Brawl Your Way to Saving the Village in Dan the Man
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Dan The Man (Free) by Halfbrick Studios is an old-school style arcade platformer game that is packed with a ton of beat-em-up action. If you enjoyed tiles like Beatdown, but wish that there were some platformer action thrown into the mix, then you should give Dan the Man a try.
As a kid who grew up in the early ‘90s, I have fond memories of the arcade and even playing the Super Mario Bros. at home. And it didn’t just stop there — I branched off to other various platformer games that I could get my hands on (you know, as a kid with no disposable income). I ended up loving the platformer genre, but even more so when there was some kind of combat and objective other than “jump on some platforms.” When I had heard that Halfbrick Studios, the creators of the popular Jetpack Joyride games featuring Barry Steakfries, was creating a new arcade-like platformer, I was ecstatic to check it out for myself. It’s now available to the masses, and definitely a great way to pass the time if you’re a fan of the genre.
Visually, Dan the Man is oozing with retro charm. Just like other Halfbrick games, Dan the Man has a classic vintage pixel-art style aesthetic that is gorgeous and packed with incredible detail. The environments range from lush wildlife areas to modern civilization and architecture, and all of the settings look fantastic. Character models are rendered nicely too, with everyone having their own unique appearance and movement patterns. The color palette is fantastic, with tones ranging from bright and vivid hues to darker and richer shades. All of the animations are smooth and fluid, and I did not experience lag on my iPhone 7. To top it all off, the game has a quirky and upbeat chiptune soundtrack that just adds to the thrill of the game. Sound effects are also fun to listen to as you beat up any foes that stand in your way. Overall, I love what Halfbrick has created in terms of visuals and audio with Dan the Man.
Like traditional platformer brawler games, Dan the Man features a level-based Story Mode, and you must clear the current stage before you can move on to the next area. Think of the levels in Super Mario Bros. games and you’ll get the picture. But even though the game is a free download, the levels are rather lengthy, and there are even secret areas to discover as you play, so there is a lot of content available from the get-go.
Eventually, you’ll also unlock daily missions and weekly events, which only add to the replay value of the game. Even though Dan the Man is a brawler, there is a story behind the chaos: a mysterious organization has emerged from the shadows and plunged a village into peril. They took Dan’s girlfriend, Josie (the roles can be reversed), and it’s up to you to help save everyone. It’s revealed in an in-game announcement that Dan the Man was originally just going to be a web series, but I’m glad that it turned into an action-packed iOS game instead. The goal is to reach the endpoint of the stage you’re on, or defeat tough bosses in intense battles. But be warned — there are some parts of the level where you’ll have to face off against a set number of foes before you can proceed. There’s no time limit in the game, but you’ll still be breaking a sweat over what seem like an endless swarm of foes coming at you relentlessly.
Controls in Dan the Man are simple enough to understand, though I feel that the button positioning could have been better optimized. The bottom left area will have your typical buttons for moving left and right. In the bottom right area will be buttons for jumping, attacking with your melee punches and kicks, and another button for weapon attacks. You’ll find a variety of weapons as you make your way through stages, and these can range from knives and shurikens to different guns to take down foes with. The damage done by each weapon will vary, and you can switch weapons at any time by tapping on the weapon box on the left side of the screen.
While the controls work for the most part, sometimes I did have issues with the spacing between the action buttons, so I ended up jumping instead of punching or using my ranged attack, and other times I was facing the wrong direction while attacking. While you can change the controls to cater to left-handed users, you can’t drag the buttons into a position that better suits you, which is a bit disappointing. Hopefully Halfbrick can consider allowing us to fine tune the controls to better suit us.
As I mentioned, the levels in the game are pretty long, which is a bit surprising for a free-to-download game. There are several checkpoints that you can reach in a stage, so if you end up failing, you can pick up at the last checkpoint. Sometimes you will find “video cassettes” that play an ad in the middle of a level, which is a bit annoying, but since you’ll be doing a lot of button mashing at times, it can be a nice 30-second break for your thumbs. You’ll also encounter “Ye Olde Shoppe” every so often on a level, which is where you can buy some food to heal up (like apples) or whatever weapon they have in stock. Coins are easy to collect in the game, because it will drop from fallen foes, broken boxes and vases, and there’s plenty of cash just scattered all over the stage for you to collect.
The money you find can also be used to purchase upgrades for your selected character, such as stronger attacks, more health, and even new moves. And if you don’t mind spending a few bucks of real cash, you can unlock special characters that have their own distinctive play styles, such as Barry Steakfries himself. The characters range in price from $0.99 to $4.99 for Barry Steakfries. You can also buy coins if you’re impatient, or go for Premium to get rid of the ads in the game. But again, all of the in-app purchases are completely optional, and the game is still a blast even if you never pay a dime. There’s a nice sense of balance here between the free-to-play aspect and in-app purchases.
