Save the Earth From Zombies as Paul Pixel
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Paul Pixel - The Awakening ($1.99) by Xoron GmbH is a classic point-and-click adventure game that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where alien zombies have taken over. If you’re a fan of the point-and-click genre and love some zombie apocalypse action, then Paul Pixel is the game for you.
I know that zombies have been a sub-genre in the horror category for a long time, but it just seems to have become even more popular after “The Walking Dead” hit the airwaves. For me, I definitely got into the zombie thing much more after I fell in love with “The Walking Dead,” though I still have my own qualms regarding the show. I doubt I’ll get into every single zombie apocalypse themed show, movie, or game, but hey, I know how the gist of them go by now anyway. And as a person who grew up with 8-bit pixelated games, Paul Pixel immediately caught my attention when I saw it on the App Store this week, so I had to give it a try.
In terms of visuals, Paul Pixel is beautiful and pays a nice homage to the retro pixelated games that I grew up with. It is also a bit reminiscent of Sword & Sworcery’s style, at least with the main character sprite. Even though Paul Pixel is done up entirely in hand-crafted pixel art, there’s still a lot of detail to be found in the game, and the colors range from nice and vivid brights to darker, gloomier tones when necessary. Animations are super smooth and fluid on my iPhone 7, so I did not experience any lag or choppy frame rates. The game’s soundtrack is also a treat, as the chiptunes are made on an original Commodore C64 SID, so it’s genuine like back in the good old days. In terms of visuals and audio, Paul Pixel is quirky and delightful, serving as a nice tribute to classics.
The game starts out with a cutscene that’s done rather well, and it sets up the plot for the game. In the beginning, you will see a giant alien spaceship flying over the towering skyscrapers of a metropolitan city, emitting familiar beeps and boops. You’ll soon discover that the ships don’t just bring aliens, but they unleash a horde of brain-eating zombies unto the Earth, causing chaos and destruction as we know it. Then you’ll find Paul Pixel in his home, just chilling, until he turns on the TV and discovers that he’s living in a city that is now under quarantine. The objective of the game? To get out of the city, but then it’s up to Paul Pixel himself to save the world, naturally. If you have a good sense of humor, you will appreciate all of the game’s ludicrousness, and there are even references to pop culture that you may find hidden later on. Either way, it’s a nice homage to everything.
Controls in the game follow the traditional point-and-click techniques of older games, but everything here has been optimized for touch screens. To get Paul to move, just tap on where you want him to go to. Once he is next to the edge of the screen, he is able to move on to the next area if need be. To interact with objects in the environment, just tap on them. If they require another object first, the game informs you of what you should look for. Tapping on smaller items lets you carry them in your stash, and you can access the stash at any time by tapping on the hand icon in the bottom right corner. Select the item you want to use, and it will show up in Paul’s hand so you can go to another object or NPC and interact with them using the object.
While the controls work well enough, I did find that it can be a bit clunky at times. Another thing I don’t particularly like is the fact that when characters speak, there’s no way to go through the dialogue faster, so you just have to sit there and read it rather slowly. I wish that there was a way to just tap to advance the text, so hopefully the developer can consider adding that in a future update.
Like every point-and-click adventure game, Paul Pixel has a good amount of puzzles that you have to solve before you can advance in the game. They’re not too difficult and are usually pretty easy to solve if you are observant of the areas you’re in. There will be a bit of back-and-forth as you take closer examinations of the environment for key items, but it isn’t anything too tedious.
I’m still pretty early on in the game, but it seems that the game is not too long — the App Store description says that the entire game can be played through in about three hours. Despite the short game time, I think Paul Pixel is still worth checking out. I love the vintage pixel art style, and the SID music is top-notch. As a big fan of retro chiptune music, I found the soundtrack of Paul Pixel to be wonderful to listen to as I play, and it’s rather soothing despite the post-apocalyptic game setting. Controls work decently enough but could use further refinements to make it more intuitive and less clunky, in my opinion. I also hope that there will be a way to make the dialogue text go faster, because it feels a bit slow at the moment. Still, it’s an amusing way to pass a few hours for just two bucks.
