Android Game Of The Week - Action Potato

Action Potato
Developed By Sunflat
Free
Version: 1.0
Size: 259KB

The Good
Controls
Simple Gameplay

The Average
Graphics

The Bad
No Music
Sound Effects

Action Potato is a simple game that came out fairly recently on the Android Market. the game has a small file size which is due to the simple sound effects, simple graphics, and lack of game music, but it is this simplicity that makes the game fun. The artwork for the game is simple but it does have a kiddy look to it. The bins have eyes, mouths, and rosy cheeks which provide the game with a little extra charm. The game only comes with 1 game mode.

The one game mode could be described as a endless mode. You play until you loose. The aim of the game is to eat potatoes and avoid the blue ones. There are 3 bin looking things which bounce up when you hit them. Each one jumps at a different height and each will give you a different amount of points when you catch a potato. The potatoes come across the screen at different heights and land at different points across the screen. All you have to do is hit a bin that'll catch a particular potato when it comes across the screen.

The difficulty comes in slowly. At first the potatoes come across the screen slowly. But the speed gradually increases. As they get faster, it becomes possible to catch more than one potato with a bin. Blue, rotten, potatoes are also introduced. Again they come across the screen slowly, but they increase in speed and frequency and can on occasion out number the normal potatoes. Everytime a blue potato is caught by a bin, that bin gets removed from the screen. The game ends when you have no bins left. There are heart powerups which, if caught, can bring back a bin but these are rare and are mixed with the potatoes and blue potatoes.

The Game Controls are simple. You tap on a bin to make it jump and that's it. The menu button is a pause button and that's all the controls in the game. The bins are very responsive but some people may find them a bit floaty when the game gets more difficult. But this is part of the challenge, managing the bins whilst avoiding the blue potatoes.

Only having one game mode could be limiting but it makes this game the perfect mobile game. The games difficulty gradually increases, proving a reason to try and get better at the game. You can submit your score, via the internet, and see where you stand globally which can provide additional incentive to go back and try again. This is a fun game that players can go back to over and over again.

Android Game Of The Week – Frozen Bubble

Frozen Bubble
Developed By Pawel Aleksander Fedorynski
Free
Version: 1.5
Size: 495KB

The Good
Graphics
Controls
Amount Of Levels
Game Size

The Average
Controls
Frequent Updates

The Bad
Music
Sound Effects.

Frozen Bubble is probably a well known game on the Android Market. Whilst it probably has been on the Market for a while, most people may come across it in the By Date section in the Market as it's been updated frequently recently. The file size of the game is small, but the amount of the levels included in the game are huge. Its a bubble popping game most similar to the Bust-A-Move series, and some people familiar with that series may find some of the levels familiar.

There is only one mode in the game where you play many levels trying to clear the bubbles. The bubbles go down and if they cross a line at the bottom of the screen it will be game over. You can though start from the level you were playing and repeat it until you complete the level. There are many levels in the game with much variety between them. But if you have played similar games before some of these levels can feel very familiar.

Even though the game is very familiar, the graphics look good. The bubbles are distinct from each each and the game has a colourblind option and inserts shapes into the bubbles. The background is a little plain but it does look good and stands out from the bubbles. The Little penguin who moves the machine animates well and has a good style to it. There is no music in the game and the sound effects are very simple, just the noise of the bubble machine moving. Of course though you can play your own music whilst playing the game.

The game uses the Phone roller ball to control the angle which the bubbles shoot. There are no button controls beyond the menu button bringing up the games menu. As the game uses the roller ball, how good you are using the ball will determine how accurate your aim will be in the game. Personally, I found using the ball to be ok but I would have liked a option to have a line show where the machine was pointing, to get used to using the roller ball.

The lack of a line showing the angle of the machine is probably the only issue with the game. I experienced no frame rate drops or any other issues. There are things that I would have liked seen added to the game like a time attack mode as Many games in this genre have more modes beyond the main bubble popping. Having just the main mode does make the game more portable friendly.

This game may be similar to other games in the genre but it is well done. The graphics in the game are well done and the gameplay is solid. There is a large quantity of levels, making the game a good portable version of the bubble popping genre and a game that will take any player a long time to complete.

