Mobile Friday - BirdHeroes - It Looks Good, But It’s Too Rough To Recommend For Now

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out BirdHeroes from RYUJI KUWAKI. I Played this on my iPhone 14 Pro, but it's also out on Android.

I had previously played SubaraCity and was eager to try out this new game. Unfortunately, it doesn't start off great as it immediately puts you into the game without any instructions on how to play it. i only had a vague sense of what happens because i had seen the screenshots and video in the app store. This is something that continues throughout my experience with BirdHeroes and it became a big frustration.

There are some tutorial sections, but they often came after the section where the mechanic was introduced. There are other tutorial levels, but it's not immediately obvious they're levels you can select and not just trees that are part of the background. When you start them, the English is sometimes vague and even unhelpful at times. It's a sign that this newly released game needs more work and maybe got released too early. 

I had issues with the tutorials, issues with the translation, and issues with the game mechanics. i had guessed a lot and was mostly correct with what happens. but actually doing it proved to be the issue more often than not. With nearly every bird i tried to ride, when it came to sections off the bird i was mostly unable to get back on it. All the birds move, some more unpredictable than others. But the game says there's a 5 second window on these sections when the game is essentially paused. so there's a rush to collect as much fruit and get back on your bird. But your bird may have other ideas and is moving around, flying behind the stage, or just darting unpredictably. i honestly have no idea how it works. sometimes i feel like the bird moved to grab me, other times i fell right beside it. sometimes the bird was quick to get me back, other times it felt too long for it to grab me. i didn't like these sections when ever they came up. even after this video, i still don't think they've been fully explained either.

So with these puzzle platforming sections slowing me down, i came to a point where i couldn't beat any of the levels. these are start of the game levels and i could not get better than 2 out of 3 stars. Unfortunately, the game does nothing to offer hints or tutorials on what to do or how to get better. there is a Upgrade Building i got to, but i have no idea how it works. i couldn't access it. i don't know if that's because i've not done something, if i've not got something, or if it simply wasn't accessible.

With such a large part of the gameplay becoming very quickly frustrating, it was almost inevitable that the game would have intrusive adverts. Thankfully, these adverts are short. but they appear seemingly randomly after some levels with no warning.

Perhaps i came into this game with expectations too high. It does look good. the music is good, too. the screenshots and trailer looked like fun. but actually playing it simply became frustrating. I do think there is potential with this idea, but with the game in such a bad state right now i simply can't recommend it. It needs far too much work for me to even suggest downloading and waiting because it's just not worth playing right now.

(Version 1.0.05 Played)

Mobile Friday - Dream Detective: Merge Game - The Choice To Wait Or Pay To Play Came Far Too Soon

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Dream Detective: Merge Game, from Century Games on my iPhone 14 Pro. This game is also out on Android and PC. 

The app store page for Dream Detective: Merge Game immediately grabbed my attention with it's beautiful colorful art. i was instantly curious whether this is purely for the app store or if the game looked this good. from the screenshots i instantly knew what kind of game parts of it would be, but i was keen to find out how it could combine detective gameplay with merge game play. But the developers #CenturyGames also make another game i'm familiar with called Whiteout Survival. I've been bombarded with ads for that game for a long time now and it had garnered a reputation that the ads don't match the gameplay.

Thankfully in starting the game it was clear that the artstyle is used in game and it looks fantastic.  unfortunately, that's about all the praise i can give Dream Detective: Merge Game. the tutorial is bad and seems to give up almost immediately. in about 15 minutes i had finished what i could do in the game. it left me with the choice of waiting 2 hours or paying with gems to continue. This sucked for me, someone who was starting the game for the first time, as the game had done nearly nothing to prove to me that i should continue and not delete it. 

And that's one of the games biggest problems. i only knew about the size of the game world because i had a look, the game did nothing to convey it to me. the game has done nothing to show off the detective gameplay teased in the app store pictures. the game has done nothing to explain the 3 currencies in the game. i've worked out 2, but i have no idea about the third. Because the time was soo short, the game hadn't really begun and it was already asking us to wait or pay to continue without ever justifying why.