I recommend giving Paul Pixel a try if you’re into zombie-apocalypse themes and enjoy point-and-click adventure games. Paul Pixel – The Awakening is on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $1.99.
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Wrap Your Way Through Challenging Puzzles in Twisted Lines
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Twisted Lines – Mind-twisting Puzzles ($2.99) by Megagon Industries is a new minimalistic puzzle game that’s about colors and crossing lines. If you enjoyed recent games like Spectrum 6 and even And Then It Rained (the developer’s previous game), then you will like Twisted Lines.
Life has been pretty busy for me lately, so whenever I have a spare moment to just sit down and relax, I find the most joy in just zoning out with a puzzle game. Because even though I’m chilling out, I like to keep my mind sharp, so what better way to give it a workout than with a puzzle game? They’re always stimulating and fun, so it’s like having the best of both worlds. And while I have probably checked out most of the puzzle games that are on the App Store, I can’t help but get excited when I see a new one pop up every week. So when the news of Twisted Lines hit my inbox, I was excited to check it out, especially since I enjoyed And Then It Rained rather thoroughly.
In terms of aesthetics, Twisted Lines falls into the minimalistic and flat category that has become so popular ever since iOS 7 came out. I’m personally a fan of these types of designs, but I know that it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Twisted Lines features simplistic geometric shapes that compose the board, show you the start and ending points, and serve as the connection between everything. The game also makes use of bright and vivid colors that complement each other rather nicely. Animations are smooth and fluid with no lag on my iPhone 6s Plus, though I’ll admit that the controls make movement a bit rough, but I’ll get to that in a bit. Twisted Lines also comes with an ambient, jazzy soundtrack that is delightful to listen to with a good pair of headphones. But the coolest thing about the music and sound is the fact that it is dynamic, as it reacts and adapts to your puzzle solution. I love games that do this, because it’s always cool to hear feedback regarding your puzzle solving in-game. Overall, Megagon has done another great job regarding the visual aesthetics and sound.
Twisted Lines has nine different chapters that contain 12 levels each. In traditional puzzle game style, you’ll have to progress through in a linear fashion, and you’ll earn keys by completing chapters. The key is necessary to unlock the next chapter, so it’s important to strive for that if you want to complete the game. Another thing to note is that if you get stuck, Twisted Lines can give you a hint on how to solve the stage. You start off with 10 hints, which is rather generous. You can get 10 more hints for a Facebook like, and another 10 for a Twitter share. And if that isn’t enough, you can buy more hints through in-app purchases: 10 for $0.99, 50 for $1.99, or unlimited for $2.99. Since Twisted Lines is already a paid game, I’m not too fond of this system, especially seeing as how a game like makenines is free with zero ads or hints and just uses a pay-what-you-want model.
The goal in Twisted Lines is have your solid square collect all of the hollow squares that are on the board. However, the key mechanic is the fact that in order to collect the hollowed squares, your solid square has to be the same color. To swap the square color, you have to cross the lines that you leave behind — the first color you cross is the hue you become. You can’t cut corners either, so you have to think about the path before your square ventures out. New game mechanics get introduced on the board as you make progress through the game. The end result is that you’ll start to see gorgeous line patterns, which you can easily snap a shot of to share with others.
All movement in Twisted Lines is done by dragging your finger from the solid square to where you want it to go. However, I’m not sure why, but the controls don’t seem as responsive as they should be. I often found my square off by a space or two, and it feels like the square doesn’t cooperate well enough with your finger’s touch, since the square elongates itself as your finger is on the screen, causing more issues for me. Another thing is that it doesn’t help visibility when your finger is covering part of the screen, and you can’t see where you should move in order to circumvent the issue mentioned earlier. You can use the “back” button that the game has in the corner to back up your square one space at a time, but it doesn’t help much when it comes to moving forward. I hope that the developers can work on better optimization for the control scheme, because at the moment it feels a bit clunky and unintuitive, tainting the overall experience.
