app to help you achieve great depth effects on your photos, regardless of whether you have an iPhone capable of Portrait Mode or not. If you're looking to create some great portraits, then this app can definitely help. It's similar to apps like Patch, but with more features.
Ever since I got the original iPhone back in 2008, I fell in love with mobile photography. The camera specs weren't that great back then, but it was amazing just having a mobile device that was capable of snapping pics in an instant. Because even though the picture may be crap compared to today's standards, the memories will always remain, and that's why I love photography. With the iPhone 4, the camera upped the ante for the industry, and then just got better and better from there. Apple added Portrait Mode with the iPhone 7 Plus, which I missed out on as I had gotten an iPhone 7 that year instead. Now with my iPhone 8 Plus, I finally have Portrait Mode myself, and I use it whenever I can. Still, since I don't have an iPhone X, I don't have Portrait Mode with the front-facing camera. So I decided to give PortraitCam a shot to help out with my selfie game.
Fore Photo
Henry Lee
Interface-wise, PortraitCam is pretty simple and intuitive. The main screen of the app easily lets users choose whether to import an existing image from their Photo Library, or you can snap a new pic with the camera. In PortraitCam, you can use either the front or rear facing camera. If you don't have a device that's capable of Portrait Mode, then you can achieve similar effects with PortraitCam, which is nice. Those of you with an iPhone X, PortraitCam utilizes the X's TrueDepth Camera to preview and capture depth data, giving even better results.
PortraitCam can automatically detect faces in images, or you can fine-tune the depth masking by painting the sections you want to focus on. All of the tools in PortraitCam are categorized: Blur, Mask, Flares, and Filters. This makes it easy to find what you're looking for, and there's a lot of useful features at your disposal. The app is mostly responsive and effects are rendered quickly, so you get results instantaneously.
During my use of PortraitCam, I've found it to be a useful tool to add to my photography app arsenal. I don't take many selfies often, but ever since I've started using Portrait Mode on my iPhone 8 Plus, I wish I had the same functionality on my front-facing camera. With PortraitCam, now it doesn't matter if I take the occasional selfie, because I can edit it in this app and get pretty cool effects.
By default, PortraitCam will be set to Auto during the Face Detection stage, where it tries to automatically determine the faces in the photograph you've either imported or snapped within the app. For the most part, this auto detection works well, as it will get most of the faces masked for focus. But I did notice that sometimes it will miss some of my hair, or my glasses throw it off a bit (strong prescription so it shrinks what's behind the lens). So for me, I will always have to manually paint the focus mask on the smaller zones in the image. Fortunately, the brush works well enough and if you make a mistake, there's the eraser that's just as easy to use. There's also an undo and redo buttons for easy fixing.
Once you have your focus area set, the rest of the image gets blurred out. In the editing stage, you have a lot of options to go with. The default blur setting should be around the 25 percent mark, but you can adjust the blur amount by using the slider. If you want a more subtle effect, have it more towards the left, and for more blur, go right. With more blur, it's a much more stark contrast between the subject and the background, to the point where it definitely feels unnatural. So I recommend keeping it more to the left if possible, unless you have a background that works really well the more it's blurred.
PortraitCam also has tools like Aperture, which changes the shape of the blur. This can be a very subtle change, and sometimes you won't even notice the difference between them. There's plenty more that you can change with regards to the blurring: spin, highlights, fringe, depth, invert (subject blurred and background in focus), and depth map. There's even basic editing tools like exposure, vignette, and crop. If you need things like brightness, saturation, and the like, then you'll need another photo editor for that, since PortraitCam mostly focuses on the depth effect editing.
In the Mask category, users can edit the mask for the focus region, as well as choose between four different mask types: Depth Map (default), Radial, Landscape, and Gradient. If you're using PortraitCam mostly for portraits, then the Depth Map is usually what you'll stick with. But the other effects can be useful for scenery or inanimate objects, so it's nice to experiment with for interesting results.
To spice things up, PortraitCam has both flares and filters that you can apply to your images for fun. The Flares add various light flares to your image (so you can be like J.J. Abrams), and you can adjust the bloom, opacity, and even flip horizontally or vertically if you prefer it in a different originating spot. Filters has a handful of different vintage, black & white, and color filters that can change the overall mood and tone of your portrait. Unfortunately, you're limited to what the app offers, so if you aren't satisfied with what's available, you'll need to use another photo editing app.
