It’s a Disco Party in This Charming Puzzle Platformer
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Disco Party ($1.99) by Appsolute Games LLC is a puzzle platformer that will get you into the groove with old-school jams. If you enjoyed games like Mimpi Dreams and Super Phantom Cat, then you will like what Disco Party has to offer.
When life gets tough, I like to retreat into my own little escape with video games. For me, it’s the best way for me to relax and forget about all of my troubles for a few minutes or even an hour. As someone who grew up with platformer games as a child (like Super Mario Bros.), I can’t help but be drawn to the genre even after all those years. And another genre that I love are puzzles, because they help keep my mind stimulated as I take a break from reality, so I’m not completely vegging out. Naturally, when I see a game that combines both of these elements, I can’t resist. I managed to try out an early build of Disco Party at GDC earlier this year, and I fell in love with it from the start. I’ve been eager to get my hands on the game, and now that it’s finally available to the public, I am not disappointed.
In terms of visuals, Disco Party has a fairly cartoonish style overall, but it’s rather cute and charming. And since it has a disco theme going on, it’s only natural that everything is a bit flashy and over-the-top when it comes to the lights and glamour. Character models are well done with their realistic movements and unique outfits that fit the disco era, and the stage layouts have a good amount of detail when it comes to the texture and objects. The animations in the game are buttery smooth on my iPhone 7, so I experienced no lag while playing. And since the theme of the game is disco, you can expect a groovy soundtrack in the background as you play. If you’re a fan of the genre, then you’ll love it, but if you’re not, well, you can always just turn the sound off.
In typical puzzle platformer style, Disco Party is level-based, with four different worlds that contain 15 stages each. The goal in each level is to get your character to their love interest and avoid the rival security guards, all while collecting the golden discs along the way. In order to do this, players will have to manipulate certain tiles on the ground to do different functions, and new game mechanics are introduced in each chapter at a gradual pace. While you can complete the stages by getting to the love interest without collecting all of the discs, you’ll need the discs in order to unlock access to other chapters.
The controls in Disco Party are simple and intuitive enough for anyone to pick up the game and play. As you’ll see on the stage, there will be special tiles (light gray with flickering lights) on the ground that you can manipulate with a tap. The first tap will turn the tile blue with a straight arrow, which causes your character to turn around once they step on the tile. The second tap makes it become red with a curved arrow, indicating your character will jump forward from that tile. The third and last tap changes it to a yellow tile with two vertical arrows, and this inverts the gravity for your character.
As you make progress, you’ll encounter various new obstacles, such as multiple rival security guards, spikes, spinning blades, lasers, and much more. As I mentioned earlier, the game does a pretty good job of introducing everything at a gradual pace, so it’s not overwhelming. But be warned — your character will automatically move forward after you tap on the screen regardless, so you’ll have to plan out your moves quickly or else you’ll fall or hit a hazard and have to restart.
As you pass through stages, you will earn coins. These coins can be spent in the game’s shop to unlock new characters (player, goal, and rival) and costumes for each. There’s plenty of customization in Disco Party, though they’re all cosmetic and don’t affect the gameplay in any way. Another cool thing about Disco Party is the fact that it is LGBT-friendly, since you can have same-sex goals. Even though the game is fairly generous with giving you coins for completing levels, it does offer in-app purchases if you want to buy a character or costume and are short on coins.
I’ve been playing Disco Party over the weekend as I’m between Pokémon Go sessions and studying, and it’s been enjoyable so far. I love the delightful cartoon-style graphics and flashy disco theme, and the controls are simple enough for anyone. The puzzles start off easy enough, but they definitely get trickier as you power through. The customization adds an extra incentive for players, though I’m not too fond of the fact that the game is a paid download but still offers in-app purchases for coins. Fortunately, they’re only used for cosmetic things and nothing that changes the gameplay itself, which makes it less of a problem I suppose. Bonus points for making the game LGBT-friendly, though.
I recommend checking out Disco Party if you enjoy a good puzzle platformer that will tickle your brain, and if you like disco and LGBT-friendly themes. You can get Disco Party on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99. There are optional in-app purchases for more coins to spend for characters and costumes.
