"If there is an app for that"

Omega Strikers review

May 05, 2023 by RSS Feed

Competitive multiplayer free-to-play games are almost always designed to be played over a long stretch of time. That's why I didn't rush this Omega Strikers review out the door. I wanted to wait until I had sunk a sizeable number of hours into the official release and engaged fully with its long-game monetization strategy before attaching a score to it. This wasn't hard to commit to doing, though, as its unique blend of sports and MOBA-like action is equal parts frenetic and compelling, and the free-to-play design of Omega Strikersis about as free-play friendly as they get.

Hero hockey

Omega Strikers is a 3-on-3 multiplayer game featuring a fantasy sport that most closely resembles hockey. The object of the game is to put a puck (referred to as a "core") into the opposing team's goal. This sounds simple enough, but Omega Strikers adds layer upon layer of systems and mechanics onto this straightforward concept, with the foundation of them all being built around a diverse cast of characters who all have their own stats and abilities.

Many of these abilities help you hit the core more effectively in ways to protect your own goal or take shots on the opposing one, but all of them can also be used directly on opposing players to stagger or even temporarily knock them out of play. With your own team dynamics, it's up to you and the other two players on your team to figure out the best strategies for knocking out other players, protecting your own team mates, and consistently pushing the core into the opposing goal to come out victorious.

Sport first, slayer second

If I had to compare Omega Strikers to games that do similar things, I'd probably say this game feels like a cross between Windjammers and Pokémon Unite, though it's closer to the former than the latter. Despite the hero abilities, gear, and knockout mechanics, Omega Strikers is definitely tuned to keep its focus more on sports concepts like playing positions, passing, communication, etc. than more conventional MOBA-adjacent games that also place significant emphasis on direct engagements and winning fights to create advantages.

All of this somewhat depends on how matches come together and progress, though. You can find yourself facing a bunch of heroes with powerful map control abilities but low amounts of health, in which case trying to focus on knocking out players first makes sense. Or, if in the match you are playing you gain access to gear that assists with core striking, maybe you keep your focus on simply trying to outmaneuver the opposition.

Varied value

Omega Strikers is a multi-platform game but I contend that the game itself feels tuned for mobile play. The iOS version does have a few hinky UI issues but none of that gets in the way of the game in action. In my time with Omega Strikers, I've also been unable to tell the kind of device other players are playing on which is to say there do not seem to be discernable advantages/disadvantages to which version of the game you play. If you are averse to touch controls, Omega Strikers has flawless controller support (in-match only) and, if you are not, the default controls work fine but there are also tons of customization options that you can tweak to your exact liking.

Another aspect of the game's mobile friendliness is its various game modes that can fill both quick play session times and longer stretches through things like a competitive mode that are multi-round affairs with additional strategic layers. The only thing I'd say is missing from the game right now is a friendly on-ramp for new players. There is a tutorial and a co-op mode against bots, but neither do a great job of teaching you how to be a good teammate in a competitive setting or try out new characters.

On the free-to-play aspects of Omega Strikers, there are characters locked behind currency you can either grind or pay for, but outside of unlocking the full cast (which--by the way--you do directly as opposed to through some kind of gacha mess), all of the other purchasable items in Omega Strikers are strictly cosmetic. Earning the currency for character unlocks also does not take an unreasonable amount of time (somewhere around 20 hours by my estimation). As for the characters themselves, the full cast feels well-balanced such that characters locked behind currency don't seem to outclass the default characters by any stretch.

The bottom line

Omega Strikers is a fast and fun multiplayer game that is bursting with variety and feels quite unlike most other hero-centric games available. There's something magical about the game's fantasy sport dynamics and it's easy to enjoy completely for free thanks to a very reasonable free-to-play model. In short, Omega Strikers is excellent.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/omega-strikers-review/

Mia and the Dragon Princess review

May 04, 2023 by RSS Feed

There's a secret sauce to making an FMV game engaging and fun that Wales Interactive always seems to be dancing along the border of. I find their output at its most entertaining when the scope is small and the stakes are low. Their latest title, Mia and the Dragon Princess, is certainly on the more ambitious side of things and it suffers as a result.

Action-packed adventure

Mia and the Dragon Princess opens with an animated sequence of illustrations telling the tale of an old pirate legend, the specifics of which shape the full narrative. From there, the game fast-forwards to modern times and focuses on the staff of a pirate-themed bar on a day when a mysterious visitor language seeks their help while on the run from the police.

This kicks off a an adventure filled mostly with stunt and action sequences that only slow down just enough to dole out some important plot details. As with all FMV games, this story plays out through video clips, though the clips you see and the adventure you go on is somewhat under your control as you are sometimes asked to make decisions about what to say or do in specific situations.