When you're done editing your portraits, just tap on the Share button in the top right corner. You can save the photo directly to your Camera Roll, send it to Instagram or Tumblr, and the "More" option brings up the iOS Share Sheet.
Another nice feature with PortraitCam is the fact that you can quickly go back to your last edited image. On the main screen of the app, there's a "Last Edit" button in the bottom right. Tapping on this takes you directly to the last photo that you were editing, whether it was done or not. You get to pick up right where you left off too. So if you were editing and then had to do something else for a while, coming back to the app later doesn't lose your progress.
PortraitCam brings Portrait Mode to the masses.
The Good
PortraitCam is a good option to consider if you don't have an iPhone that does Portrait Mode. The ability to import existing images for editing or snap a new pic directly from the app means there's a lot of versatility. The interface is also pretty simple and straightforward, and there isn't much of a learning curve so everyone can use it. The blurring effects are flexible and replicate the depth effect well enough for most, and having flares, filters, and other tweaks means more freedom in editing.
The Bad
For the most part, PortraitCam works well, but it isn't without some flaws either. I did notice that sometimes the app didn't seem to register my taps, such as when I want to select an area to focus on, or a button for a tool. It usually will work if I tap it again, but it does seem to need a bit more optimization.
Another thing that I noticed with my use of PortraitCam is the fact that the edges of the focus region are definitely sharper than I'd like, as it is a fairly stark contrast with the blur in the background. I can tell a difference between what the actual Portrait Mode on the iPhone 8 Plus and something edited with PortraitCam because of the sharp edges. I wish that it would make the transition from focused to blur more gradual, as that would make it look and feel more natural. Still, if you have a subtle blur, then it's not too bad.
The verdict
For what it's worth, PortraitCam is a decent tool for photographers. I like the auto detecting of faces, and with some patience, you can fine-tune the focus area by painting the mask in yourself. There are a lot of options to customize the blur, and the lighting flares and filters are a nice plus. Overall, I like having PortraitCam around, but I do hope that improvements are made so that the edited portraits feel closer to what Portrait Mode does with gradual transitions.
PortraitCam can be found on the App Store as a universal download for the iPhone and iPad for $3.99.
8.2
OVERALL
iPhone Integration 9
Lasting appeal 8
User Interface 8.5
Is engaging 8
Does it well 7.5
PortraitCam • Ultimate Camera
BrainFeverMedia
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
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Let Them Come and Blow Them Into Oblivion in This Survival Arcade Shooter
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Let Them Come ($1.99) by Versus Evil is a survival shooter where you must fight hordes of alien enemies as the lone survivor of a spaceship. If you enjoyed games like Ashworld and Kick Ass Commandos, then you will like what Let Them Come has to offer.
As someone who has watched a lot of movies and television shows and even played games that feature some post-apocalyptic setting, I've always wondered what it would be like to be all alone. You know, the last living human being, forced to survive by any means possible when it seems that everything's doomed? Yeah, that's pretty much what you end up with in Let Them Come, and as a fan of arcade shooters, I had to check this one out. While it's a fun game, it does have some flaws that affect gameplay.
Ashworld
Pascal Bestebroer
Kick Ass Commandos
Anarchy Enterprises
Visually, Let Them Come has an awesome 16-bit pixel art style aesthetic that falls in line with many other games. As someone who grew up in the '90s, I definitely appreciate these visuals. Despite the pixelated appearance, I found everything to fairly detailed, including the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the barren spaceship, as well as the various hostile aliens that can explode upon death. While the setting of the game is going to be dim overall, the lighting ends up being a bit dynamic because of your weapon and bursting neon alien corpses. Animations are smooth and fluid in Let Them Come, with no lag or choppiness on my iPhone 8 Plus. The game also features a heavy metal soundtrack with unlockable mixtapes as you progress, which is just appropriate when you're the only human left.
In Let Them Come, you'll control Rock Guner as he faces off against waves of alien lifeforms. As you clear waves, you won't be able to go back and grind, which is an unfortunate flaw of the game made apparent as you reach the first challenging boss level. Each time you die, you'll have to start off at the beginning of the wave you died on, so Let Them Come gets increasingly more difficult as you get further along.
As you kill enemies, you earn coins, which doubles as your score. You spend the coins in the ship's inventory stash, where you can purchase various weapon and passive upgrades, as well as mixtapes. If you change your mind on a purchase, you can also sell it back for the same amount of coin that you bought it for, though the buttons for this aren't too clearly labeled. There's a mix of various bullets, melee weapons, grenades, health increases, and more. Of course, the better an upgrade is, the more expensive it will be, so save up those points.