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Embark on New Adventures as the Burly Men at Sea
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Burly Men at Sea ($4.99) by Brain&Brain is an adventure game that puts you in the shoes of a storyteller as well as a wayfinder. If you love titles that play more like experiences and stories rather than just another game, such as Monument Valley, then you will enjoy Burly Men at Sea.
I’ve been fairly busy these days, balancing a life of work and school and personal things, but I’ve been managing so far. Whenever I have some downtime, I like to sit down and play a game to ease my mind and even enjoy a good story. I know that some people like to unwind by reading a book, but I prefer to relax with a story that also lets me interact with it, perhaps affecting the outcome in some way (or not). When I first heard of Burly Men at Sea, I was intrigued because of the art and the story seemed interesting. Needless to say, I’m not disappointed now that the game is available to the masses.
Visually, Burly Men at Sea features a minimalist aesthetic that will definitely appeal to anyone who likes simple but elegant graphics. I feel like the game runs on vector graphics, and the colors are a nice mix of soft pastels and more rich and vibrant hues. Since the game involves a bit of reading in order to reveal the story and dialogue, it makes use of an easy to read serif typeface that is legible against the colored backgrounds. Animations in Burly Men at Sea are smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 7. The atmospheric soundtrack is rather ambient and soothing, which sets the perfect mood for telling a folklore tale that is set in early 20th-century Scandinavia. Overall, I would say that Brain&Brain knocked it out of the park with Burly Men at Sea in terms of the visual and audio department, which is amazing considering that Brain&Brain is a studio consisting of just a husband and wife. They also have another title, Doggins, that is worth checking out as well.
Since Burly Men at Sea is a point-and-click adventure game, there are no levels and you’ll go through the story from start-to-finish. The game does bring you back to where you last left off if you need to take a break, so you can safely leave the game without worrying. Even though you can just sit down and go through the entire game in one sitting, there are multiple paths that you can take at certain points, which mean brand new adventures that will certainly be worth your time. As I mentioned, there is a lot of reading involved with this game, so get ready for that — at least you can tap on the screen to skip the animation of text showing up on the screen.
The controls in Burly Men at Sea are simple and intuitive, though it will take a bit of time to get used to since it’s a bit different from the norm. The game uses a unique, interactive vignette that you drag around in order to pan the camera and reveal settings and other characters around you. As you move the vignette around, the three bearded fisherman brothers will walk in that direction, and you can tap on other NPCs in order to talk to them. When a dialogue begins, the rest of the environment drops off and you get solid colored backgrounds with just the characters (and key objects) on them, which is a nice focal point. Text will show up, you read it, and you’ll uncover more of the story and get a general direction of what you need to do next, or even who to speak to.
I’ve just started Burly Men at Sea, but so far I’m loving it a lot. The visuals are gorgeous and emit a distinctive style among the world of minimalistic games, and the original soundtrack is just perfect. While there may not have many gameplay elements to it, I don’t care too much, because I feel like this is an immersive, interactive storybook and I’m hooked on the folklore tale. Each of the brothers has their own distinguishing appearance and personality, and there are definitely some interesting characters that you’re going to meet along the journey. To me, the game is like one of those gripping novels where you just can’t stop turning the pages, and you keep telling yourself “just one more chapter” before you’ve realized that you just finished the book.
I highly recommend giving Burly Men at Sea a try if you’re into engaging stories and folklore. Burly Men at Sea is available on the App Store as a universal download on your iPhone and iPad for just $4.99.
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Become a Professional Dogsledder in Dog Sled Saga
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Dog Sled Saga ($3.99) by Dan FitzGerald is a dogsledding simulation game that will appeal to all dog lovers out there. If you liked games like Punch Club but wish you had something a bit colder and filled with more dogs, then Dog Sled Saga will be right up your alley.
As a person who lives in Southern California, I honestly don’t know what having a real winter is like, though I wish I did, because I can’t stand being in the heat. I yearn for rain and snow, or at least some overcast, but my only salvation these days has been places with precious air conditioning. I did manage to experience snow in the mountains as a kid, though, thanks to my brother taking me out on skiing trips when I was younger. Even though I have no experience with the dogsledding sport, that isn’t going to stop me from trying Dog Sled Saga, as it at least gives me some peace of mind with the cold setting — one can dream, right?