Short and sloppy

Despite the generations-spanning narrative and lengthy action sequences, it's easy to complete Mia and the Dragon Princess in a single sitting. While I appreciate a swift pace (particularly for games of this type), the storytelling here feels rushed. There are things you will definitely still have questions about and some seemingly random happenings to grapple with by the time you reach the end of the story.

Of course, you can fill in some narrative gaps by replaying the game and making different choices to reveal other scenes and plot points, but I found myself not finding entirely satisfying answers, and some things just happen in Mia and the Dragon Princess that are completely unexplained or simply strongly implied without really letting you know what is supposed to be happening. This is at its most jarring on your first playthrough when you have the least exposure to the game's world, but replaying only sheds partial light on things.

Acceptable action

Even if there weren't gaps in Mia and the Dragon Princess's storytelling, I'm not sure it would help the overall experience all that much. The twists and turns in the plot are all either predictable from miles away or completely random with no in between and the acting is all very stiff and awkward (thanks in part to a lackluster script).

That said, I was actually somewhat impressed by this game's action set pieces. They obviously don't compete with bigger budget action media, but they are mostly competently choreographed and have some impact to them. If you want to see some of the moves yourself, Mia and the Dragon Princess is a free-to-start title and includes bits of dialog and action before asking you to pay to experience the whole thing.

The bottom line

Mia and the Dragon Princess is definitely one of the weaker FMV games from Wales Interactive. It's certainly more action-packed than most and that stuff is pretty cool, but there's so many other aspects of the game that just don't really come together to tell its story in a way that is particularly gripping.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/mia-and-the-dragon-princess-review/

Scenic Route's Generations review

April 27, 2023 by RSS Feed

Games being ported to iOS is nothing new, but games being ported over from the Playdate--a tiny handheld featuring a crank on the side of it--is not something I necessarily expected. Generations from Scenic Route Software is exactly that, and the game itself is is a perfectly fine and meditative matching game.

Making babies

Generations is a puzzle game that takes place in a cozy living room setting. Above the couch is a 6x3 grid that you place icons that appear on the side tables onto. Your goal is to match these icons to form new ones while reducing space on the grid and progressing like that until you run out of room to make matches or place new icons.

Mostly, the icons you are placing on the grid are people of various ages, though the starting icons tend to be a stork with a parcel that matching three (or more) of creates a baby icon. Each icon when matched "ages up" to become a slightly older version of the people on the icons that were matched and if you match three or more of the oldest icons together they disappear off the grid and age up every icon remaining on the grid.

Life's little moments

There's not a whole lot more to Generations than this basic matching gameplay, but there are a bunch of little details that make the game both more challenging and charming. From a puzzle design standpoint, the matching in Generations has a few key rules you have to keep in mind at all times. Icons can only match if they are touching along orthogonal sides and condense into the new icon at the location of square used to complete the match, for example. The other key principle is the fact that you can't place icons anywhere you want on the grid. You can only place icons next to icons that have already been placed.

Outside of the game rules themselves, Generations has a few nice touches that give it a bit more life than it might otherwise have. The living room shows signs of life (including a cat you can pet), there are fun achievements to discover, and there are special icons you can unlock after learning some of the hidden rules around getting icons to appear on more than one of the side tables.

Perfect from Playdate

In terms of the actual port job, the iOS version of Generations plays perfectly, so much so that I can't tell how the original Playdate version is supposed to play. The touch controls are about as intuitive as you can get, and all of the art looks totally natural despite the original game not having color. All told, if no one had told me this was a game on a different platform I would have assumed this was a game developed specifically for iOS.

That said, Generations isn't exactly a deeply involved puzzle game. You can compete to beat your personal best or against others on the leaderboards, but otherwise there aren't additional modes or unlocks to uncover here. I prefer that to having a game laden with in-app purchases, currencies, or meaningless upgrade mechanics, obviously, but at the same time Generations can feel a little threadbare at times.

The bottom line

It's clear that Generations is made with a lot of love, and that translates into this beautifully colorized iOS version. It's a fun puzzle game, but it is a very modest package. A few added touches certainly add to its appeal, but I wouldn't bank on Generations holding your attention for more than sporadic play.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/scenic-routes-generations-review/

Roundguard review

April 25, 2023 by RSS Feed

Apple Arcade has proven to be a pretty underwhelming service despite the fact that some standout titles debuted there. One such title is Roundguard, which has re-released on the regular App Store and is a creative mix of dungeon-crawling and arcade pinball action. Do yourself and pick up this stellar title.

Loot then bounce

Roundguard is a sort of pachinko or pinball game that is most reminiscent of something like Peggle. You launch a ball from the top of your screen down onto a series of pins and try to hit as many of them as you can to net a high score. Roundguard styles itself after classic dungeon-crawlers and role-playing games though so your ball is actually an adventurer and all the pins in a level are treasures, potions, enemies, and more.

