Breaking the Bottle : Want more

Name : Breaking the Bottle
Publisher : Jessica Lee
Price : $0.00 on 08 August 2012
Extras : In app to remove Ads
Size : 9.8 MB
Compatibility : iPad+iPhone

Fun to Price ratio : 3.0/0
The game really has a nice concept. However, you will get bored after few retries. What we needed is a few more power-ups,bombs or something like that.

Ready.. Set..  Go..

Game Play

Game is about breaking the bottles by throwing a shuriken. Rack slowly moves downwards. Clearing a row of bottles rewards you a point of 5000 and some bottle weigh more score than others. Total score obtained at the end of one minute is counted.

Score structure.

The concept is straight forward and the name directly implies the game. This concept has big room for improvement and to become a wannabe game. You can see the examples of Fruite Ninja. Simple concept but rich polish made it super hit.

It will be nice, if each bottle contain some kind of liquid (Beer!?).  How it will look on breaking of the bottles? Say some the bottles contain acid! Liquid splatter on the camera. Infinite possibilities; of course, all this imagination from users point of view. As a developer I know its difficulty.

In the end

Results

 

Agent Dash - Yet another running game and more

Name : Agent Dash
Publisher : Full Fat
Price : $0.00 on 11 August 2012
Extras : In app purchase of gems.
Size : 29.2 MB
Compatibility : iPad+iPhone

Fun to Price ratio : 4/0
The game claims blockbuster running game of the year. Yes indeed, another running game, yet it contain many other stuffs that you may like to look into.

Ready.. Set..  Go..

Basic gameplay is self explanatory (Refer Temple Run).  Instead of the explorer you have Agent Dash, instead of coins you have gems and so on. There is no replacement for holy demonic monkeys!. On the other side, no match for the game environment offered with this game. I also noticed missing of accelerometer based controls. User has to drive the agent on right track. You can notice the three tracks on above screenshot.

This waterfall is a hi-light of the base level.

live water

Water fall.

Environment effects worth the praise. For a example waterfall, I feel, very real. I guess rendering all this is a big burden on my 4g ipod touch. I got frequent crashes on this device.

Real fun.
Its seems real fun of the game start after basic level (Guns etc). I felt basic running itself harder. Especially I have to complete this for every retry. May be, a few gems or few $  of in app purchase makes this easier.
[Update: Yes. One time booster 'Backup' for 4000 gems - But, No thanks]

Things made me smile.

Tips for the gamers.

• Running paths are not randomly generated as in temple run; So try to run in a familiar path.
• Booster such as magnet / jet pack always have risk while collecting them, be careful.
• If you are willing to spend few bucks; you can have fun with this game.

PS: What's with the name Agent 'Dash'? Nope. It's not related to Dinner Dash  or any other Dash other than a SEO factor.

Temple Run : An analysis

Name : Temple Run

Publisher : Imangi Studios
Price : $0.00 on 1 July 2012
Extras : In app purchase of coins etc
Size : 20 MB
Compatibility : iPad+iPhone

Fun to Price ratio : 5.0/0
Their is no need of intro for this game; everybody knows everything. In one line: Its an addiction. Its a great game to have its own Wikipedia page. Here, I try to explain (read: understand) myself that, why I liked the game (In a game developer's perspective. I came across this game while reviewing a fake game!)

Simplicity of the game begins with its title. I wouldn't have chosen the title Temple Run. Guess what? Crazy explorer, Mystic Idol.. so on. Here we have 'temple' and 'running', thus Temple Run; beautiful. Next time while naming a game, I wont look for a creative or an artistic name. Rule says, it must simple to remember and should bring a picture of the game in your mind.

Game icon really makes anybody to click on it (at-least when its available for free!)

1, 2, 3.. Go.

Start running.

180° camera rotation, introduce you to 3D gaming.

Power of iphone processor made 3d gaming a practical reality to the mobile world. Unity and other 3d game engines ready and running on handheld devices. This may be next of igames. For an indie developer, 3d may be little cumbersome (FYI : Unity cost $200). As you can seen on above screenshot, each run begins with the awesome camera rotation.