Dream Detective: Merge Game is a game i can't recommend unless you're OK playing the game for 10 minutes every few hours. It's introduction to first time players is almost rude in how poorly designed it is. in this series, games typically allow players to do a lot in the beginning before slowing down and a grind beginning or the player running out of energy. often that's about 30 minutes, plenty of time for players to learn the mechanics, get the back story, and have an idea where things are going to go forward. But Dream Detective: Merge Game gave me none of that, and even less when you compare with what's seen in the app store. 

(Version 10.0 Played)

Mobile Friday - Space Intern - The Graphics And Gameplay Are Good, But Wait For iOS Bugs To Be Fixed

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out Space Intern, from Oaky Games on my iPhone 14 Pro. This game is also out on Android. 

There's a lot i liked about this game, but lets start with the bugs. i've never seen a game with the flickering bug that this has. around the edges of the screen whilst in a level, it continuously flickers. it's hard to describe how annoying it was. as i've never seen this bug before in any other game on my phone, it is possible this is a bug specific to the iPhone 14 Pro and the HDMI Adapter. In my conclusion at the end of the video, being aware that this big bug maybe really specific to my situation, i compromised by saying that it's worth downloading and trying. if the bug persists, i would still keep the game and await and update.

I did have fun with the game. the levels are a good length for a mobile game whilst also providing a good puzzle platforming challenge. there are things i would change to make the game more approachable as it's currently a game where you will die, learn, and make progress. i'm an experienced gamer so i was able to work things out, but having a little more tutorial in the early part of the game would be nice. the characters do talk so they could offer some hints early on as to what's ahead. But in these types of games, they're not typically designed to be accessible. the point is to die and learn and make progress.

Space Intern does have adverts. i'm not impressed how they're seemingly randomly inserted between levels without warning. I'm not saying it's wrong to have adverts, i just feel it could've been handled much better. if the adverts aren't random, then all it needs is for the character you meet at the end of the stage to say "...and now a word from our sponsor" and in the way this game is written it wouldn't be too out of place and easy to explain. thankfully, all the adverts i came across were short so those with data plans may not have to worry immediately.

Something i'm not sure if it's a bug or a design choice is the jump. in the video i show how it has a weird lag between when i press it and it happens. so i would touch the screen, the jump button on screen would then animate, and then my character would jump. whilst i was able to mostly adjust to it, it's not expected in a puzzle platformer like this so it sticks out. But when i played with a bluetooth controller, the timing of the jump felt much better and when i pressed the jump button.

There's a lot of this game left to unlock. but for me, personally, i'm not going to go back and play it until it's patched. what Oaky Games have here is something with a lot of promise. but you shouldn't get something because of the promise, you should get it because of what it has. But i would recommend you download the game and check it out as the bugs might be specific to my phone or my recording situation. the graphics are great, the music is limited but each track is good and appropriate. the levels are mostly smartly done and there's reason to go back and try them again. But if it doesn't work, don't force yourself to play through.

(Version 1.7 Played)

Mobile Friday - F1 Clash - I Don’t Recommend it!

For Mobile Friday this week is i tried out F1 Clash from Hutch, it was formally known as F1 Manager when it was originally released in 2019. i played it for around 50 minutes on my iPhone 14 Pro, but it is also out on Android.                                                                                                            

I'm a big fan of F1 and have watched it since the 90's. so going into this game i did have a certain level of expectations. I know the rules of F1 and how things tend to go. From the very beginning of this game i had issues with it. F1 Clash starts with a "Tour" and i fully expected that to be the tutorial, for it to take me round each of the menus (maybe calling them facilities) and to somewhat hold my hand through my first interactions with the team. Nope, the first thing on the "Tour" was for me to design the car's livery. 

things don't improve when you do the first "Race". your two drivers are Daniel Ricciardo and Mick Schumacher, and then they're not your drivers anymore. it almost feels disrespectful how abruptly their participation with your team ends. Race is in " " because i totally misunderstood what kind of game this is from that first tutorial race. in the tutorial, you're racing against a full field of other drivers and teams. But actually, that's not the point of the game. and even now, writing this, i'm annoyed that i was made to do a tutorial that totally misrepresented what the game actually is. because what you're actually doing is racing other people.

