If they ever add the world Halfbrick to the dictionary, I'm pretty sure the definition will read "guaranteed mobile gold." After all, we've come to expect nothing less from the house that Fruit Ninja and Jetpack Joyride built. Their latest offering Colossatron puts players in control of an interstellar space monster with a snake-like body out to destroy every city on Earth.And yet it's nothing like what you're expecting.Your initial guess - especially based on the term "snake-like body" - might be that this is Halfbrick's attempt to update the old school Nokia-era classic Snake. And if that's not your guess, you might think that it's an action game full of rampaging and smashing. But believe it or not - and if you're looking at the screenshots, we'll understand if it's not - Colossatron is a wholly original twist on match-3."
As Santa once said, good things come to those who wait. Wait, maybe that wasn't Santa. In any case, mobile gamers have been patiently anticipating The Shadow Sun, a fantasy RPG from Ossian Studios, since it was announced back in 2010. Slowly but surely it's now made it to release, but has it aged like fine wine or like damp bread in the meantime? Read on, adventurers!One big strength of The Shadow Sun is showcased right off the bat. I'm not talking about the dramatic soundtrack that starts as soon as you first fire it up (though that's nice too), but the extremely flexible character creation system. After picking your gender and a handful of appearance options, you get down to the nitty gritty with several points to put into attributes and skills.The effects of the six attributes are well-explained, and while there's no class system per se, making smart choices can help tailor your character to your desired play style. You might go heavy on Strength and Endurance if you fancy a warrior type who can wield two-handed weapons and wear heavy armor, or specialize in Intelligence for magic use. Charisma might be my favorite; higher scores can actually add dialogue options when you interact with NPCs.
Mech Battle Arena is a mech warfare game created by Glu Mobile. In it, you'll customize mechs, battle through a single player campaign, and fight others in online multiplayer. Gamezebo's quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game."
With the recent surge of World of Tanks-inspired games hitting mobile devices, it was only a matter of time before tanks sprouted legs and we got to see the return of mech battle games. Between popular series like MechWarrior and Gundam, the giant robot battle genre has carved a significant niche, but has still been a non-factor on mobile devices. With the release of Mech Battle Arena, Glu Mobile aims to change that. Sadly, the final product is a game that's unpolished and outright bad in all the wrong places.From the start, something didn't feel right with Mech Battle Arena. When I first booted up the game, I was greeted with a tutorial that summarized the controls in battle. Combat uses a simple dual-analog style of control where the left side of the screen allows you to move your robot while the right side lets you aim, fire your weapon, and switch between weapons. While the controls are standard, the weapon switching buttons are unfortunately placed next to the fire button, where I found myself accidentally hitting them with frequency."The simplicity of combat should be charming, but the execution isn't there. In particular, aiming is one of the biggest hassles. It's difficult to line up precise shots or even effectively run and gun thanks to the aiming and firing control overlap. This doesn't necessarily have to be troublesome, but matters are made worse when aiming itself feels over-sensitive and floaty. I came to dread firing long-range weaponry because it meant missing often as I tried to hit my target.
Zombie Tycoon 2: Brainhov's Revenge is a sort-of-cute, vaguely-horrific and highly-streamlined real-time strategy game that wraps you in the lab coat of Orville Tycoon, a lab assistant who betrayed his mentor, Dr. Archibald Brainhov, stole his zombie-making formula and set off to conquer the world with hordes of subservient undead.But as you might surmise from the title, Brainhov isn't going to put up with this kind of guffola without a fight, and so it's Shamblers vs. Ferals (vs. police, the army, some mutant monsters and a whole bunch of hillbillies) in an all-out battle for supremacy."Familiarity with the original Zombie Tycoon (which, for the record, I don't have) is handy for understanding certain points about the sequel, like why Dr. Brainhov is a zombie and what Orville did to make him so angry. But if you can manage to avoid getting too hung up on the finer points of the plot - and believe me, that shouldn't be a problem - then Zombie Tycoon 2 works perfectly well on its own. Essentially, it comes down to this: There's a zombie holocaust, it's your fault, and now it's time to dig into the buffet o' brains.
Assassin's Creed: Pirates is a ship-to-ship combat game created by Ubisoft Paris. Players man a series of ships in the open sea, fighting off the British navy, searching for treasure, and unraveling hidden secrets of the Assassin's Creed universe. Gamezebo's quick start strategy guide will provide you with detailed images, tips, information, and hints on how to play your best game."
Mathematical! Defiant Development has taken their mobile endless skier game Ski Safari and given it the full Adventure Time treatment this week! But while Ski Safari: Adventure Time feels right at home in the wide range of quirky canon that accompanies the cult-favorite Cartoon Network TV show, does it also have that addictive blend of endless gameplay to match, and to give it that much needed lasting appeal? Or does it simply find itself caught in a candy-encrusted avalanche that stops any fun to be had in its tracks?In the game, players take control of Adventure Time series hero Finn, as the boy gets abruptly woken up from a slumber and is immediately sent on a careening ski adventure down some never-ending natural hills throughout the Land of Ooo. Simply tapping on the screen causes Finn to leap through the air, while holding down on the screen will execute some awesome in-air flips for a seriously algebraic score bonus. You'll also have the help from numerous other Adventure Time characters along the way, like Jake, Marceline, and Princess Bubblegum, who can all be utilized in different ways by Finn to keep him skiing (and sometimes even flying) in the utmost of style."The biggest strength of Ski Safari: Adventure Time is in Defiant Development's extremely close representation of the original source material, right down to the bouncing soundtrack and Finn's accompanying shriek of "Ski Safari!" at the start of the app. Everything from the colorful illustrations to the actual animations look like something straight out of an episode of the quirky TV show, and Adventure Time fans will definitely find a lot to love here, although sometimes the screen can move so fast that trying to key-in on a few of the finer visual details results in an unwanted dizzying effect. You'll start the game out by skiing through the cottony pink Candy Kingdom, but the Ice Kingdom and Mystery Mountains can also be purchased by racking up those coins on your skis.
To be a pirate is to value freedom above all else. If you plunder enough gold, instill enough fear, and get out before the world tears you down, you can be the most free man or woman in the world. At least that's Assassin's Creed's take on those maligned malingerers of yesteryear. Don't expect anything more historical than that in Assassin's Creed: Pirates, the latest mobile take on Ubisoft's blockbuster franchise.If you decide to take the plunge on this pay-for-it-once affair, you'll find yourself free to rebel against monarchy, liberate slaves, and blow away galleons - all without having to leave the comfort of your own ship's wheel. One of the most popular features of the last two console Assassin's Creed games has been naval combat. Like any good privateers, the developers of Pirates seized on that goodwill and ran with it, creating an entire game around the concept."Most of the game plays out in one-on-one ship battles broken into stages of offense and defense. While on the offensive, you wield a number of cooldown-based armaments ranging from time-delayed mortars to good old-fashioned broadsides. Once the enemy's own timer fills it's time to dodge incoming fire with a tap to either the left or right, depending on the angle. Five consecutive dodges earns you a chance to interrupt and start shooting back early.Combat isn't particular complex, or even that difficult. But when the gorgeously rendered waves start to churn and the music starts to swell it is quite thrilling - for a time. Actually, let's talk about the music. The soundtrack features the same swashbuckling, rope-swinging, rapier-rapping tunes as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag on consoles, which is to say that it's fantastic. There's just far less of it.