I’ve only started playing Twisted Lines this morning, and as a puzzle fan, I love what the game brings. The visuals are aesthetically pleasing with the minimalist design, the dynamic music and sounds are delightful and a great way for players to get feedback on how they’re playing the game, and the puzzles are challenging and put your mind to work. I just wish that the controls were a bit more responsive, as I often end up fidgeting with the path to make sure the square goes where I want it to go. Hopefully this is improved in a future update. I am also not too fond of the fact that the game is paid but still has in-app purchases for hints.
I still recommend giving Twisted Lines a try if you enjoy puzzle games, but I did warn you about the controls. Perhaps time and practice will make it more tolerable.
Twisted Lines is available on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for $2.99. There are in-app purchases.
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Slide and Spin Colored Blocks in Your Own Puzzling Huetopia
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Huetopia ($0.99) by ZealTopia Interactive is a relaxing puzzle game that is about matching the colored blocks with their appropriate spaces. If you enjoyed other colorful puzzles like Spectrum 6, Colorbars, and even Bicolor, then you will like what Huetopia brings to the genre. It’s from the same guys behind Noda and Uncarta.
These days, I’m finding myself to be busier than ever before now that I’ve returned to school and trying to get in the grind of things again. My life has become rather stressful once more, with full time work, personal life, and now round two of college. Long days are ahead of me, so whenever I have some downtime now, I cherish it. When I’m stressing out, I like to take a time out from reality and just sit back with a good puzzle game, since it lets me relax but keeps my mind stimulated, plus these games usually serve up some fantastic eye candy. While it feels like I’ve gone through most puzzle games on the App Store, I can’t help but look for more, and that’s just what I found with Huetopia, which definitely caught my eye while I perused the App Store.
Like many other puzzle games these days, Huetopia falls in line with a super minimalistic approach when it comes to the visuals. The game consists of simplistic geometric shapes that include rectangles, circles, and squares. Behind these basic shapes is a background that is split up into various sized stripes of color that correspond with the hues used in the circles that are embedded into the blocks. The colors in Huetopia are beautiful, as they range from soft pastels to more rich and vibrant tones that are sure to get your attention. While there isn’t too much movement going on in general, the subtle animations in Huetopia are smooth and fluid. There is also a rather ambient soundtrack playing in the background that I found rather calming and soothing, so it truly eases you into the focused, puzzle-solving mood.
In typical puzzle game fashion, Huetopia is based on levels, and you must solve the current one that you’re on before you can move on to the next one. However, you’re free to go back and replay any stage that you want. The objective in Huetopia is to get the blocks into their appropriate color lines by sliding and rotating them on the board along the small square notches. But don’t worry about time limits or restrictions on moves — the game lets you solve everything at your own pace, as there are no countdowns or stars to earn. It’s nothing more than brain teasers that stimulate your mind. If you want to access previous levels, or turn the music and sound off or on, just tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the menu.
Controls in Huetopia are easy and intuitive enough for anyone to understand. Blocks that are lined up vertically can only slide up or down, while horizontal blocks can only move left or right. You can rotate a block by tapping on one of the colored circles, and it will rotate the block against the selected side, which sounds a bit confusing, but you just have to see it in action. It does take a bit of getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, things become easy and effortless.
If you get stuck, there aren’t any hints or undo buttons. However, with enough rotating and sliding blocks around, you should be able to solve any of the puzzles in the game. It’s also easy to tell when a block is in the wrong position, as an “x” appears in the circle if it’s not lined up properly. The game starts out easy enough with just two colors to match, but things get much more intricate and complex later on, where you’ll have three colors to line up with and many more blocks to move around.
I just started playing Huetopia this morning, but I’m enjoying the game experience so far. The minimal visuals are delightful, especially with the nice splashes of color, and the music is tranquil enough to help you focus. Controls are easy enough to understand, though time is needed to get used to the rotation method, and the puzzles are challenging and make you think, which is never a bad thing. I think the game could be improved by having a “restart” button though, in case you don’t feel like tinkering around with a dozen blocks to find your error and just prefer to start over. Hopefully the developer considers adding such a feature in the future.