Android Game Of The Week – Cosmic Trails

Cosmic Trails
Developed By ActionXL
Free
Version: 1.0
Size: 4.77MB

The Good
Graphics
Gameplay
Music

The Average
Controls
Game Size

The Bad
A bit Buggy
Game Modes

Cosmic Trails is perhaps a game that not many people have come across in the Android Market. I honestly don't know how long it has been on the Market, but I only found it when I searched the entire list of most popular games. The game has one of the biggest file sizes i've seen on the Market and it only comes with one mode. The music in the game and sharp graphics show why the game has such a big file size.

The one mode in the game isn't titled as anything, so for this it'll be referred to as a Endless Mode. Endless Mode lasts as long as you can. The aim in this mode is to move your ship, which looks like the ship from Every Extend Extra, and touch the top of shapes, avoiding their tales, to clear the shapes and tails of the screen. The game starts with no background music. One you have cleared a few shapes, the beat starts to come in. as more shapes are cleared, the background beat increases and so does the speed and amount of shapes. The shapes, themselves, have a note that plays when you clear each of them. You can string together bonuses by clearing the same shape and playing the same note.

Each shape has its own individual tone that fits in with the background. Because of this, each time you play the game, the music created will be different. Behind each shape is a tail that cannot be removed from the screen until you either clear the shape or lose a life and fly into the tail. These tails can be a big hindrance if left unchecked, completely cutting one end of the screen off from the ship. You get 3 lives to start of with more lives coming everytime you break 2000 points. In the beginning this may seem too easy, but as things get a bit more chaotic the points come quick, and so do the enemies, its easy to lose a life.

The game is controlled using the Phones accelerator. There is no button controls beyond pressing menu to pause the game and bring up the main menu, over the paused game. The game controls are generally good. There is a little issue when you tilt the phone away from, more so depending on your phones screen, but you never tilt it away for long periods. The game has a option to adjust the sensitivity of the controls. The other options let you change the sound and music levels.

The game does have a few issues. The lack of any other game modes is a shame. A time attack mode would fit perfectly for the game. Only having one mode means people can tire of the game quickly. The game is also a little buggy. On occasion, the framerate can dip or the music can go silent for a very short, but noticeable, time. The game also uses a lot of the phones resources, so its best to check what you have running in the background before playing the game.

Even if the game has only one mode and can be a little buggy, the Endless gameplay and music is pretty addictive and very accessible. The graphics are simple, but they are done very well. The use of music and tones work great together. This maynot be a must have for everyone, but it will be highly enjoyable for those who enjoy this type of game.

Android Game Of The Week – Solitaire

Solitaire
Developed By Ken Magic
Free
Version: 1.21.1
Size: 114KB

The Good
Controls
Price
Modes

The Average
Graphics

The Bad
No Music

Like the other Android game of the weeks, Solitaire has been on the Android Market for a while now. The game is only 114KB and comes with 4 different Solitaire card games. There is no music in the game, but you are able to play music from the music player. The small file size also means there is not much art in the game beyond the cards, decks, and specific marked areas.

The card games included are Solitaire, Spider, Freecell, And Forty Thieves. Each of these plays like you would expect. Forty Thieves maybe a game not many have heard of before and it will take time to learn. To date I have yet to beat it even after playing around 150 games of it. Solitaire and Spider both feature options to adjust the game, with Solitaire you can change the amount of cards drawn and scoring, Spider can change the suits you play with.

One handy option is Auto Move. For example, when you move a card to a specific area, like with an Ace, it will check all playable cards to see if any more can be moved. If it moves a card you didn't want moved, all you need to do is hit back on the phone to undo. This can be done many times in any of the card games. One bonus feature is that your card game is recorded. When you win, you can watch a replay of what you did. Another handy feature is the ability to save a game in progress and come back to it later.

Some people may find the cards hard to control. On my HTC Hero screen, I found it acceptable, but people with smaller screens may find the cards too hard to touch and move. You also have the option to highlight a line of cards to move only a couple of cards and not a how line of them.