In terms of visuals, Dog Sled Saga is beautiful, as it features a retro pixelated aesthetic that is incredibly detailed for what it’s worth. If you grew up in the golden age of gaming with all of the classic 8-bit and 16-bit titles on home consoles, then you’ll feel right at home with Dog Sled Saga. The color palette in the game ranges from softer, slightly washed-out hues to simulate the cold wintery setting, but there are some vibrant bits that stand out more thanks to the contrast with the snowy environment. Animations are smooth and fluid, and each dog is filled with their own unique personality and charm that shows through their sprite’s movements. There is also a quirky chiptune soundtrack that goes well with the game, and realistic sound effects, especially for the dogs, that make it feel more real. The text is rather easy-to-read as well, though it feels a bit small at times. Overall, the developers have done a good job in terms of how the game looks and sounds.
Since Dog Sled Saga is a simulation game, there’s only one game mode that’s available, and that’s Career. You begin as a rookie dogsledder who is just starting out, and you can have up to two game saves at a time. As you start, you’ll be asked to pick between one of two different dogsledder character models, and then you can pick your first three dogs. In order to make money, you’ll have to participate in dogsled races and finish in a ranked position to get some cash, which you need to pay your league dues and other expenses in order to make a living. In the beginning of the game, things are pretty basic — race with your dogs, make some money, train and care for your dog team, and pay your dues. But as you advance in the game, you’ll be able to hire employees for multitasking purposes for your team, get sponsorships for your dog’s fame, breed puppies, hire more skilled dogs, and more. While the game looks like it’s just dogsled racing on the surface, there is a surprising amount of depth, strategy, and micromanagement behind Dog Sled Saga, so it should appeal to any simulation fan.
While the micromanaging part of the game is easy to control (just simple taps through menus), the dogsled racing part requires a bit more involvement. As your dogs run, you’ll have to pay attention to when they start panting — this means they’re exhausted and need a biscuit for some energy. To lob a biscuit, just do a long-press on the screen and you’ll see a trajectory line appear from your dogsledder that will move back and forth. Just let go when the line is aligned with the panting dog’s head so that they can catch the treat. Your food supply is limited, but you’ll come across a few refill stations during the race, so make sure to lob those biscuits carefully. You can make your dogs jump and avoid large rocks by tapping anywhere three times in quick succession (not always successful for me). If a dog gets tangled in the harness, just tap repeatedly on them to fix it, and if the dogs are too close to each other, you can swipe on a dog to make them drift further ahead.
The controls work for the most part, though I did have trouble with the jumping part often. It seemed that the game was not as responsive during real races instead of the tutorial, as my team crashed into rocks a few times. I also had some problems with the text in the tutorial, as part of the text got covered up by the dog card when you’re rearranging the positions before a race. The game also doesn’t seem to use confirmation boxes before you make decisions, which can lead to disasters like accidentally losing game save data. I hope that the developers can optimize the controls and menus in a future update, as it would definitely help out with my minor annoyances so far.
I just started my career as a dogsledder, and despite the quirks with the controls at the moment, I’m enjoying the game. I love dogs, so how can I resist a team of cute and fluffy pixelated dogs? The graphics are gorgeous and detailed, the music is fun to listen to, sound effects are delightful and charming, and the simulation aspect can get in-depth. The racing aspect is fun as well, making it feel like an arcade mini-game in the simulation. I just hope to see better optimization in the future for controls and game menus, as well as some minor text fixes.
I recommend giving Dog Sled Saga a try if you enjoy micromanagement simulation games with a bit of arcade racing action. It’s also a fantastic game if you just love dogs in general. Dog Sled Saga is available on the App Store as a universal download on your iPhone and iPad for just $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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It’s a Concrete Jungle Out There in This Challenging Mashup
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Concrete Jungle ($4.99) by ColePowered is the mobile port of the popular Steam game that came out in 2015. Think of Hearthstone meets Sim City meets puzzle game, as it is a mashup of various genres that works out pretty well. If you’ve never played it before, then there’s no better time to jump in than now.