I recommend giving Huetopia a try if you enjoy relaxing and stimulating puzzle games about color. You can find Huetopia on the App Store as a universal download on the iPhone and iPad for just $0.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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Explore the Psyche of Bruce Wayne in Batman - The Telltale Series
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Batman - The Telltale Series ($4.99) by Telltale Inc is the mobile port of the game that was released just last month. If you are a fan of the episodic point-and-click graphic adventures from Telltale, and love the iconic Batman, then this game is a must-have. It is similar to Telltale’s The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones – A Telltale Game Series.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a fan of Batman ever since I was a child growing up. I always enjoyed “Batman: The Animated Series”, read whatever comics my brother passed down to me, and I even watched the movies, including the terrible “Batman and Robin,” which was at least entertaining for a child back in the day (now I see it as super cheesy). In recent years, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy (The Dark Knight being my absolute favorite of the three), and even checking out “Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice” and “Suicide Squad” over the summer. I enjoy the Batman universe a lot, though I’m far from an expert like others. So when I heard that Telltale was releasing an episodic Batman game on iOS, I was pretty ecstatic, considering you can’t get the full Arkham Asylum games on mobile. So now that Batman – The Telltale Series is available on iOS, I bought it without hesitation and am rather happy that I can play it on-the-go.
Visually, Batman is rather impressive, though I did notice that it is not as up-to-par as the PC and console versions of the game (I saw an Xbox One demo at E3 this year). While it may be good enough for many, I did notice that some parts of the game appeared a bit blurrier than I’d like, or they were a bit rough around the edges. I also experienced a few jumps in frame rate, where I seriously thought my game froze for a second on my new iPhone 7 (the visuals were stuck but voice dialogue kept going). It’s far from perfect at the moment, so I hope that Telltale Games is already aware and working on fixing these graphical issues on mobile.
When the game does run smoothly, I found the experience to be like watching a movie, which is not necessarily a bad thing (it’s an episodic game, after all). The colors are dark and gloomy, with the bright glowing hues from your Bat-tech contrasting nicely. There are a lot of fine details packed in as well, from the dynamic lighting to the textures of costumes. The soundtrack is atmospheric and makes you feel as if you’re there, and the sound effects are realistic. I also thought that the voice acting for the game was incredibly well done.
Since this is an episodic game, you’ll be watching many scenes unfold as you play. If you’ve never played these types of games before, think of it as an interactive movie, where you’re in charge of what happens by the end of the story. Even though a lot of the gameplay requires you just watching how a scene plays out, the game is about making decisions. Every so often, you will play as Bruce Wayne (not Batman) and will have to make decisions as you interact with other characters. There will be three different choices that you can select, along with a standard “…” answer. You only have a few seconds to decide on which one to select, so you have to be quick but also make good decisions, because you’ll be alerted when another character notices your answer, or will even remember it in the future. Your choices as Bruce Wayne or Batman affect the outcome of the story, so choose wisely.
Combat as Batman is fun and tests your reflexes. Unlike other Batman games, it’s not free-roaming combat. Instead, as fight scenes play out, you’ll see prompts on the screen that direct you to swipe up, down, left, or right, or even press the screen with two thumbs at once for a finishing blow. Other times, you’ll see circles on the screen — tap on them to initiate the action, and these can be during combat or other important parts of the game. The combat system made me think of quick time events (QTE) like in Kingdom Hearts II, but it’s much more intense here. While I would have loved a free-roaming combat system for Batman on mobile, I think that this is still well done, and it keeps you on your toes as you watch the story unravel.
I’m still early in the game, but I’m enjoying it so far. The story is rather gripping, the voice dialogue is done well, and the controls are simple enough for anyone to learn without much trouble. I love that whatever decisions you make will affect the fate of Batman and Bruce Wayne by the end of the game, so the replay value is high because you can get different results. I just hope that the graphics are improved, because it does not look great on my iPhone 7, which is disappointing. I also had a bit of trouble with creating a Telltale account for cloud saves, which was annoying. Despite that, I like the story so far and will continue to play, despite the flaws of the mobile port.