But are they real people? i don't know. i wasn't signed into Facebook or Apple, so where did these other "online" people come from. when it was choosing them, the same backgrounds kept appearing. and the first two opponents had the same driver line-up. at no point did it ask me about playing online or say that was what we're doing, and yet it tried to give the impression that was what we're doing. this isn't the only time something like this happened as i pressed a "Free Rewards" button assuming it was a free reward, it said collect now. but as soon as i pressed it it started playing an advert. it never asked for permission. and it wasn't a short advert either. i cut about 1 minute 15 seconds from this video. as the game did that to me, later when i see another "Free Crate" in the shop i'm genuinely apprehensive about clicking it as i assume it's just going to be another video.

At least clicking on that did something. in the Race section, a new option appears alongside "Duel" and "Spinners" but i don't know it's name. it had the name of this weekends Race at Barcelona in Spain, but what it is actually called i don't know. i clicked it and it told me the rules and then took me to a screen that had many options but they were all locked. even now i don't know why. nothing in the rules explains this. the locked button never tells me why it's locked. it's never explained what i need to do to unlock it, even tho the game had no issues with letting me get to this screen. even now i have no idea what the point of that was.

That's not the only time where the game locks stuff off, or has a lack of information. right at the beginning when you're designing your car's livery, there are locked liveries with no explanation on how to unlock them. In the shop there are drinks you can buy with no information as to what any of them do. later on i find another screen else where that details what each drink does, but it should've been in the shop. When it comes to assigning drivers, every driver is listed. at the time they were listed by series and i had no idea what that meant. i later learned that it was do to with what "race" i had unlocked, but at this point in the game it was needless confusing.

And then there's the Formula One stuff of the game, but even that is not realistic. If you're a fan of F1, it's really difficult to recommend this game. the tyre rules are not respected, the Ai is a mess, the racing is unrealistic, there are soo many crashes it makes a series like Formula E look tame. i even had a moment when, in the pits, i had a car being worked on and it got rear-ended by it's teammate. there's zero consequence for crashes and yet when tyre life hits zero the cars crawl to snail pace, and who knows how long a tyre will last as there's zero information being given to you. there's no help, you have to guess all the way.

I could go on, but ultimately i just wasn't having fun. it's an old game that feels even older. the developers should've made something new in a modern style. i just can't recommend it.

Mobile Friday - Tomb Raider Reloaded - A Different Take on a Tomb Raider Game

Mobile Friday this week is Tomb Raider Reloaded, a recently released game that's out across iOS and Android stores from developers Emerald City Games and publishers CDE Entertainment.

I'll admit that this is the most of a Tomb Raider game i've played since the first one came out on PS1! it's a series that i've never really played, and i won't say which it is but it's not the biggest series i've never played/played much of. So going in, i didn't particularly care about how they treated the serie's past.

I think you'll see throughout the video that the game never really grabs me. for the most part, in the 50 minutes i played, the gameplay was mostly solid. i say mostly because controlling it still felt a little off. i thought that maybe there was some lag or some issue with where you were controlling the game on screen. for example, on screen you can see where i initially touched to move. but my finger would be much further away from that spot by the end. the game also did the thing of saying we could buy something for it with no context as to what any of it meant. i don't mind free to play games advertising their own items/bundles/deals/etc... But what i do mind is when they offer something that the game itself hasn't explained/tutorialized or even been shown in the game.

It's a great looking game. i don't mind the art direction they went with for Lara's design. the music is fairly minimum and didn't grab me that much, but i did like the voice acting. it's just that i was getting bored by the end. we played through soo many stages in this video and they were mostly the same premise. we also did a couple of boss battles and they felt like bullet sponges. the game feels slow. in one way that makes our character feel more human whilst those around maybe a tad faster. but it also slows down the pace of the game that kinda goes agains the games own design. the stages are small, they feel like they should be completed fast. but Lara moves a little slow, the enemies take more bullets than you think they'd need, and the lack of rumble disconnects the player from the action in an unexciting way.

