LowRiders bounce – apparently. I wouldn’t know about such things because I’m English, but I know enough to not drink while riding in a bouncing car. That’s exactly what Vimto’s latest ad-campaign is showing with its line of fruity characters – you know, the one where the fruits bounce their car until they smash together and shower everyone in Vimto? This ad-campaign has been turned into a game for Symbian, “JuiceRider”, where you have to shake your phone and quickly draw shapes. Will it make you work up enough of a thirst to pop out to the shops though?
Keeping up their very high standard, the programmers at Arctica have produced something quite different to their normal (excellent) arcade fare. This one combines Sokoban with Labyrinth, with a touch of Doom-style 3D. Sprinkle in ice monsters and flighty rabbits, plus some mind mangling variations and you've got yourself a 3D treat for puzzle fans.
Tintin, the Belgium reporter-come-adventurer, has been regularly refreshed in popular culture over the years; a case in point being the computer-enhanced “The Adventures of Tintin” movie. We recently reviewed the Java based game tie-in. However, even that game has had a refresh with this HD version. Do 3D graphics and a sumptuous John Williams soundtrack add to the original formula?
We're all too familiar with the 'huge-production-budget game that plays like a turkey' - Air Strike is just the opposite, a labour of love by the developers that's clearly produced on limited resources yet has gameplay that's both insistent and addictive. Ultimately, it just falls short of mass recommendation, but that doesn't mean I didn't have a blast during my review period, blowing up enemy fighters and warships.
Sokoban is a genre you probably haven’t heard of, but have played many times. The original was a Japanese puzzle that involved moving boxes around a room. Without planning several moves in advance you can easily box yourself in. Robo-E is a spin on this classic puzzle with a Sci-Fi theme; you control a garbage collecting robot that has become confused and needs your Sokoban skills to get his job done!
Although I'm a fan of casual games, there does come a point where a casual title can be just a little... too casual. Drop It!, with a total game time as short as a few seconds and as long as you can keep the main gameplay going (around a minute or so in my case), runs very close to this boundary but redeems itself with several physics options, a dash of strategy and a little genuine excitement.
Arctica has got me sussed. Throw in 3D action with plenty of particle physics and a sci-fi theme and I'm basically putty in its hands. In this case detailing a review of the latest particle experience, SpeedFest. If you're into seat-of-the-pants action games then I think you too will love it. Read on for a wealth of screenshots and a video that will give you a great idea of the gameplay on offer.
Tower defence games are a regular addition to my review tray – so much so that I’m becoming a connoisseur of the genre. This is no doubt why Save The City was assigned to me. In this most miniature of militaristic marches, you are tasked with saving your city from a stream of tanks and alien spacecraft. Does it add anything new to the genre or have we seen it all before?
Cricket remains, I contend, a sport that's extremely tricky to simulate in any enjoyable way on a phone screen. The sport timings, complexity, atmosphere - you name it - are all just... wrong. Which hasn't stopped a number of publishers writing a cricket game anyway and Ashes Cricket is, like the othersI've tried, ultimately doomed to disappoint. Here's my full review.
Sideways scrolling platform games aren’t as popular as they used to be. To maintain interest in a genre, developers need to come up with unique twists that will keep gamers coming back for more. Failing that, a good movie tie-in never hurts. Fortunately, GameLoft has managed to do both with The Adventures of Tintin.
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