Build Your Dream Subway System in Mini Metro
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Mini Metro ($4.99) by Dinosaur Polo Club is a subway management simulator that also throws in some puzzles into the mix. If you are a fan of the inner workings of a city and their subway system, and have been craving a simulation puzzle game that uses this concept as the premise, then you won’t be disappointed with Mini Metro. The game was originally released on Steam for Windows, OS X, and Linux on Nov. 6, 2015, and is just now available on mobile for iOS and Android.
As an Angeleno who has frequently taken the Metro train system in Los Angeles, I’ve become fascinated with the train layouts and subway structures in other cities. As much as I wish the trains and subways in Los Angeles could one day be more like New York’s system, it’s still useable in the current state (we can finally get to Santa Monica by train again). It’s been interesting to see how the city plans out new train lines, and watch the progress unfold right before my eyes. While I don’t have any experience in working on trains or for the city, I’m still curious about the process, so when I heard of Mini Metro being available for iOS, I was pretty excited. Finally, a game that let’s me see a different perspective of how to plan and build a city with a subway system! Needless to say, this game does not disappoint, and it’s great for everyone, even those who have never heard of Mini Metro until now.
In terms of visuals, Mini Metro is gorgeous with a minimalistic aesthetic that closely represents posters I’ve seen for train station maps from all over the world. The game features a light cream beige backdrop that makes it easy to see the colored train lines and various tunnels and rivers that are in place for each of the real world locations. Each station is represented by a different geometrical shape, so it’s not hard to see how you should be connecting some stations together. The colors are bright and vivid so there is nice contrast with the background, but the game also features Colorblind and Night modes as well, which is nice. Animations in Mini Metro are buttery smooth as the trains move around the city and pick up passengers, and there are also nice transition animations between menus too. Mini Metro does not feature a static background soundtrack, but the sound effects that you hear as you play are fairly realistic and definitely get you in the mood for public transit without the hassle of reality. The subtle tunes you do hear are dynamic, and depend on the subway system that you’re building, which is cool.
There are several different ways you can play Mini Metro. The first is the Standard mode, which you can play in either Normal or Extreme difficulties. Normal lets you rearrange tracks as needed to prevent overcrowding of stations, which will end your Metro system if there is too much overcrowding. Extreme is for the more experienced player, as you’ll have to prevent overcrowding but the tracks you lay down are permanent and can’t be changed. There are 13 levels based on real-world locations, such as London, New York, San Francisco, Hong Kong, Osaka, Melbourne, and more (I’m a bit saddened to see that Los Angeles isn’t one of them). There is also a Daily mode, where you can compete with other players from all over the globe for the best score on a preset map each day. While Daily mode maps remain the same for each player who is competing, the standard levels always randomize the city growth, so each game you play will be unique in its own way.
The controls in Mini Metro are simple — just draw lines to connect stations together and get the trains running. You can see how much time has passed since you opened the Metro in the top right corner, and tapping this brings up a few button options, such as pausing/playing, and fast forwarding so things move faster. As you get new lines added to your system, you can select the color you want to lay out by tapping on it. You’ll also get upgrades for your system, like more train cars, larger capacity train carriages, tunnels, and tracks after each week passes, which will help you expand and grow. To use these available upgrades, just tap the icon of the one that you want to use (on the left side of the screen) and then place it on the system where it can be used.
As the city grows, you’ll see smaller shapes that represent passengers and the lines that they want to take to get to their destination — keep an eye on these and make sure that you can build your tracks efficiently to satisfy everyone’s needs, because otherwise, stations get overcrowded, you get shut down, and it’s game over. Your score is determined by how many commuters you were able to serve over the course of the system being open. To unlock the other maps, you’ll have to reach a certain point threshold, so it’s important to plan efficiently in Mini Metro.
I have only played a few rounds of Mini Metro so far since downloading it this morning, but I’m in love with it so far. The game’s minimal look and feel is endearing and represents the source material well, plus the dynamic sounds are a nice touch. Controls are intuitive and easy to learn, but mastering efficient track planning is a difficult but welcoming challenge. Even though 13 different maps may not seem like much, thanks to the randomly generated stations and city growth, it’s never going to be the same experience. I hope that more maps (cough, Los Angeles, cough) are added in the future, as it will only add to the already high replay value.