Quantic Dream Have Released A New Trailer For The Beyond: Two Souls Mobile App

Sony and Quantic Dream have released a new trailer for Beyond: Two Souls. this video is for the free Beyond Touch app that's out on smartphones and tablets. this app can let two players Play Beyond: Two Souls with 1 player on a DualShock and the other using a mobile device, or even two players on mobile devices.



Source: EU PlayStation Blog

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment Reveal A Mobile Version Of Batman: Arkham Origins

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have revealed a mobile version, for Android, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, of Batman: Arkham Origins is set to come in the launch window of the console version. this mobile version is being developed by NetherRealm Studios and it will be a free to play brawler. it will have Batman fighting against a number of Assassin's from DC Comics in several Gotham locations. as you progress you can upgrade your character, unlock Batsuits and earn in-game rewards and currency. 



Press Release

System 3 Announce They Are Remaking James Pond: Codename Robocod, Coming Early 2014 To All Platforms

System 3 have announced they are remaking James Pond: Codename Robocod. coming out in early 2014 across iOS, Android, PS Vita, 3DS, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Steam and Windows 8, the iOS and Android versions will be a modern conversion of the retro classic. the Handheld, Console and PC versions will be an all encompassing re-imagining of the original built from the ground up for each platform.

Press Release

Level 5 Have Released A Launch Trailer And Screenshots For Layton Brothers: Mystery Room On Android

Level 5 have released a launch trailer for Layton Brothers: Mystery Room. Out now across android and iOS devices, Layton Brothers: Mystery Room is a free to download game where you can play the first two cases for free and then buy additional cases.

Layton Brothers: Mystery Room gameplay features include:

• Investigate the Crime Scene: Uncover the details behind each crime as you zoom in and examine suspicious objects to add them to your mounting list of evidence. Piece them together to form an airtight case.
  
  
• Cut through the Web of Deceit: Expose the crucial contradictions in the case files as you match them with evidence that just doesn’t add up. Call in the witnesses and find out if they have anything to hide.
  
  
• Face the Culprit in the Final Showdown: These criminal masterminds won’t make solving their heinous crimes easy. Find the holes in their arguments until their lies shatter around them, bringing the truth of each mystery to light.
  
  
• Nine Cases to Solve:  The game will release free on Android and will include the prologue and two cases.  Additional case files will be available as separate in-app purchases (Case File Pack 1 including File No. 003-006 will be available for $2.99 USD / €2.69 / ₤1.99 and Case File Pack 2 including File No. 007-009 will be available for $1.99 USD / €1.79 / ₤1.49). The first two free cases include:
  • File No. 01: “The Hand Sandwich”: A woman was found murdered at the seaside hotel of a bustling travel destination. Her asphyxiated body lies on the balcony with one hand inside the sandwich that was to be her last meal.  Who is guilty of murder? What is the significance of the sandwich?
  • File No. 02: “The Bungled Burglary”:   A man was murdered inside his apartment. Two suspects emerge based on eyewitness testimonies, but the murder weapon seems to have vanished into thin air.  Who is the perpetrator, and what kind of murder weapon disappears from a locked room?
    
    
• Alfendi Layton’s Secret: As you expose the contradictions and culprits throughout each case, you may catch glimpses of a drastic change that occurs in Inspector Layton’s personality… Uncover the truth of Layton’s condition by solving the mystery of all nine files.
  
  
• Compatible Devices: Android devices (more than 512MB of available memory is required); iPhone 3GS or later, iPod touch 4th generation or later, iPad 1stgeneration or later, iPad mini
  
  
• Required OS: Android 2.3 and up; iOS 4.3 or later

Screenshots


Press Release

Men's Room Mayhem Comes Out 21st May In USA On PS Vita, 22nd May Across EU And 23rd May On Android And iOS

Ripstone have revealed the release date and prices for Men's Room Mayhem. the game comes out on PS Vita first, with the USA getting the game on 21st May and EU getting it on 22nd May. the game will cost £1.99 / €2.49 / $1.99, with PlayStation Plus members getting a 50% discount for one month.

Men's Room Mayhem then comes to iOS and Android on 23rd May. here the game will cost £0.69 / €0.89 / $0.99 but it will not come with the Blitz Mode that's included with the Vita version. Blitz Mode and additional locations will cost £0.69 / €0.89 / $0.99.