I recommend checking out Batman – The Telltale Series if you’re a Batman fan and like the episodic games that Telltale delivers. You can find Batman – The Telltale Series on the App Store as a universal download for just $4.99. The initial download includes Episode One, and you can get a discount for future episodes 2–5 by purchasing the multi-pack in-app purchase for $14.99.
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Glide Through the Cracks and Test Your Reflexes in Slip Away Mystify
November 08, 2016 by macjeff
Slip Away Mystify ($1.99) by Nanovation is an arcade puzzle game that will truly put your reflexes to the test. For those times when you’ve wondered what it would be like to be at the bottom of the ocean and make your way up, this game helps you get a feeling of how difficult that is. If you enjoyed other games like SHREDD (formerly dEXTRIS), then you’ll like what Slip Away Mystify brings to the App Store.
As someone who loves the ocean, it still terrifies me to think of what lies at the very bottom of the sea, because it’s a big unknown for me. I’ve seen what people think it is like in movies and television shows, or even documentaries, but still, it’s a different feeling than being there yourself. But that feeling is something I have always wondered about myself, and fortunately, it can be simulated in video games. I don’t think my reflexes in games are as good as other people, but hey, I’m always willing to give it a shot. So when I saw Slip Away Mystify on the App Store, I was definitely intrigued.
Visually speaking, Slip Away Mystify is beautiful. The game puts you in a world that represents the bottom of the ocean, and you’re a bright and vibrant jellyfish-like creature. The aquatic environment around you is filled with dangerous spikes, pitfalls, lasers, weird contraptions, and other oceanic predators, and everything is full of amazing detail and textures. The colors are incredibly well done as well, as it ranges from dark settings that are lit up from the various glowing objects and other life forms, including yourself. It’s a great use of contrast in color, and it’s very eye-catching. The music in Slip Away Mystify is another fantastic element, as it is atmospheric and adds a layer of tension and suspense to the game as you try and keep your focus. Overall, Nanovation did a great job in terms of visuals and audio for the game.
In Slip Away Mystify, players will have to make their way through 50 challenging levels split up between two worlds (Mysterious and Obscure) that will test the reflexes of even the most skilled players. You’ll have to go through all of the stages one-by-one, unless you manage to collect enough of the yellow gems to skip harder levels or unlock new playable characters. The goal in each stage is to get from the starting point to the key at the end of the level that allows you to open the gate and move forward. However, it’s much harder than it looks, so when you manage to get past a level you’ve been stuck on, it’s pretty rewarding.
The controls in Slip Away Mystify are simple and intuitive enough for anyone to pick up, but it’s difficult to master. Just tap on the left or right side of the screen to have your jellyfish propel themselves upwards towards that direction. When you don’t tap, you’ll start to sink swiftly, but you don’t want to tap too fast because you’ll die if you hit the spikes or other obstacles along the way. The game is about being patient, precise, and dextrous, so all of these will be put up to the trial. And don’t think that the level is done once you just grab the key — you’ll need to make it through the actual gate itself to be done.
As I mentioned earlier, there are yellow gems that you can collect as you swim. The gems are optional, but the more you collect, the more character skins you’ll unlock and you can get the option to skip the insanely difficult levels if you have enough gems. While the game does not have a time limit or other restrictions and lets you play at your own pace, it is still rather difficult.
I just started playing Slip Away Mystify, and despite the overall difficulty level of the game, I’m enjoying it. The art in here is gorgeous, the music is engaging and immersive, and the controls are simple (but hard to master). It’s a challenging game, but once your overcome a stage that you’ve been stuck on, it’s immensely rewarding.
I recommend Slip Away Mystify if you’re into reflex arcade games that feature gorgeous visuals and music. You can find Slip Away Mystify on the App Store as a universal download for just $1.99. There are no in-app purchases.
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