Basic concept behind the game is also powerful : Running. It is the right choice to make a endless game. That attraction, leads us to press the button 'Run Again' again and again! This endless games are perfect choice for a handheld device.


Streamlined design.

Look at the streamlined theme of the game which perfectly suites on portrait mode.

Others

I liked those demonic monkeys!

And the invisibility!

 

In the end: Run Again!
As of now, I have pressed on 'Run Again' button more than 500 times, still I not tired of running. Each run ends with a funny (scary?) conclusion, that motivated me to try again.

The game never force us to buy fullversion or buy more coins. If you want to go fast you can purchase coins.

Feel Funny? Here comes more.

Mmmm, crispy explorer

Hard to run without a head!

You made a tasty snack

Smells like toast!

What the f***?

Missed by *that* much

Nom nom.. leathery!

What the f***?

PS: More information from a fellow blogger.

Stick Tennis : Sports game with stunning graphics and (ONLY) for sports fans.

Name : Stick Tennis
Publisher : Stick Sports Ltd
Price : $0.00 on 29 June 2012
Extras : In app purchase of  Matches
Size : 29.4 MB
Compatibility : iPad+iPhone

Fun to Price ratio : 3.5/0
The graphics of the game is really appealing. My problem was steep learning curve. But, they clearly states in their tag line  "Sports games for sports fans". I am not a fan of tennis, so it was little hard for me. In case, if you want to spend time for 5 minutes, I don't recommend this game.

Stunning graphics: See the samples

Cool colors!

Cool theme!

Rich color combinations are very attractive. One can notice, how the reflective texture patterns are got used in its user interfaces; which makes a uniform theme throughout the game.

Let us learn to play.

The game daringly minimizes complex tennis game-play to a single swipe. Thus, game-play cheaply become based on timing.  You must analyze (or guess) the 3d position of the ball over a 2d screen and wait for the right movement to strike(swipe). All running of players handled by the game itself. The swipe direction controls the direction of the strike.
In practice mode, you can notice a meter measuring the timing of your strike. 

Let's start the real match: With none other than Anna Kournikova!

As you can see match is very realistic. I couldn't dream all this with the name 'Stick' Tennis. Sound effects: Commentary, audience comments are realistic (at least for a casual game). Especially, I liked the sexy sigh made by the Kournikova while serving!  'Stick Tennis' claims that each player has their own weakness and strengths. As if  in a real match, opponent often did many foul plays, mistakes; (AI?) which was quite natural.
 I could not make use of weakness in  Kournikova. After many foul plays, I could finally serve just OK.


In the end

Yes! I want to forfeit. IMHO game control needs little improvement. If your are a sports fan, you may love it and your experience may differ. 

PS:There are other features to check, such as challenge mode.

Madcoaster:Quantity Matters

Name : Madcoaster

Publisher : Chillingo Ltd
Price : $0.00 on 26 June 2012
Extras : In app purchase of themes,coins etc
Size : 25 MB
Compatibility : iPad+iPhone

Fun to Price ratio : 3.0/0
The real important thing, that I should tell about this game is content. Its looks like a formula based game. Get a simple working concept and hire a bunch of graphics people, add lot of themes, purchase items and approach a big publisher. (May be I am biased against big companies). I liked this game; not loved it. Graphics are very rich; music just OK.  What I am missing is freshness.

Ready.. Set..  Go..

Game is about riding a Roller coaster. Your coaster will take you in a big theme park. Tap any where on the screen to make your coaster to jump between the tracks. (Slide down to move to a lower track). You can collect coins. Or you can hit the birds or animal during your ride (Which is a plus!).

Collecting of coins is a cool thing to do.  Many times, coins spread over an arc shape and its cool to jump and collect them. One thing I hated is hitting on an animal or a bird. Specially, I felt bad to dash on a gorilla(?) which made a loud cry wooo :(.


Themes
Game consists lot of themes to ride, which are mind blowing. However if you stop to watch the beauty, your coaster will be off the track.

wow!

Aha!

Watch your track! You are lucky if you have spare life.

In the end

Results

 

Some items to purchase.