I highly recommend checking out Mini Metro if you’re into simulation and puzzle games and enjoy dealing with the intricacies of public transit and city planning. You can find Mini Metro on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $4.99, and it is well worth every penny. If you prefer to have Mini Metro on your desktop or laptop computer, it is available on Steam (Windows, OS X, and Linux) for $9.99.
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Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth with Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat (Free) by Layton Hawkes is a delightfully sweet puzzle treat just in time for Halloween. If you’re a big fan of candy, puzzles, and Halloween, then this is the perfect mashup of everything you love. And if you haven’t tried out the original and fantastic Puzzlepops! title, then this is the perfect way to get a taste of the classic.
Halloween is one of my favorite holidays of the year. I love seeing houses decorated with pumpkins, skeletons, witches, spider webs, and other festive decor, and it’s always great to go to one of the many Halloween-themed events that happen around town or at theme parks. Plus, how can I resist rewatching one of my favorite movies of all time, “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” when it’s perfect for the season? And as a kid growing up in a suburban area, it was always a blast going trick-or-treating and seeing what awesome candy I ended up with by the end of the night. Even though I’m a bit older now, I still enjoy Halloween a lot and love the festivities, even though I’m way too old for trick-or-treating. When I played Puzzlepops! earlier in the year, I fell in love with the game immediately, and seeing all the tasty candy definitely made me think of Halloween, where it is plentiful. Naturally, when I heard that there was going to be a Halloween edition of Puzzlepops, I knew I had to get my hands on it.
Visually, Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat is as delightful as the original. In the original game, players found themselves in a world of bright color and shiny, decadent candies of all shapes and flavors. In the Trick or Treat edition, Puzzlepops features bright and vibrant background colors that are more in tune with the holiday, and there is even a subtle pumpkin pattern print that will bring a smile to your face. The candies themselves look absolutely delectable, as the game features staples like candy corn and Dracula lips to eyeballs and bats, along with some more normal treats. No matter how you look at it, chances are high that you’ll have a big sweet tooth after playing a few levels (at least I did). The animations in the game are buttery smooth and fluid, and there are quirky sound effects as the candies move around on the lollipop sticks. And to top it all off, a fun, spooky soundtrack plays in the background to help you get in the Halloween spirit. Overall, the developer has done it again in terms of visuals and audio with this Trick or Treat edition of Puzzlepops.
Like typical puzzle game fare, Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat is based on levels. There are seven total chapters in the game, with about 10 levels in each (the first having only five to show you the basics). But since the Trick or Treat edition is free, it only gives you the first three chapters with the initial download — the other four chapters (50 more stages) are part of the Premium upgrade, which is only a $0.99 in-app purchase. Personally, seeing how good the original game was, I think the Premium upgrade for this one is worth the purchase, and I’ll definitely be getting it once I complete the free content. But whether you get Premium or not, the goal for all levels is the same: get the candy pieces into their appropriate spots on the lollipop sticks, but it’s much harder than you think.
Controls in Puzzlepops is simple enough: to slide a candy piece on the sticks, just swipe it in the direction you want it to go. Once a candy slides, the only way for it to stop is if it reaches the end of the stick or if there is a different piece of candy that is blocking it. To make larger candy, just slide a piece of candy into another candy of the same type, and it grows in size. With the Trick or Treat edition, some festive candy have unique traits, such as the immobile bat, which can only be swapped to the position of a candy that slides into it. When all of the candy is in their proper spot on the sticks, then you’ve successfully completed a level and can move on to the next. However, the game allows players to play levels in any order, so it’s not linear.
As a big fan of the original Puzzlepops, I was super excited to hear about a Halloween edition of the game, because what could be more perfect? I have only spent my morning on the game so far, but I love every bit of it. The graphics are on point, the festive music makes me smile, the sound effects are as eccentric as I remember, and the puzzles themselves are get pretty tricky. It’s the perfect little puzzle game for Halloween, and it’s great for anyone, no matter how young or old. The Premium upgrade is also worth the money, in my opinion.
If you love sweets, Halloween, and puzzles, then I recommend grabbing Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat. You can find Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat on the App Store as a universal download on the iPhone and iPad for free, with a single $0.99 in-app purchase for 50 more levels. There are no ads either way.