At the bottom of the room are dungeon spikes that can chip away at your health if you're not careful, so the crux of the game revolves around balancing scoring and surviving, and Roundguard gives you a lot of tools to allow you to manage that beyond aiming your shots and hoping for the best. Each character in the game has unique abilities and gear that you can upgrade and swap out across a run that--if played right--can take you through several different dungeons and give you a run at posting a new high score.

Game of chance

There are a few different ways to play Roundguard. In the game's primary mode, you choose a character to play as before going on a standard dungeon run that has branching pathways allowing you to choose mini-bosses to fight, treasure rooms to explore, etc. (though you do have to aim well to choose the room you want to go). There are also daily and weekly challenges though that have pre-select your character and their gear and often push you to play the game in a different way, like managing constant poison, no gravity, or other strange modifiers.

This variety is what keeps Roundguard feeling fresh. Between all of the different kinds of gear, trinkets, game modifiers, etc. it's not often that a run in Roundguard feels exactly like one you've played before. The fundamental idea of aiming shots to try and maximize score stay the same, but the ways in which you do that can and do change often and sometimes drastically.

Chill, but not casual

If you ever played Roundguard while it was on Apple Arcade, this new standalone version of the game syncs perfectly with your Game Center account and retains all of your progress and scores from the subscription version. This was welcome news for me in booting up this new version of the app since I did not want to start from scratch on unlocking new encore modifiers or relics.

I didn't want to start over because Roundguard has over 200 items and trinkets in it that switch up the experience. I enjoy unlocking and optimizing combinations of these items to try and maximize my scoring potential, but the nice thing about Roundguard is you don't really have to do that. The game has a ton of depth if you want to explore it, but it's also just a relaxing little pinball game that rewards you even if you don't try to bend everything it has to offer to your will.

The bottom line

Roundguard repackages the dungeon-crawler in a way that is relaxing and perfectly suited for mobile. I wasn't too keen on recommending folks to buy into a subscription just to enjoy this game and a handful of other gems, but now that I don't have to I heartily recommend Roundguard to anyone wanting a fun, charming, and deep dungeon-crawler on their phone.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/roundguard-review/

TriviaLinked review

April 18, 2023 by RSS Feed

I've been playing Trivia Linked for the past week or two and enjoying its short daily quizzes. It almost feels akin to Wordle in how it is a short-form routine challenge, but I appreciate that it less of a guessing game. It's certainly not perfect and it lacks some very obvious features, but it is fun for what it is.

Make the connection

As you can probably guess from the name, Trivia Linked is a trivia game. It doesn't really have written questions, though. Instead, it serves up a prompt and then two possible choices. The right choice is a response that has some relation to the prompt. For example, a challenge last week had the prompt "Sic semper tyrannis" and listed "Virginia" and "Maine" underneath. Virginia is the right choice as sic semper tyrannis are written on the Virginia state seal and flag.

No matter which answer you pick, Trivia Linked then uses the correct answer from the previous screen as the prompt for the next question. Your goal every day is to get all 12 "links" between these prompts correct.

Just the facts

Part of what has kept my attention with Trivia Linked is its "question" design, or rather lack thereof. In addition to having a clever structure that has you basically word associate through terms and phrases, there's an added benefit having virtually no ambiguity when it comes to providing answers. This is a seemingly small thing, but it often is what ends up putting my off of other trivia games in most cases.

As for the variety of the questions themselves, I could stand to see different realms of trivia explored a bit more. In my time with the game, it seems like a lot of challenges have at least one link about identifying some historical figure's nationality. Still, I can deal with rigidity much more easily than I can either repetition or vagueness.

You get what you pay for

Most times, I complete my Trivia Linked challenge in one go since it doesn't have the wide-open possibilities of something like Wordle. That said, there was one day I got interrupted in my play only to revisit the game later on and see that my incomplete score got logged and everything I didn't complete got automatically marked as incorrect. I don't really care about maintaining my own stats or anything (which the app tracks right on the title screen), but it was annoying that I couldn't even give the other questions a go because I got interrupted.

There was also one time where I opened the app and it said that the game simply wasn't available to play, which was also less than ideal. Between these things and also the seemingly glaring omission of a fun way to share your results with friends, Trivia Linked definitely limits its own appeal. And, before anyone says anything, I know that the game has a way to share your results, it's just not visually appealing and feels more like an ad for the app as opposed to a reflection on your own performance.

The bottom line

Despite what might sound like some pretty significant issues, I am still quite satisfied with Trivia Linked's style of associative trivia. I suppose a big part of that is the fact that the game is completely free, but then again, I likely wouldn't mind throwing a little money at a game like this if it could tighten up some of its design.

Source link:https://www.148apps.com/reviews/trivialinked-review/