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Tomorrow's Friday - Release your stress with Face Fighter

For the ones back to work, it's finally Friday tomorrow. If you feel you need it, here you have a stress release game that you know from 2009 - Face Fighter from Appy Entertainment.
For some reason I used my face to try this app, not a good idea. You are meant to use with your boss or father in law. Fun game with fun references. Don't miss it (they have a lite)

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Posted 2 months ago

Plushed! Reviewed - A surreal 2D platformer with beautiful art

If you follow me on twitter and read the reviews in this blog you will know that one of my biggest complaints about iPhone games is the lack of a story or interesting plot. It works for some games while others don't really need it. Perhaps I'm simply tired of bad attempts.

When I previewed Plushed [iTunes Link] I was surprised,and now after testing this game I can surely say that they have put some effort in that matter. Plushed by Blacksmith games is an iPhone platformer like no other. Set in a wicked fantasy world, you are in control of a plushy bunny in search of its owner, who happens to be the princess. It is all around food, with spaghetti balls trees (similar to the flying spaghetti monster) and pizzas to tease the game creatures.

The plot originality is one of the most remarkable elements of this production, but I also like the story flow. The player will need to talk to characters, read post notes and event get advice from its sword. Yes, the sword talks and it is the cutest thing ever!

The visual style is beautiful and full of hand drawn illustration-like characters, varied backgrounds and cartoony animations that work very well together. This makes the game purely 2D and currently the aim of the developer is to add new characters and content via updates.

Every chapter is different, with different goals, techniques to be used and varied scenery. So far I have played the three first levels and I have the feeling that as much as I like Plushed, there is a certain something missing. The gameplay is fair, but not perfect. Classic platformers where so basic that were easy to play and guess what one had to do. Plushed is so rich in content and surreal fantasy that you really have to get immersed to understand what to do straight away.

via youtube.com

The platforms, walls and objects are very nice, but they are so novel and do not get repeated in levels, so it's difficult to make sense of what they do. You know what I mean: You can jump to a platform, you can't jump a ceiling. I found it impossible to differentiated them, specially because some have odd shapes and end in edgy corners.

The main gameplay fault is the absence of damage UPDATE: The latest Plushed update gives the bunny 3 lives solving the "one hit and you're dead" issue. You don't even get a second chance. There are infinite lives as well. I would like to get my character blinking indicating danger so next time I know! At least there are checkpoints so you don't loose all the progress. Some of the enemies are so cute that it is difficult to know they are harmful. A blonde girl moving around is going to kill you? I will hug you to death!

Plushed fails to deliver in that sense, but it is otherwise a cool game with lovely 2D graphics and even some minigame surprises along the way. There is no doubt that this game breeds from the real videogame classics Mario and Sonic sagas, but is missing a level of freshness, speed or freedom to move that is counter attacked with a great history. If you like games with level of detail, the amount of random stuff and crazy references is breathtaking. See the screenshots for an enemy inspired in the dancing banana forum emoticon.

For their first game, Blacksmith has done something really good but must need to listen to feedback to follow other successful iPhone devs that do the same. They certainly do not lack imagination nor initiative (These are the chaps who organised the AppVent calendar). The game has been release recently, and it is currently on introductory sale. I suggest you grab it since it will gain value with time.

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Posted 2 months ago

Soosiz is The iPhone platformer

For the last two weeks I've been watching carefully the debut of Touch Foo's new game Soosiz.With all the capabilities that the iPhone has to offer to gamers, I still had not found a game that grips me like Super Mario Land 2 did in that big old Gameboy in the 90s. I'm pretty sure that most of us have that feeling that platform games used to be fun: The Super Mario Bros and Sonic the Hedgehog series, Castelvania, Metroid, Megaman,... Who doesn't remember those titles? Soosiz breeds from the golden age of platform gaming and brings it to the iPhone. It has gotten raving reviews from major websites and it has even been selected Slide to Play's runner up Game of the Month. But what is all the hype about?

Don't be fooled with its looks, this is no Rolando. It feels like a mashup of platformer games. Soosiz uses the traditional controls of move forward/backwards and jump with traditional on screen controls. So no more tilting the iPhone to get rolandos moving. The physics however, are going to be familiar if you have played with the soldier Rolando before. Your Soosiz character can walk upside down in most of the platforms, but will fall if you're not careful.

There are plenty of enemies and obstacles that have been designed beautifully. Since your Soosiz doesn't carry any weapon, you will have to jump over the enemies ala-super mario to get rid of them. You're not alone in your quest. Smaller friendly soosizs will follow you and will be used as power up and give you new abilities. Try to collect all your friends to get more points.

Soosiz feels very natural to play, the physics and gravity rules will surprise you and it took me a couple of attempts to get it right. It has a whole universe to complete, like all the classic platformers, and sometimes you'll have to explore the full level to access hidden areas and goodies, and then fight the final boss. Prepare to play a good variety of scenarios and elements (scuba diving and moon walking, for instance).

The only drawbacks I find in this game is that the music and the characters are not very memorable or charismatic. Perhaps it has to grow on me, but Rolando and Castle of Magic had more work put into the characters.

With that said, I hope to see the round walking Soosiz around for a long time and hopefully we will get sequels and 3Desque graphics. Soosiz is a recommended game for platform nostalgics and any casual gamer that like smart, puzzly and challenging iPhone experiences.

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Posted 4 months ago

Snake game comes back with the iPhone with space theme and OpenFeint treatment

Star Snake ★ ★ ★ from developer Daigo Wakabayashi is finally out for the joy of the classic snake game, one of the first interactive games in mobile phones. Who doesn't remember the Nokia version? In Star Snake you are set in a Galaxy far far away and you command a starship. The aim of the game is to collect as many shiny stars as possible without crashing your ship. There is a trick. Every time you collect a star, it will be stored, making your vessel longer.

This new take on the classic snake game allows the developer to include some modern animations and light games keeping the retro look. The background is as expected a space shot, but it is a shame that it doesn't change or move, it is the same picture again and again. The game controls are simple and clear, but we have only one control option: Buttons. They are well designed and place, and along with the topbar it gives the game a dark UI feel.

This type of game has only one mode, what we could call survival mode. You can set the difficulty to easy, medium or hard. The hardest made the gameplay faster and it is recommended. As simple as this gets, adding a social element such as OpenFeint integration, the result can be very good fun.

If you are a retro gamer or just feel nostalgic and want to play the good ol' snake, this is for you. Space nerds might want to check it out. With the drawbacks no game levels at all, no control setup and current price I give it 3 ★ ★ ★.

There are some other alternatives for this kind of game like Snake Galaxy, OmNomNom or RoboSnake 3D

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Posted 4 months ago

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Tomorrow's Friday - Release your stress with Face Fighter

Plushed! Reviewed - A surreal 2D platformer with beautiful art

Soosiz is The iPhone platformer

Snake game comes back with the iPhone with space theme and OpenFeint treatment