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It’s Time to Wreak Havoc on Space Bugs as The Bug Butcher
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
The Bug Butcher ($3.99) by Noodlecake Studios Inc and Awfully Nice Studios is an action-packed arcade shooter that will keep you on your toes with all of the intensity of fighting off nasty space bugs. This is the mobile port of the original game that launched on Steam earlier this year. If you enjoyed games like Glorkian Warrior and Galaga, then chances are high that you’ll like what The Bug Butcher brings to the table.
When I’ve had a long, stressful day, I like to relieve my stress by playing video games. Preferably ones that involve outrageous weaponry so I can unleash my fury on unsuspecting critters that need to be exterminated anyway. Arcade shooter games are perfect for the job, because they’re always intense, full of action, and involve high score chasing with each round. I had not heard of The Bug Butcher until last week, to be honest, but I noticed that it looked like something that would be right up my alley when I needed to rage out on. So naturally, I had to check it out for myself.
Visually, The Bug Butcher is gorgeous, even though the alien bug creatures you’re fighting are kind of disgusting. The game features a fantastic cartoon art style that is sure to appeal to anyone who likes quirky graphics, and the 2-D is rendered well with the incredible backdrops of the rooms that you’re in. The colors in The Bug Butcher range from bright and vibrant hues to darker, more gloomy tones, and everything contrasts nicely with each other so it all stands out on your Retina screen. I found the animations to be smooth and fluid, and the techno dance music and sound effects are a fun, eccentric touch.
In The Bug Butcher, players take on the role of Harry, a bug exterminator in space. You get a new assignment that takes you to the planet of Zoit, where you find out about a futuristic research facility run by a dwindling number of surviving scientists, and the facility is infested with dangerous space bugs. Your goal is to survive the decontamination procedure initiated by the scientists by getting rid of all of the bugs that are brought in during the process. While it may sound easy, it truly gets difficult once things get insane and hectic in the room.
The Bug Butcher features two game modes: Arcade and Panic, and three difficulty levels (Easy, Medium, and Hard). You start with Arcade mode and go through the campaign one level at a time. As you make progress in the Arcade mode, you’ll unlock maps for Panic mode, which is essentially an endless mode. Each stage in Arcade mode features several waves of enemy bugs coming in, and you must exterminate them all within the allotted time limit. Your score depends on racking up successful combos (kill enemies quickly without getting hit yourself), collecting coins, and completing it within the time frame (the faster, the better). The same objective is also for Panic mode, but it’s also a test to see how far you can get before you lose.
Controls in The Bug Butcher are simple enough to understand, though I think they’re far from perfect. The two directional arrow buttons in the bottom left let you move Harry left and right. On the right hand side, you have a button that allows you to perform a dash, and another button to shoot upwards (hold down for continuous fire) with your exterminator guns. When you get enough kills, you fill up your power-up gauge that sits above the attack button, and you can activate your power-up mode with a tap. The boost only lasts for a short amount of time, though, so you have to make sure to use it wisely, otherwise it may be a while before you can use it again.
My biggest concern with the controls is the fact that it seemed like the directional buttons got stuck often, because I found myself in one spot even though my thumb was on the button for the direction I wanted to move in. I wish that there was some customization for the controls, as I would like to change the spacing between the left and right buttons, because they seem too close together for me in the default setting. Hopefully the developers can consider letting players fine-tune the control positioning to better suit our individual needs.
As you shoot down nasty space bugs, they’ll drop gold coins that you can collect — the more coins you have by the end of the round, the more points you get. But you’ll have to be fast at collecting them since they will disappear after a few secodns. Plus, the coins can be spent on various upgrades for Harry, such as shields, guns, speed boosts, and more that can be unlocked as you play.
I only started The Bug Butcher this morning, but I’m loving the game so far. It’s the perfect little game for just unleashing my wrath on space bugs when I need to release some stress, and the graphics are stunning and the music is top-notch. The different game modes and difficulty levels provide players with plenty of replay value, especially since the levels get harder at a gradual pace, and all of the unlockables will keep you coming back for more. I just hope that the controls get better optimized in terms of responsiveness in the future, and allow us to tweak the positioning and spacing between buttons.