I’ve been playing through Dan the Man over the past few days when I’m not busy with other aspects of my life, and am enjoying it a lot so far. The graphics take me back to the golden days of gaming and my youth, and everything about the game is eccentric and fun. The controls do need a bit more polish though, and I would prefer to be able to adjust the positioning myself, so hopefully that comes in a future update. Still, for a free game, it does not get in-your-face with the ads and in-app purchases too much, and there is a ton of content that is available for everyone to check out.
If you’re a fan of action-packed brawler platformer games, then I recommend giving Dan the Man a try. It’s a perfect way to kill some time or just relieve stress — I mean, you’ll be punching a bunch of baddies in the face, after all.
Dan the Man is available on the App Store as a free download for your iPhone and iPad. It has in-app purchases and also is compatible with iMessage for stickers.
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The Struggle is Real When Crap! I’m Broke
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Crap! I'm Broke: Out of Pocket ($1.99) by Arcane Circus is a crazy life management game that hits a bit too close to home for many people, I’d imagine. If you enjoy games that are packed with mini-games, like Peter Panic, but like having a slice of life thrown into the mix, then Crap! I’m Broke is the game for you.
Let’s face it — for most of us, life gets crazy and overwhelming with bills and other unexpected costs that pop up every now and then in our lives. However, while we may be comfortable with where we are now (or not), chances are that we all started out somewhere (or still are). The moment we got our first job, we experienced what it is like to earn a dollar and value it, because that’s about the time when we start having our own bills to pay. And let me tell you — bills are no fun. Of course, while it’s not fun to struggle in life, it does make for a challenging mobile game. When I got wind of Crap! I’m Broke in my inbox, I was intrigued — a game about being broke in life? How could I not be curious? So I decided to check it out.
The visuals in CIBOOP feature a Cubist aesthetic that is rather unique in the App Store and makes the game stand out much more. While it has a Cubist look and feel, it is still rather flat and minimalistic, like most artsy games these days. The colors are a nice mix of soft pastels and vibrant tones as you make your way through the broke life, and all of the contrast comes together nicely in the end. Animations are mostly smooth, though some of the movement can be a bit jarring at first as you make your way from job-to-job due to the odd controls. The game has a quirky jazz soundtrack to go along with everything, and the sound effects definitely make this real-life-simulator feel rather realistic. In terms of visuals and audio, CIBOOP is a nicely done package.
As a simulator game, there’s only one mode in CIBOOP, and you’ll find out that you start off as a guy who just got a new home in the city, and for the first three months, your mom will help you with the rent. But after that, you’re on your own. You have a refrigerator that has some different food items that you can purchase to prevent starvation, and a laptop where you pay your bills and get messages alerting to you either unforeseen expenses or maybe some cash back (but mostly the former). In order to get some cash, you’ll have to get out of your place and go find work from nearby businesses. At first, you start out just washing dishes at the diner next door, but as you pay your bills and earn your keep, you’ll be able to unlock more jobs from other nearby businesses, like burger flipping, sorting cans in the factory, bartending, and even being a bouncer for the club.
One thing you’ll always have to be sure to do is keep an eye on the hunger and month gauges in the top left. The circular month gauge lets you know how much time you have left until the end of the month, when bills are due. The hunger gauge is your hunger — if you work too hard and forget to eat, you’ll starve to death. And if you don’t starve to death, you’ll be buried under piles of debt. Either way, the outcome isn’t pretty. However, the developers did add an “ending” to the game, so if you can manage to survive life’s struggles, there is something to look forward to.
The controls in CIBOOP are simple enough. While you’re in your house, just drag your finger across the screen to pan the camera around, and tap on items to interact with them (refrigerator, laptop, and door). When you’re outside, run to your next destination by holding the left or right side of the screen. When there is a job vacancy available at an available business, you’ll know because of the sign on the window or wall. Tap on the door to enter the business and get to work. Each job is a mini-game with its own set of controls that you’ll be able to check before getting started. For example, dish washing just requires you to scrub the dishes with your finger until the dirt is gone. Burger flipping is done by tapping on your character to flip a burger, and then tap the patty to get the bun on and have it served. The mini-game instructions are pretty clear and easy to follow.
While the controls mostly work, I did have some issues with the burger flipping and factory jobs so far, as I haven’t made it to bartending or bouncing yet. I noticed for burger flipping, some of the faster patties are harder to get the buns on, because I’ve tapped numerous times as they’re whizzing by and barely made it before it got served. It’s not as responsive as it should be, and I hope to see this fixed in the future. I also noticed that for the factory job, as I’m trying to sort through as many cans as possible, my character drops the can a bit short of the bucket that it belongs to, causing me to lose out on money and also cutting down the shift time. These wouldn’t be big issues if it weren’t for the fact that the game is entirely dependent on the amount of money you make, so every little bit helps out here. I’ve been short for the bills at the end of the month because of silly mistakes done due to unoptimized controls, and it’s rather frustrating. Hopefully the controls get better optimized in a future update.
