Game: Candy Blast Mania

It seems for every mega-hit game there are ten shameless knock-offs. Match three game, Candy Blast Mania is an obvious riff on the absurdly popular Candy Crush Saga, complete with candy-colored icons, characters, and effects. Although there's some fun to be had here, Candy Blast Mania ultimately feels like Candy Crush's awkward younger sibling—less mature, less polished, and noticeably less interesting.Continuing to mention Candy Crush could sound like belaboring a point, but it's well-nigh impossible not to make comparisons between the two games so bear with me. First, let's acknowledge that the Candy Crush magic is based on several things: the music, the story, the maps, and the unusual, graphic look of the game. Candy Blast Mania seems to get this too and does its best toborrow from the Candy Crush style book. Even so, it never achieves the same impact."To begin with, the game's music is appropriately spritely. The problem is it's also repetitive and not particularly distinct. Lack of distinctiveness can also be attributed to the game's story, which is more or less nonexistent. While Candy Crush isn't exactly War and Peace, it does contain a simple little narrative which it conveys through cute, 2D animations, and by delineating different areas of its fun little map. By contrast, Candy Blast Mania'sstory is barely hinted at through periodic boss-battles. Winning these battles doesn't award you with anything, neither fun little story blurbs nor map changes, so you move from level to level with nothing to create a sense of achievement or progression.