I highly recommend checking out The Bug Butcher if you’re into frantic arcade shooters and want a great stress reliever. The Bug Butcher is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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Sate Your Curiosity With Alchademy, a Mix-and-Collect Game
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Alchademy (Free) by Apps-O-Rama is a fun, casual game about mixing ingredients and satisfying your curiosity. If you want to feel like a witch or warlock brewing some crazy concoctions just in time for Halloween, then Alchademy is a nice little time killer that will provide you with some entertainment this holiday season. It goes well with Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat, if you are looking for spooky, entertaining titles.
Halloween is coming up in a little over a week, so I’m pretty excited. It’s one of my favorite holidays, because who can resist the spooky decorations, candy, dressing up in costume, special events, and all the movies fit for the season? I certainly can’t. But since it’s like almost 100 degrees out here in Southern California, it doesn’t feel like fall or Halloween for me, so I’ve been turning to games to get my fill. Yesterday I talked about the delightful Puzzlepops! Trick or Treat, and today I’m diving into Alchademy.
Visually speaking, Alchademy is gorgeous. The game is filled with completely original graphics that have a cartoonish charm to them, similar to what you would find in a graphic novel of sorts. The alchemists that you unlock have their own distinctive outfits and sounds, which are fun to listen to when you poke around on the screen. The ingredients that you can put into the cauldron have their own unique aesthetics, and everything seems to be alive with cute eyes and whatnot. The colors used in Alchademy range from bright vivid hues to colder, darker tones. The cauldron also has gems along the side that indicate the potency of the ingredients you are mixing, and the color of the brew is also a sign of potential results. Animations are smooth and fluid as you select ingredients, pan the camera around, and pop bubbles for extra coins while waiting, and the spooky tunes fit the season nicely.
As I stated earlier, Alchademy is a fairly casual game that is meant to be played whenever you have a few minutes, just so you can check on your previous combination and start a new one. The game doesn’t have any different modes or things to solve — it’s just a game about combining ingredients to create new things and rinse and repeat. It’s not a real game, per say, but it is entertainment and one of those things that is fun to check up on every now and then. Plus, if you have any sense of curiosity, you’d be interested to know what weird things can come out from this game.
So how do you combine things? Behind your cauldron and alchemist is a wall with shelves for various ingredients that you can put into the pot. To throw it in, just tap or drag the item you want to use, and repeat the process for the second item. If you’re satisfied with your choices, hit the “stir” button at the bottom of the screen and the two ingredients will be mixed. This is when the timers come in — at first, the timers will be relatively short, but as you make more combinations, the timers get longer, pushing you to spend your gold coins for the hourglass to get instant results.
Either way, after the timer is done, you’ll be able to see your new creation, or get let down with a disappointing “Mixture Failed” message. To gauge the possibility of success, look at the lights on the cauldron as well as the color of the brew when you select your ingredients — the number of lit up dots represent how many combinations a particular ingredient still has left. And when you pick the second ingredient and the water turns red, then that means that you’ve already tried this combination and you should try a different ingredient.
The results of your concoctions can be new ingredients, garbage, or you can get “Creations,” which are cool items that two ingredients end up making. The creations cannot be used in the cauldron and are stashed away in your collection of creations, so they’re mainly there to look pretty. But if you’re a collector, then it’s fun to see how many of them you can discover and make on your own. Once you collect all of the ingredients and creations that a book has to offer, you’ll unlock the next one for free.
Whether you make a new ingredient, junk, or creation, you’ll be awarded some gold coins after each combination. You can also share your success and get another 100 coins for free, and there are opportunities to watch a video ad for coins. And once you fill up the totem (each mix fills it up 10 percent), you’ll get more gold coins in return. So the game gives players ample opportunities to get coins, including popping bubbles while waiting for the mix to finish, so you won’t be starved on currency at least. There are also the purple gems, which are the premium currency, and you can use these to purchase new recipe books and different alchemists to spice things up. Sometimes gems can be given by popping those bubbles, so make sure to keep at it. Or you can convert gold coins to gems and vice versa, or get more through in-app purchases.