Once you’re done with a job’s shift, you’ll be kicked out of the business and you can either look for more work elsewhere or go home if you need to eat or have to pay the bills. The game gives you a loud, audible warning when you’re approaching starvation threshold and bill time, so by the time you hear the second warning, you should know to hightail it out of there and get home.
To pay bills, just get to your laptop and then choose the “Pay Off” option. But you should do this after getting something to eat first, because otherwise you screwed yourself over with no money left for food. Sometimes jobs will have “Employee of the Month” challenges, which will net you a nice wad of cash if you can successfully complete it. This will help with keeping your tummy full and is a step closer to paying the bills to make sure no debt piles up.
At the end of the month, after paying your bills, you also get an opportunity to purchase things from the web store on your computer. These can be furnishings for your place (disposable income) or one-time purchases that can give you bonuses for working certain jobs for the month. You’ll also encounter some transients on the street as you go to and from work, and interacting with them means giving them five bucks. The game has its own karma system too, so who knows — that generosity may pay off if you feel like going into the market to buy some lottery scratchers. At the start of a new year, you’ll also have the opportunity for New Year Resolutions, like “Go to a gaming convention” or “Visit family.” These are goals that you’ll want to save up for, which will get you some great memories in return.
One big issue with the game that I did notice after trying several times to make it past a few months in Year 2 is the fact that the game is insanely difficult. I get it — life is hard and this game reflects that. But it isn’t exactly fair when you can barely survive for a few months after the first three because the jobs don’t get you enough, and it seems that everything that goes wrong with your computer (battery) and house goes wrong too soon, piling up on your bills. You’re struggling from the get-go and you’ll have to rely on sheer luck to get some Employee of the Month challenges in order to even come close to paying off your bills on time without getting debt or not starving.
I will be keeping CIBOOP on my iPhone 7 because it’s beautiful and a nice time wasting distraction (and it can teach kids a great lesson), but I want to see optimizations made for some of the mini-game controls and not such a steep difficulty in the beginning. If these changes can be made, then the game will be a lot better.
If you’re a fan of slice-of-life titles that are packed with challenging mini-games, then I recommend giving Crap! I’m Broke a try. If your’e on the fence, I’d recommend waiting to see if things improve with updates.
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Master the Art of the Novella in Paperback: The Game
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Paperback: The Game ($3.99) by Fowers Games Inc. is the mobile port of the physical deck-building card game. If you’ve played the physical game and love the rising trend of boardgames going digital, such as Exploding Kittens and Sushi Go!, then you will enjoy Paperback: The Game, especially if you love word games like Scrabble.
As a writer, naturally I love words and expanding my vocabulary, so word games are a genre that I thoroughly enjoy. I’ve gone through dozens of Scrabble-like clones in my time with an iPhone, and I also spent a lot of time with more unique word games like Letterpress. However, in the end, these games got a bit tiring because it was the same thing for the most part, just in a different skin. It’s been a while since I’ve discovered a great word game to play and pass the time, but I think that has changed with Paperback: The Game. Honestly, I have never heard of the game until recently, when I saw it on the App Store, and as a writer, I found it quirky and relatable.
Visually speaking, Paperback has a distinctive kitschy look and feel to it that truly makes it stand out among the overcrowded word game market. Players are greeted with stylish, pulp novel artwork that feels like a blast from the past. There are fine details and textures everywhere, from the character designs to the letter booklets themselves. If you take a look at the novel cards, even though they’re small, they feature fantastic artwork so that it looks like a novel that you could pick up at the bookstore many years ago. Colors in the game range from soft and light tones to dark and richer hues, and everything just comes together nicely. Animations are smooth and fluid, and the upbeat, eccentric soundtrack is a joy to listen to. And as a writer, I was delighted to hear the page-turning and typewriter sound effects as you play, because it just makes me feel right at home.
There’s only one game mode in Paperback, but a game can consist of two to four players. You can go head-on with actual players in a local game (pass the device around) or choose from Easy, Smart, or Smarter AI. You can also change the number of novel cards that are allowed in the game if you want to, but a “Reset” button makes it easy to go back to the defaults at any time before the game.
So how do you play? Even if you’re a newbie like me, the game does have a tutorial in the first game to show you the basics, though I am pretty sure it could be explained better in-game. Regardless, each player will have their own deck of letter cards, which are like tiles in Scrabble. You’ll draw enough cards and you’ll want to spell out a word with what you have in your hand, even drawing another letter from the pile next to the hand if needed (one per turn). The letter booklets can consist of single or double letter combinations, and there are the novel covers that serve as wildcards when you need some help. When your word is scored, you’ll earn a few coins (each letter has its own worth) that you can use to purchase more cards from the top half of the screen, and these get added to your deck to use. Some cards will have abilities, and you can long press on the card to view abilities, cost, and how many stars it is worth. The better cards cost more to get, so you’ll have to know your vocabulary in order to do well. The game ends once two of the novel piles on the right side are empty, and the player who has the most points by then wins the game.