Once you have purchased an upgrade, it stays in the inventory until you decide to equip it into your loadout. To do this, just drag-and-drop what you want to use into the appropriate slots at the bottom. You can have up to four passive skills, two secondary weapons (melee and grenades), and two ammo types.
Controls in Let Them Come are simple but can feel a bit clunky. Since Rock Guner is stationary behind a machine gun on the ship, you're responsible for aiming and shooting from that single spot. Along the left hand side of the screen is a slider that allows you to aim the weapon. To shoot, just long-press on the button of the ammo you want to use. Yes, the gun can overheat, which you can gauge with the meter next to your weapon loadout. If it's getting dangerous, the rate of fire drops significantly until it can cool down, so make sure to keep an eye out on it. If enemies get too close, you can choose to use your melee weapon instead by tapping on it to use.
Near the top right of the screen will be your combo meter. This indicates the number of consecutive kills you currently have. Once it's full, you can get a bonus unlock to use for this round. These include useful items like unlimited item use (some ammo rounds have a limited number before you need to refill), more health, resupply, have enemies explode on death, and more, including the all-powerful Frenzy Mode. Your bonuses are always randomized, so you'll always end up with a surprise of what to expect.
Get ready to face an onslaught of enemies, and try to kill everything that moves.
The Good
Let Them Come is a good survival shooter game that is both fun and challenging. Even though it proves to be difficult, it's still hard to put down once you get started. The graphics are retro an a nice homage to classic games, and the tunes are also awesome to listen to. Being able to change the soundtrack as you play is a nice touch.
I wasn't sure about the whole stationary shooting thing, but it does work out fine for what it's worth. It gives me a ton of pleasure just sitting there and blowing up a bunch of aliens as I struggle to survive, and having so many upgrades to unlock and increase your strength just makes me keep coming back.
The Bad
While I like Let Them Come a lot, it isn't without some big flaws that unfortunately affect the gameplay. As you advance in waves, things get more difficult and eventually you may end up stuck and unable to grind for points to get better gear. I wish it was possible to go back to previous waves just to grind for coins for the necessary upgrades before facing off against the first boss, which can be too hard.
Another issue is the slider for aiming. Sometimes the slider's touch zone does not seem as responsive as it should be, so it was hard to aim fast enough to get the enemies on the ceiling as well as the ground. This resulted in some untimely deaths for me because I couldn't have the gun pointing up in time, so hopefully the controls get better optimization in a future update.
The verdict
Overall, I'm enjoying Let Them Come a lot, despite the issues with the controls and levels. The game looks great and the metal soundtrack is just fun to listen to, especially since you can change the tracks on a whim. Hopefully the difficulty and level issues get addressed soon, as its current state can be a bit unbalanced. And I hope to see improvements and optimizations to the aiming controls, as it would make the game a lot smoother.
Still, Let Them Come is a fun survival arcade shooter that everyone should try out. You can find Let Them Come on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99. It's also available on Steam for PC and Mac for $4.99.
8.4
OVERALL
Graphics 9
Sound/Music 9
Replayability 8.5
Gameplay 8.5
Game Controls 7
Let Them Come
Versus Evil
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
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Cinco Paus is an Interesting and Experimental Roguelike
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Cinco Paus ($4.99) by Michael Brough is a compact roguelike that's captivating and challenging. If you were a fan of Brough's other titles, such as 868-HACK, then you'll truly appreciate what Cinco Paus has to offer.
I've been playing and reviewing iOS games for years now, and one thing I love about it is discovering all of the quirky and eccentric titles that indies come up with. I mean sure, we all love a good triple-A game from a big name studio, but sometimes the real gems are from indie developers. And Brough is one of those devs. I remember checking out 868-HACK several years ago and falling in love with the unique gameplay. Needless to say, I became a fan of Brough after that, and am eager to check out anything new that he creates. Cinco Paus is another fine addition to my game collection.
First, some background regarding "cinco paus." The game's name, as well as all in-game text and even the App Store description, is in Portuguese. This is not a glitch or bug, so don't try to change it to your native language (I can't even figure that out, honestly). The phrase "cinco paus" literally translates to "five bucks," which is accurate in U.S. dollars. It also means "five sticks," which is what the game involves, though technically they're wands.