Life has been fairly hectic for me lately, which is expected as I’ve returned to school for a completely different subject matter than what I studied five years ago. So when I have some time to relax nowadays, there’s nothing more I like to do than just sit down and kick back with a good game on my iPhone 7. I’ve gone through many game titles before, but the ones that stick out the most are the genre mashup ones, like Solitairica and Severed. I like these games because they combine familiar elements to create something entirely new, and they’re usually fairly addictive. I had not heard of Concrete Jungle before, but I noticed it featured on the App Store this week and had to give it a try. Needless to say, it’s going to be one of those games I’ll just keep coming back to when I need to unwind.
One of the things that caught my attention with Concrete Jungle were the graphics. Since I haven’t heard of the game before this week, I was intrigued because the game board is packed with an incredible amount of detail, even on the smaller screen of my iPhone 7. The board is composed of an isometric block of earth, and you can even see the various textured layers of the Earth’s crust from the sides. Each square holds various building structures, which appear miniature in the grand scheme of things, but the game doesn’t skimp out on the features of each individual property. The colors used are fairly realistic of how things are in reality, and I found everything to be laid out in an organized fashion — you shouldn’t be too lost after going through the tutorial and playing a few games on your own. I also love the art style of the characters, as they all appear hand-drawn and painted, and are bursting with their own unique charm and personalities. On the audio side, the game has a soothing soundtrack, realistic sound effects, and some pretty great voice acting.
There are two modes in Concrete Jungle: Campaign (story) Mode and Custom Game, which includes Solo, Versus, Classic — any of these can be saved and loaded with the “Load Game” option until they’re complete. If you’re a newbie like me, then I recommend going through the Campaign, since it will show you the ropes, and the game itself can be rather difficult. The Custom Games let you play solo or versus AI or local players, and you can tweak the game length and other settings to your liking, including an endless option. Regardless of how you choose to play, the goal remains the same: clear city blocks by gathering up the required amount of points from residents on that block. However, you’ll end up building your own puzzles as you get further in the game, as you’ll realize that you’ve created zoning issues depending on earlier actions.
So how do you play? As you start each game, you’ll have about 12 cards in your deck, with your starting hand appearing on the left side of the screen. The highlighted cards are what you can play right now, and if it’s multiple options, just tap on the one you want to play. Each card consists of a building, such as a house, business (shop, restaurant, brewery, etc.), or even negative-but-necessary-for-economy structures, like factories. With each card, you’ll see that it may have a positive (blue) or negative (red) impact on adjacent or nearby squares, so you have to observe these and take them into consideration as you plan out the city. You must clear out the first line (closest to you) by meeting the required number of residents for the block, which ends up getting trickier as you go. When you clear out a specific number of blocks (watch the population gauge in the top right), you’ve completed the stage and can move on to the next level or game. If you need to force clear a column, just tap on the button in the top left — but watch out, it costs one life to do so, and you only get three hearts.
Also, each card has a level, which is indicated by the number in the colored diamonds in the top right of each card. The orange number represents the expenditure cost, which affects the target goal for each column that you need to clear out. The yellow number is the card’s economy point distribution, so once the gauge fills up in the top right of the screen, you get a “purchase” that can nab you a new card for your deck. But you can only choose one out of four random cards, so pick wisely.
You gain experience points whether you are successful with a level or not (more are awarded if you are, though), and once you reach the next rank, you get to add a new building card to your deck. The game also has a total of eight available characters that you can play as, though they must be unlocked, and each one has their own kind of play style that affects the game. Up to three stars can be earned for each stage as well, depending on how many points you manage to rack up by the time you complete it.
I’m a bit late to the Concrete Jungle party, so I’m still trying to get the hang of things, but so far I’m enjoying the game a lot. I love the amount of detail that the developers have put into the game, and it looks great even on my iPhone 7 (it’s recommended for larger device screens). The mashup of deck building, city planning simulation, and puzzle is interesting, challenging, and rather addictive, as I can’t help but keep trying after I have failed numerous times already. I found the controls to be pretty simple, and while it takes some time to understand the rules and objectives, Concrete Jungle is a very fun game once you know the basics. It’s definitely a challenge, so expect this one to last you a while.
I recommend checking out Concrete Jungle if you haven’t done so already. You can find Concrete Jungle on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $4.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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Bounce and Bust Through Foes for Epic Loot in Treasure Buster
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Treasure Buster ($0.99) by FDG Mobile Games GbR is a unique roguelike dungeon crawling experience that mixes in bubble-shooting and pinball-like elements into the recipe. If you enjoy dungeon crawlers and collecting loot, but want something fresh and exciting, then Treasure Buster is one you shouldn’t miss.