While the game has a tutorial, it isn’t exactly clear from the get-go how words are scored. This is a bit annoying, because you’ll have to play a few rounds before you fully understand the game. But each letter has a point value that is shown in the top right corner — if you can get a point for the letter, you’ll earn a penny for each point that the card is worth, allowing you to buy better cards for your deck. There is definitely a learning curve to the game, since it’s not as straightforward as other word games, but it’s still enjoyable for fans of the genre.
I’ve only played a few rounds of Paperback so far, but I’m liking it so far, despite not playing the original physical form of it. If you did play the physical game, you may notice some things are different, such as the lack of attack cards as noted by one iTunes reviewer. Still, for anyone who is new to Paperback or not, there is a lot to like with this mobile port. The graphics are stunning, the music is charming and delightful, and controls are simple enough for anyone. I just wish that the tutorial covered more about scoring and such, because it is not clear to players right away, especially those who are unfamiliar with the rules. Hopefully this gets fixed in a future update.
I recommend checking out Paperback: The Game if you’re a fan of boardgames, words, and novels. You can get Paperback: The Game on the App Store as a universal download for the iPhone and iPad for just $3.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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Fill the Screen With Color in the Puzzling Flud
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Flud. ($1.99) by Appsolute Games LLC is a puzzle game that is about flooding the screen with color. If you enjoyed games like Open Bar and Bicolor, then you will get a kick out of Flud. It’s definitely one of those games that will make you think before you make your move, and a great option to consider when you just want to kick back and relax with a nice puzzler.
If you’ve been following my work here at AppAdvice for a while now, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of puzzle games. To me, there’s nothing better than coming home from a long and hectic day (and I’ve had a lot of that lately) and just unwinding with a puzzle game because it makes me relax but still stimulates my brain. There’s never a moment where I’m not thinking, so why not put my brain to use solving puzzles and staying sharp? I’ve gone through a ton of puzzle games while I’ve been working here at AppAdvice, but I can’t help but always be on the lookout for new ones, and still get excited when something that looks fresh and exciting hits my inbox. Flud by Appsolute Games is one of those puzzlers that still gets me thrilled.
In terms of visuals, Flud has a super minimalistic aesthetic that will appeal to fans of the look. The game is composed of bright and vivid solid colors mixed in with hues of white and gray. It features simple geometric shapes and the level layouts consist of squares to form grids. Animations in Flud are super smooth and fluid, so I had no problems with it on my iPhone 7. It’s insanely fun to watch the color flood the white spaces with the 3-D rendering effect, especially with the bubbly sound effects. Unfortunately, there’s no soundtrack in the background to help you focus on the puzzles, so you’ll have to provide your own music for that, or just enjoy the sound effects with silence.
Flud, like most puzzle games, is level-based. At the moment, you can play through four different chapters that have about 18 puzzles to solve, so there are 72 stages in total. The objective of the game is to flood all of the cells with color before moving on to the next stage. Unlike most puzzle games, though, players can play any of the six stages on the level page in any order, so they can skip ahead and return to a previous level if they are stuck. There are no timers or points to earn, but the game does give players a limited amount of moves and resources, which is where the challenge comes in.
Controls in Flud are simple and intuitive enough for anyone to understand. To start the “flow” of the color stream, just swipe from a starting cell, preferably at the end. The flow will continue forward until it hits a dead end. But you’ll be introduced to cells with arrows that can change the direction of the flow, and eventually you’ll get access to arrow tiles that can be placed on the grid where you need them to go. To place arrows, just double-tap on the space you want to place them in, and then swipe the arrow in the direction you want it to change the flow to. Each level will only give you a certain amount of “floods” and arrows though (visible at the top of the screen), so you have to use them wisely to flood the screen. If you make a mistake, you can just tap on the undo button to go back one step.
Since there are no time limits or points to worry about in Flud, you can play the game at your own pace, which is nice. The game starts off easy enough, but things get tricky at a gradual pace. The game does have iCloud support to save your game progress so that you don’t lose your place when switching devices.
I’ve just started Flud recently, but am enjoying my time with it so far. The minimalist graphics are nice and pleasing on the eyes, the bubbly, clicking sounds are nice audible feedback, and the puzzles themselves are deceptively simple but prove to be a real challenge. The only improvement to the game would be more levels, so hopefully that can be considered in the future if the game does well enough. Either way, Flud is a great little puzzler for any fans of the genre.
Flud. can be found on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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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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