Press Release

PlayJam Have Released A New GameStick Trailer Highlighting Some Of Its Features

PlayJam have released a new trailer for GameStick. this video highlights several features of this micro console, this includes some of the games, how easy it is to use the GameStick and showing off some of its UI.

Hasbro And DeNA Co Announce Transformers Legends Is Out Now On Android And iOS Devices

Hasbro and DeNA Co have announced the free to play game Transformers Legends is out now. Transformers Legends is out now on iOS devices and Android  and has players choosing a side, the Autobots or Decepticons. each has their own story line and faces off against the other in battles. Transformers Legends is a card based game that is based on the first generation of Transformers from the 1980's.



Press Release

Namco Bandai Reveal Tekken Card Tournament, A Free To Play Cross Platform Card Battler

Namco Bandai have revealed their first free to play Tekken Game. out now across iOS, Android and Web Browsers, Tekken Card Tournament lets players customize their card decks, allows them to create new cards and use Focus, Strike and Block moves to take down opponents. there will be themed contents, weekly battles and world wide leaderboards.

real world cards will go on sale in early summer, with 191 to collect, and these will have a QR Code that lets you add that card to your game deck. the app will also have AR effects that brings the character to life and take snapshots.



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Press Release

The Pokémon Company Reveal Pokémon TV, A Free App For iOS And Android Devices Where You Can Watch Pokémon

The Pokémon Company have revealed Pokémon TV. this free app for Android and iOS devices enables fans to watch episodes from the Pokémon series. as well as Pokémon episodes, the app will show special features like Meloetta's Moonlight Special which will be shown for the first time in English via the app from 15th February.

There have been over 700 episodes Pokémon and 15 seasons. this app will let users watch episodes from different seasons and gets updated with new episodes each week.



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Press Release

Sega Announce Kingdom Conquest II Is Out Now, Release Launch Trailer And Screenshots

Sega have announced Kingdom Conquest II is out now. the game is a universal app on the App Store and it has also been released on Android.



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Press Release

Capcom Reveal The Eye Of Dante, A Free App Developed At Aurasma With DmC: Devil May Cry Support

Capcom have revealed The Eye Of Dante App. this free app on both iOS and Android was developed with Aurasma and ties into DmC: Devil May Cry. the app is an Alternate Reality App that rewards users with DMC: Devil May Cry in-game currency. the app asks you to do quests and achieve goals, completion of these earns rewards like wallpapers and ringtones as well as red orbs for DmC.



Press Release

Square Enix Announce Chaos Rings Omega Is Out Now On Android And iOS, It's A Prequel To Chaos Rings

Square Enix have announced Chaos Rings Omega is out now on Android devices, iPhone and iPad. Chaos Rings Omega is a prequel to Chaos Rings, set 10,000 years before, but still takes place in the Arc Arena. you play as Vieg and play through battles and uncover stories related to Chaos Rings. the game is out now on Google Play for $12.99/£8.99/€10.49, or you can get the iPhone version for £7.99 or the iPad version for £10.49.

I have included a trailer for the game that shows in-game action from character interaction to battles, but it is in Japanese.



Source: Square Enix Blog

Square Enix Have Released A Launch Trailer And Screenshots For Motley Blocks

Square Enix have released a launch trailer and screenshots for Motley Blocks. out now on iOS devices and Android, Motley Blocks is a puzzle game where you have to match up same coloured blocks. by matching the blocks you help fill in a picture. you can create your own pictures, and therefore levels, as well.



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Rockstar Announce Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition Comes To Android And iOS On 6th December

Rockstar have announced the release date for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 10th Anniversary Edition on iOS devices and Android is 6th December. the game will cost £2.99 on iOS and £3.72 on Android. This 10th Anniversary Edition brings the full game with a few enhancements. the character models and lighting effects have been updated and driving and targeting are now more precise.

Press Release

Sega Announce Jet Set Radio Comes To PS Vita From 20th November, iOS/Android From 29th November

Sega have revealed the release dates for the mobile versions of Jet Set Radio. the PS Vita is set to get the game from 20th November whilst Android and iOS devices should be getting it from 29th November.

Press Release