Even though there is not much gameplay to Alchademy, I’m still finding it to be a fun and entertaining app on my iPhone 7. The graphics are stunning, the music is fun, and hey, I love to see what combinations make what. If you’re even the least bit curious about things, then this game will keep you busy, and it’s perfect for Halloween.
Alchademy is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for free. There are in-app purchases.
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Eggggg is an Imperfect and Disgustingly Cute Platformer
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Eggggg - The Platform Puker ($1.99) by Hyper Games is a completely ridiculous and over-the-top auto-running platformer game. If you aren’t squeamish about puke and don’t mind having that as your main way to get around in a video game, then Eggggg is a game that should be checked out. Who knew something about vomit could look so…cute?
I think it’s safe to say that no one likes puking — in fact, it’s downright disgusting and it is just never a good feeling. Unfortunately, it’s still a part of life, but thankfully one that we can avoid most of the time. When I first heard of a vomit-induced platforming game, I was a bit disgusted and yet intrigued at the same time. This is because well, vomiting is gross, but I grew up with platformer games, so I tend to gravitate towards them, no matter how disgusting the theme (though maybe a line has to be drawn at some point). After spending some time with Eggggg, I think it’s safe to say that the game’s concept and premise is fun and interesting (albeit repulsive at times), but it is completely ruined by some of the worst controls I’ve ever seen for a title in the platformer genre.
Visually, Eggggg is one of the most beautiful games I’ve come across this week. It carries a gorgeous cartoonish art style that reminds me of the old-school Nickelodeon and Saturday morning cartoons that I grew up with. The 2-D graphics are nicely rendered and the world is colorful, vibrant, and filled with adorable or outrageous creatures that are out to get you. In fact, the world is so crazy that it is almost like an acid trip right on your screen, with the random design patterns on various aspects of the environment, as well as faces on almost everything. Animations are buttery smooth and fluid, and everything just looks like it is oozing with bubbly personality. Eggggg has an upbeat and quirky soundtrack that is fun to listen to, and the sound effects you hear throughout the game are rather charming, though vomit itself will never be.
Like most platformer games, Eggggg is level-based, with a total of 20 different levels that are spread out across a handful of areas. The goal in each stage is to help Gilbert reach the end point, indicated with the colorful balloons and finish line tape, before he can move on to the next level on his quest to get a birthday party. As you see in the opening cinematic for the game, it’s Gilbert’s birthday but he’s staying with his Aunt Doris, who is pretty much the queen of No Fun Land. In order to reach his ultimate destination, though, he’ll have to use his extreme egg allergy (vomits every time he eats them) superpower to navigate his way through a world of angry, cyborg chickens.
The controls in Eggggg are supposed to be tailored for touch screen devices, but I found them to be some of the most unintuitive controls I’ve used for a platformer game. This is also due to the fact that the game has auto-running elements that cannot be toggled off, even though the App Store description mentioned nothing about the game being an auto-running platformer. The developers went with a two-touch control scheme, which means there are two buttons in the bottom left and right corners that you use for both movement and jumping (propel yourself with projectile vomit).
I found the controls to be incredibly frustrating to use when combined with the auto-running element, because Gilbert just runs on his own once you nudge him in the direction you want to go. Personally, I’d rather have auto-run off if I were to stick with the two-touch controls, or include a traditional control scheme with directional buttons in the bottom left (or right) and another button on the other side for jumping. Right now, at least for me, the game is not enjoyable because of the bad controls — I end up spending more time trying to figure out how to get them to work properly than solving puzzles (how to get to certain parts of a stage) in the game itself.
In the end, even though I was originally somewhat repulsed by the concept of Eggggg, I couldn’t help but check it out because of my love for platformers. But it turned out to be rather disappointing overall, aside from the fantastic graphics and music. I could put up with the wacky vomit superpower, but I can’t stand the controls in their current iteration — they just don’t work out at all for me, and it ends up being more frustrating than it should be. Hopefully the developer adds some options for controls in the future, such as a toggle for auto-run or provide an alternate control scheme.
If you aren’t scared off by puke and bad controls and still want to give Eggggg a shot, you can find it on the App Store as a universal download for the iPhone and iPad for $1.99 here. As for me, this one will be sitting on the back-burner until better controls are implemented.
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