I'm not sure why everything must be in Portuguese, but I'm guessing that it's an experiment by the developer. That is, to demonstrate how most games appear to those who do not understand English, and have no option to change the game text to their own native language. While I don't understand the text in Cinco Paus right now, I'm finding learning through experimentation to be rather fun, and it certainly is an interesting approach.
868-HACK
Michael Brough
Visually, Cinco Paus is bit on the stranger side, as the cartoonish style is what I would imagine an acid trip being like. In fact, it reminds me of the art style of some adult swim cartoons, but honestly, it just makes Brough's game even more unique and special. The colors in Cinco Paus are bright and colorful, which are sure to bring a smile to your face, even if you don't understand what the game is saying. Despite this fact, Cinco Paus has icons (some straightforward while others are more obscure) that appear after you've used one of the staffs, so there's a little guidance as to what's happening. Animations in Cinco Paus are smooth and fluid, so there's no issues with lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus. The game's soundtrack is also a bit weird, but delightful to listen to.
Since Cinco Paus is a roguelike, that means that each round is randomly generated, so it's never going to be the same game twice. The goal in Cinco Paus is to help your wizard character get from the starting point to the exit, which takes you to the next area. There's enemies that are in the way that resemble various animals, like frogs, prawns, and lizards. On top of that, there's items like keys to unlock chests, and even tomes that can modify the properties of your wands and staffs.
The controls in Cinco Paus are simple and straightforward, especially if you've played turn-based roguelikes before. Just swipe on the screen in the direction that you want to move to, and the wizard will do so, assuming that there's nothing in the way like a wall or enemy. You can swipe into an enemy to do a basic attack, but keep in mind that some take multiple hits to kill (life points indicated by the dots), and can hit you back as long as it's alive.
Fortunately, that's where the wands come in. At the top of the screen will be five sticks, which are the wizards wands and staffs. To use them, just drag the one you want to the wizard, and make sure that it's pointing outward in the direction you want it to face. Once you release your finger, it will activate, sending out a shot that can dish out some nice damage to enemies, so you want it to hit something.
But be careful when using these wands though, because you only have five of them, and they won't get replenished until you reach the next area. Also, icons show up next to each wand after it's used, revealing their properties. The properties get randomized with each game, so it may not be the same on your next run. The attributes can mean that a wand does double damage to frogs, or teleport you past an enemy. You won't know what a wand does until you use it, so it forces you to make use of your resources and also observe what they do.
Unless you know Portuguese, Cinco Paus will be one of those games that you may enjoy but have to figure out everything scientifically, as none of the text helps you out. It's different, refreshing, and a welcome challenge. And with a different loadout for each game you play, it's always going to be a surprise, and who doesn't like surprises?
CInco Paus is a quirky and lighthearted roguelike that's all about experimentation.
The Good
Cinco Paus is a special gem on the App Store. The game is full of quirkiness and charm, from the choice of language to the graphics and music. While many may not understand what the text says, the game is simple enough to figure out through mere observation and trial-and-error. I also like the randomization aspect, as it brings a fresh new experience on each run.
The Bad
While I like Cinco Paus for what it's worth, it may not be everyone's cup of tea. The language barrier may be bothersome for some, and the art style is rather unorthodox. Like they say, this game may be an acquired taste for fans of Brough's previous work.
This is definitely not a standard game, and takes a bit of getting used to. But if you can get through the hurdles, then it's rather enjoyable.
The verdict
As a fan of Brough's other games, I think Cinco Paus is another great hidden gem from him that I'm happy to have in my collection. The distinctive art style makes me think of obscure adult swim cartoons, and I think the experimental approach with Portuguese is a fascinating perspective on language barriers in games.
The gameplay itself is easy to pick up and learn after a few tries, and I enjoy the fact that each staff has a new set of properties in each game. It keeps you on your toes and you must try them all out in the first level to know and understand what their properties are. On top of that, there are a lot of other things in the game to learn as you play, such as enemy behaviors and what items do.
This is a game that will keep you interested and coming back for more. Cinco Paus is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $4.99.
8.7
OVERALL
Replayability 9
Game Controls 9
Gameplay 9
Graphics 8
Sound/Music 8.5
Cinco Paus
Michael Brough
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Kraino is a Retro, Action-Packed Platformer That's Completely Free
November 20, 2020 by RSS Feed
Kraino (Free) by Angel Dorantes is a side-scrolling action platformer that is reminiscent of classic games like Mega Man and Castlevania. If you enjoyed other iOS games like Goblin Sword and Sword of Xolan, then Kraino is an excellent choice to consider.
