Developer: FunOnYourCell
Price: $0.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.9 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.6 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.65 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.74 out of 5 stars
I want blood, blah! It’s a little late in the year for a vampire themed game, but FunOnYourCell has created a arcade platformer that will probably please the masses of pasty skinned, sun deprived gamers.
Why blood runner is a vampire game and not a turkey based game (for Thanksgiving) or a Santa based game (for Christmas) is lost on me, because the game really doesn’t need to have a theme at all. You play as a little vampire critter who must jump (and double jump/wall jump) around the screen to get to his coffin before the time runs out. With a thirst for blood, the only thing that keeps him going/extends the clock is blood droplets that you find all over the map (think coins in Mario). To make your journey home difficult, each map consists of a large area filled with spikes, water, and various other traps and obstacles that progressively get tougher to pass as the game goes on.
As far as platform gaming goes, BloodRunner offers some thrills, but doesn’t have any of those magical levels that put it over the top. Once you get the hang of the jump mechanics, each level just becomes a slightly more difficult version of the one before it. Each of the 30 levels are well designed and look quite nice, but there isn’t anything in the game that will really wow you. I liken Blood Runner to an above average game that you would find on Kongregate or Armor Games – good, but not outstanding.
In a nutshell, if you love platform gaming and can’t get enough of trying to beat the world in high score challenges, BloodRunner is probably the game for you. I really don’t understand why they haven’t done Christmas overlay for the Holiday season (there’s still time!), but I am only an app reviewer, not a consultant.
Developer: Com2uS
Price: $4.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0.0
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.8 out of 5 stars
Creating a big time mobile RPG requires walking a delicate line. You can have nice graphics, but not so much that you sacrifice length. You can have a ton of characters, but not so many that you can’t tell one from the other. You can also have quests in abundance, but the key is to not have so many that you dilute the game’s story. At the end of the day, an RPG is really just an interactive book. They typically follow the same plot structure, have roughly the same amount of characters, and always lead to shocking conclusions. The length of the book, or the RPG for instance, should only be long if the story is consistently progressing. Add too many side stories and you quickly forget what is going on, which is the main problem with Queen’s Crown.
The story of Queen’s Crown, not to ruin anything, is about long lost dark forces coming back to take over the world. You play as the not-so-regal princess who, as far as you know, is the last surviving member of the royal family – and of course it is up to you to save the world. You make your way from town to town in SNES era graphics glory (which I love), following the story as best you can. Throughout your quest, though, you’ll find people all over town that need little missions accomplished. Some want you to deliver things, some want you to kill things – the usual RPG fare. In Queen’s Crown, though, these side quest don’t come one after the other, as just about every person you run across needs you to do something. Before I even got to the second town I had already completed around 10 quests, and eventually I just about forgot what the point of the game was. Unlike the RPG greats that have come over the years, there is really no driving force to make you progress. The fate of the world is at stake and you are literally delivering lunch to a girl deep in the woods who is supposed to be collecting wood (don’t worry, she’ll pay you off later for collecting the wood for her).
The lack of urgency in Queen’s Crown is really quite maddening, which is a shame because the game pretty good otherwise. The story (once you get around to it) works, the characters are all likable, the combat system is spot on, offering character level ups and weapon type level ups, and the graphics and sound are just what you want to see in a retro-ish RPG. The inventory/item management system could use a little (maybe a lot) of streamlining, but eventually I got the hang of it.
If you are looking for a fun Com2uS RPG to play while waiting for Inotia 3, Queen’s Crown may just do the trick. It’s certainly not the best RPG in the App Store (probably not even in the top 10), and It may just be a 75 page book wrapped up in 900 pages of fluff, but as far as mobile RPG’s go, it gets the job done.
For just $1.99 on the iTunes Store, you can talk to Santa, and he will repeat your words. You can also touch the bag to see more than 20 gifts. If you are nice, you can give him milk and cookies. If you are naughty, you can run him over with a giant snowball. You can also record videos and save them to your library, uploading them to YouTube and Facebook.
A word of warning: Talking Santa has been known to moon users. I’m not certain what action causes him to do this, but it is there.
Queen’s Crown: Sometimes a princess just needs to leave the crown in her room and kick some serious butt. You take on the role of one mad princess by the name of Ann. Guide her through this action packed role-playing game as she hopes to save Scarbelhold Kingdom from evil. Four weapons and six different spells are there to help keep the enemies shaking in fear. Just check your adulthood at the door as this is a comical story looking to make you laugh as you burn your foes to the ground.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-11-30 :: Category: Games / Role Playing
Aqua Panic Deluxe: You may like destroying pigmies or leading lemmings to their deaths, but you will be shifting gears to that of a lifesaver with this game. It is up to you to save these poor helpless and defenseless fish from traps, sharks, and even starving seagulls. There are 80 challenging levels, and 8,000 pieces of sushi that need your saving. Sadly, you cannot enjoy those you have rescued with a side of pickled ginger and wasabi.