When I have time to spare, I like to sit down and play a video game to unwind and relax, as well as pass the time. While I mostly like to keep busy with puzzles, I do love to play dungeon crawler games every now and then. That’s because of the awesome hack-n-slash action and all of the awesome loot that you can collect along the way that make your own characters stronger. I mean, what’s not to like about that? But I did notice that most of the games in the genre are usually the same thing, just with a different skin. So when I saw the news of Treasure Buster hit my inbox, I was intrigued — it’s a completely new take on dungeon crawlers that works incredibly well. In fact, once you get started with Treasure Buster, you’ll have a hard time putting it down.
Visually, Treasure Buster is gorgeous with the retro pixel art style that was everywhere back in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and has been making a modern comeback. If you grew up with the games back then, you’ll feel right at home in Treasure Buster. The dungeons are full of detail and feature fantastic use of textures and shadows to give everything a bit more depth than just looking flat and 2-D. The character sprites are nicely done, as the game showcases great diversity in the heroes that you can choose. They all have their own unique appearances and strengths and weaknesses, and are bouncy with bubbly personalities. The colors used in Treasure Buster range from bright and vivid for the treasure, to more dark and rich hues for the dungeon environments and enemies. And despite the pixelated aesthetic, you can clearly tell what everything is supposed to be, so FDG did a great job with how everything looks and feels here. The chiptune soundtrack is upbeat, quirky, and definitely helps get you in the mood for some pinball dungeon crawling action. The sound effects as you bounce all over the room are delightful to hear, and will bring a smile to your face.
There are two game modes in Treasure Buster: Arcade and Endless. Arcade lets you go through a kind of single-player campaign mode, where you must navigate from room-to-room and eventually reach (and defeat) the boss of the area before proceeding to the next dungeon. You’ll have the opportunity to allocate skill points on your selected character’s attributes before moving on, so there are chances to improve your hero. In Endless, you clear out a room and then choose between two different coin tosses that will determine what the next room will hold. If you’re more into high score chasing, then Endless will be perfect, but if you like to see some kind of progression in a roguelike game, then Arcade is the way to go.
The controls in Treasure Buster are super simple and allow players to play the game with one hand. Since each room holds you, some enemies, and sometimes randomized obstacles like walls and blocks, movement is limited. To fling your hero into action, just touch-and-drag anywhere on the screen to reveal an arrow on your character. The further you pull back, the stronger the fling will be, similar to games like Angry Birds. When you have your arrow aiming where you want to go (make use of physics and angles to get hard to reach spots), just release your finger from the screen and your hero will be on their way. They’ll bounce around the room, hitting enemies and chipping away at their health bars along the way. Sometimes you may have a power-up item, like the Lance, that lets you pierce through enemies instead of bouncing off of them. These power-ups can be activated with a tap on the button in the bottom right corner.
Each hero has their own attributes, which will affect the speed, damage, and even health that they have. The numbers on opponents indicate how many moves you can make before they’ll move or unleash an attack, which may or may not hit you depending on where you stop. It’s important to note the attack patterns of enemies, because when they attack, it’s like dodging in a bullet hell game, except you can’t move. So getting into the best position ahead of time is important so you don’t get hit as much, which means less health you lose and more loot you can get before the run ends. When you’re on a hot streak during your turn, you’ll activate your hero’s “Treasure Aura,” which will get your better, more valuable loot drops from foes, which mean a higher score in the end.
I haven’t played the game too much yet, but in the short time I’ve spent with it, Treasure Buster is a new favorite. I am in love with the pixel-perfect vintage visuals, the chiptune soundtrack is a joy to my ears, and the controls are top-notch and what a mobile game is all about. While the controls are easy to learn, it’s difficult to master since you have to take into account positioning after the fling for maximum survivability. But it’s satisfying to watch your hero bounce and knock out all of the foes, while seeing the screen get showered with shiny loot. This is one game that I know I will be returning to often when I need to relieve some stress, which seems to be a lot as of late.
I highly recommend checking out Treasure Buster if you’re a fan of roguelike dungeon crawlers and pinball. You can get Treasure Buster on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $0.99.
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