As someone who grew up in the '90s with the old-school platformer games, I can definitely appreciate any new foray into the crowded App Store market of platformers. Castlevania is one of my favorite series, especially the 2D ones that were on the old Nintendo consoles and past handhelds. There's nothing more satisfying than jumping to avoid obstacles and hack-and-slashing away at hordes of undead minions. So when I saw Kraino on the App Store, I was pulled in right away — the screenshots alone made me reminisce about my childhood. Needless to say, Kraino is a must.
Goblin Sword
Gelato Games Ltd
Sword Of Xolan
Alper Sarikaya
Kraino features a super retro, pixel art visual style that will make any '80s or '90s kid feel at home. The graphics are true to the classics that it draws inspiration from, and if I didn't know any better, I'd mistake this game for one that was on Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis. Even though it's a pixelated style, Kraino is still incredibly detailed and everything looks fantastic. The colors range from dark and gloomy tones to more vibrant and bolder hues. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, so I experienced no issues with lag or choppy frame rates. I found the soundtrack to be fairly quirky and eerie at the same time, which means it's pretty delightful. It has a touch of metal to it, which is fitting considering there's skeletons and other baddies galore.
Kraino takes a lot of inspiration from the classic games, like Mega Man and Castlevania. There are six dungeons to make your way through, and they are rather lengthy. There are, however, checkpoints at certain points in the game, so if you die, you can pick up from the last checkpoint you reached, rather than start at the beginning. Each area features a series of connected rooms, and you must make your way through each one to face off against a tough boss at the end. The goal of the game is simple enough: hack-n-slash your way through to the end, and see how far you can get.
You'll always start the game with three lives. Controls are easy and intuitive. In the bottom left area, there are two buttons for moving left and right. In the bottom right corner of the screen are three buttons for your basic melee attack, jumping, and your ranged axe attack.
For the most part, the default button positioning works out well enough, as I had no real issues with moving around and attacking. Be warned though, because there's no way to customize the button size or positions, so you're stuck with them. Honestly, it takes a bit of practice to get used to them, but it shouldn't be too bad.
Again, you only get three lives in the game, and your health bar is displayed in the top left corner. If it's fully depleted, that means you lose a life. You also straight up lose a life if you fall onto spikes, so be careful for those. There may be opportunities for more lives or health by breaking lights and other objects, so make sure to explore every little nook and cranny. You can watch an ad to gain a continue, though, but this is completely optional. It's also the only time you'll see ads in the game.
On top of it all, there are power-up items that you can use to your advantage against the various creatures of the night (even though you're a skeleton). The power-up items are what you'd use for the ranged attack slot, and these can include throwing axes, saw blades that move along the floor and walls after you throw them, and more. They are pretty scarce though, so I'd recommend holding on to them only for boss fights, because the other enemies can easily be taken out with regular attacks.
Kraino is an excellent action platformer that's a great homage to the classics, and it's free with no strings attached.
The Good
Kraino is a true gem of a game, and it's hard to believe that something this good is free. The vintage pixel art graphics are a nice homage back to the golden days of gaming, and the music and sounds are super charming. For an action platformer, the controls work out pretty well, and it's intuitive enough for anyone. The stages themselves can get pretty challenging, and the boss fights are definitely something to look forward to.
The Bad
Kraino is a solid game, but there's always improvements that can be made. For one, I hope to see customizable control options in the future, because I think being able to change the button size and positioning could help some people out. And while the only time you'll see an ad is if you want to get a continue in the game, there's no way to get rid of ads or even just support the developer (no in-app purchases). This is a freebie game where I would like to see a tip jar to contribute to.
The verdict
As someone who grew up with these types of games, I am in love with Kraino. Everything about it just takes me back to my youth — the pixel art, the music, the core game mechanics, and the whole dark castle setting. It all brings a smile to my face, and I still can't believe this game is free. It's pretty high quality for the price, and there's no intrusive ads or in-app purchases, which is a rarity these days. I just hope to see controller options in the future.
Kraino is on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free.
8.9
OVERALL
Graphics 10
Sound/Music 9
Gameplay 9
Replayability 8.5
Game Controls 8
Kraino
Angel Dorantes
Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews
credit : appadvice
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