Solitaire is a good solid game. It loads very fast and is a small download. It comes with 4 different card games that are well done and accessible. Additional options like being able to save a game in progress make Solitaire well suited to being played on the go. It simply is a good mobile port of classic card games.

Android Game Of The Week – Jewels

Jewels
Developed By MHGames
Free
Version: 1.09
Size: 784KB

The Good
Graphics
Price

The Average
Music
Controls

The Bad
Game Modes

Jewels, like Bonsai Blast, is another game that has been on the Android Market for a while now. The game is very similar to PopCap's Bejeweled. Jewels has a fairly small file size, just 784KB, but still has high quality background artwork and jewels. The game loads fast straight to the high scores, but does require you to go to menu and pick a new game that way. Hitting new game reveals the games only 2 modes, Normal and timed.

Normal is much like Bejelewd, you play until there are no more moves available. There are no special powerups in the game, you simply touch the jewel you want to move and move it in the direction to get 3 or more of a kind. When you fill a bar at the bottom, you move to the next level and the bonus increases. The more levels you complete, the more bonus you get but it also means more jewels need to matched. Unfortunately, not long after level 3 I get the feeling that the amount of jewels needed to get to the next level increases too quickly and slows the games pace. What doesn't help the speed the jewels move after you tell them to, or the speed jewels drop from the top. It feels just a tad too slow and becomes more noticeable when you start progressing in Normal Mode and Timed Mode.

Timed mode is again like Bejeweled's Timed Mode. The bar at the bottom is continuously decreasing and you need to get rid of jewels faster to get to the next level where the bar decreases faster. This mode works fine for for the first 5 or 6 levels, but after that I find the speed of the jewels moving, deleting, and coming down from the top, start to become a hindrance.

Despite those issues, the game still plays very well. I haven't had any issues with the touch controls and find it very accurate. It knows which jewel you have pressed and which direction you want it to move. The two modes in the game do feel light as its possible to play through a game of each Normal and Timed very quickly. But as a pick up and play game, the two modes are over quickly enough to fill a short gaming burst.

This is a good Mobile version of a Bejeweled type game. The modes may be lacking, but Normal and Timed do provide good gameplay for short gaming bursts. I'd recommend this to all Android owners as it is very accessible, has a small file size, and works very well.

Android Game Of The Week – Bonsai Blast

This will be a new feature where each week i'll talk about my Android game of the week. Most of the games will be free as I do not have the funds to buy full price games. The handset I have is a HTC Hero (T-Mobile UK Branded G2).

The format may change slightly in future weeks. Feel free to comment.

Bonsai Blast
Developed By Glu Mobile
Free
Version: 1.2
Size: 6MB

The Good
Graphics
Load Times
Price

The Average
Music
Game Modes

The Bad
Touch Controls

Bonsai Blast has been available on the Android Market for a while know and is perhaps one of the more well known games you can buy for free. The game is similar to the more well known Zuma game series. It is one of the larger file sizes on the Android Market, but that never feels like a problem when you play the game. The game loads very quick and the front page shows high quality art which is consistent throughout the game. The front page will also show the few game modes available.

Adventure tasks the player with completing stages in 3 different worlds, each stage being slightly different to the other, whilst survival lets you play any of the unlocked stages from adventure until you loose. Adventure offers quick gameplay with the stages not feeling to long. If changes up the gameplay by either changing the layout of the stage, the different use of power-ups, or inserting objects in a stage which need to be avoided or used.

The few game modes are never really a problem as both Survival and Adventure game modes well done. The music in the game is in keeping with the art style of Bonsai Blast, but is average, whilst some of the sound effects are a bit too simple. You may find that other time you turn down the volume.

The game appears to be touch only and for the most part it is accurate, but there are occasions where you need to change the platform your shooting from and it doesn't register the move and shoots a ball in that direction. There are also occasions when the ball doesn't quite go in the direction you aimed for. This could be gameplay or it could be me as i'm not used to the HTC Hero's capacitive screen. Ultimately, it never becomes a issue that ruins gameplay.

For anyone with a Android device, Bonsai Blast is a game you should download and play as it's a perfect introduction to what Android devices can do and touch screen gaming.