Though it was released quite a few months ago, Temple Run is the game dominating the App Store today – yes it’s free, but it’s also high up in the Top Grossing chart, thanks to the sheer volume of downloads and in-app purchases.
Tiny Tower developers NimbleBit rightly had a pop at Zynga this week, after Zynga shamelessly copied Tiny Towers to make a rip-off called Dream Heights. It’s nothing new for Zynga though, a company well known for copying, buying and sometimes stealing other company’s games – such as MyFarm and Mob Wars.
Now, how about some nice mobile game reviews.
Paper Monsters
version: iPhone
The monsters in the title might be a bit misleading, as they’re merely there for you to crush and jump on, as in Mario and countless other platformers. But regardless, Paper Monsters looks lovely. Really, quite pretty indeed.
It’s a fairly standard 2D platformer, as you run along at a fairly relaxing pace and jump to collect buttons and paper clips. The characters are all beautifully created, origami-style 3D creations, in a bright landscape full of flowers, mushrooms and rainbows. Ok, no points for originality, but it looks oh so very nice. Occasionally the frame rate struggles to keep up, and the controls can feel a little unresponsive at times, but… puurrrty!
Epic Astro Story
version: Android
Kairosoft can basically do no wrong, we all know this by now. As the name suggests, Epic Astro Story is possibly their most epic game to date – this time, you’re in space! (Well, a newly colonised planet, with space tourists and interplanetary expeditions.)
Fans of other Kairosoft games such as Pocket Academy and Hot Springs Story might know what to expect, although Epic Astro Story crams a bit more in. You basically need to develop your colony – in a manner similar to Sim City or perhaps Civilization. Whilst at the same time, you need to train and level-up your “away team” (full of appropriately named characters such as “James Turk” and “Jean Luc Vicard”), as you send them on missions to other planets and unexplored lands. This is where it all gets a little bit Final Fantasy, as you arrange your away team members, equip them with appropriate weapons and armour, and watch them scrap it out with alien monsters. It’s mildly strategic and exceedingly cute.
It’s hard to say anything negative about Epic Astro Story, as it really does its name proud. Perhaps a sequel could be a little more in-depth… maybe the phone battery could last a bit longer. Probably if it was 69p more people would buy it. It’s close to flawless though, and exceedingly adorable at the same time.
Paper Glider vs. Gnomes
version: iPad
The latest Neon Play game. Those guys are great, huh, huh (wink, wink!). (Full disclosure – a Games Asylum writer may have worked on this game.)
What do you get if you cross Paper Glider, with one of those destructive, puzzly physics games (yeh, you’re all thinking it… Crush the Castle!). You get Paper Glider vs. Birds Gnomes, that’s what!
There’s a bit more to it than just flinging a rock at a tower though – you need to throw your glider, drop bombs, and use a little thought to deal with the various contraptions, switches and puzzles. Plus it looks quite nice, the gnomes sound funny, and it’s free (you can buy power-ups, but they’re really not necessary), so you can’t say fairer than that.