+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-12-01 :: Category: Games / Family
Braveheart: Those looking for a little action in their role-playing games need not look any further. You take the role of Knight Richard in his search for the Holy Grail. Finding this treasure never seems easy, no matter whom the hero is. Ten different weapons, magical spells, and your whits are all you get to aid you in your search. Careful though, evil bosses are looking to end your pathetic life the moment they see you. Some enemies are so anti-social.
iPhone App – Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-11-20 :: Category: Games / Role Playing
Djay: Do you fantasize about being the master of the turntables? Maybe you already are, but are sick of explaining what they are to the TSA agents at your local airport. Djay will take your ordinary iPad and morph it into a full-fledged DJ system. Control tempo, EQ, and so much more with this heavily packed app. If you would rather leave the equipment at home and travel on the lighter side, this app just maybe the ticket to your freedom.
iPad Only App – Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-12-02 :: Category: Music
SlingPlayer Mobile for iPad: Ever wished you could watch current television shows right on your iPad? If you have a Slingbox SOLO or PRO-HD, you just found a way to complete the media experience. SlingPlayer Mobile allows you to connect to these devices over 3G or Wi-Fi to stream anything from your cable box to that new Apple TV you just purchased. Even better, if you have a home security system, you can stream that to your iPad as well. You may never leave your warm bed after installing this app.
Developer: Little Fun & Games
Price: $1.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad
Graphics / Sound Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Game Controls Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.25 out of 5 stars
Replay Value Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.56 out of 5 stars
They say that the average person knows 5,000 to 6,000 words, though the number of words in an abridged dictionary averages at around 50,000. However, there’s always time to learn a few new words or brush up on those you forgot you knew in the first place, and Wordstr is a fun way to do just that. The straightforward game is quite addictive, but if you don’t already have a rather robust word roster you may not find it all that entertaining.
The game itself is as simple as it gets. Every round you have three minutes to deduce a random four or five-letter word. Every time you enter a guess the game tracks how many letters you managed to get right and lights them up on the keyboard. Thus, stages become a race to eliminate all the incorrect letters while unscrambling where the correct characters go. It’s a bit of a mix of Hangman and TextTwist, but without the frills and thrills. While there are bonus rounds where you can try and decipher anagrams of the round’s secret word and the ability to challenge your friends’ high scores via OpenFeint, that’s really all there is to it.
The lack of any visual panache also hurts the app, as the absence of any interesting backgrounds or entertaining themes leave a rather bland palette. Maybe some catchy music would make Wordstr more entertaining, but you’re better off listening to your own iTunes collection than the game’s included soundtrack. Ultimately, the whole presentation package is a bit of a letdown.
The gameplay of Wordstr makes it quite addictive if you enjoy this type of game, and once you’ve developed a strategy for weeding out letters and figuring out the secret words it’s very satisfying to run through multiple rounds and rack up incredible scores. This is a title clearly aimed at a more cerebral audience though, as the lack of any sort of hints or tips system means it won’t coddle folks who don’t happen to be gifted wordsmiths. This is an app meant to appeal to the Scrabble crowd, but then why would that group need this game? Wordstr can indeed be quite fun, but the niche genre it’s meant to appeal to might already have all their vocabulary-testing needs fulfilled elsewhere.
Why blood runner is a vampire game and not a turkey based game (for Thanksgiving) or a Santa based game (for Christmas) is lost on me, because the game really doesn’t need to have a theme at all. You play as a little vampire critter who must jump (and double jump/wall jump) around the screen to get to his coffin before the time runs out. With a thirst for blood, the only thing that keeps him going/extends the clock is blood droplets that you find all over the map (think coins in Mario). To make your journey home difficult, each map consists of a large area filled with spikes, water, and various other traps and obstacles that progressively get tougher to pass as the game goes on.
The story of Queen’s Crown, not to ruin anything, is about long lost dark forces coming back to take over the world. You play as the not-so-regal princess who, as far as you know, is the last surviving member of the royal family – and of course it is up to you to save the world. You make your way from town to town in SNES era graphics glory (which I love), following the story as best you can. Throughout your quest, though, you’ll find people all over town that need little missions accomplished. Some want you to deliver things, some want you to kill things – the usual RPG fare. In Queen’s Crown, though, these side quest don’t come one after the other, as just about every person you run across needs you to do something. Before I even got to the second town I had already completed around 10 quests, and eventually I just about forgot what the point of the game was. Unlike the RPG greats that have come over the years, there is really no driving force to make you progress. The fate of the world is at stake and you are literally delivering lunch to a girl deep in the woods who is supposed to be collecting wood (don’t worry, she’ll pay you off later for collecting the wood for her).
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