Golden Axe was released in 1989 and is one of the classic games of the genre. It has some interesting features, as well as its flaws.
Graphics: nothing spectacular, well made for the time. The characters have many moves, depending on the distance to the enemy. The backgrounds are pleasant and complement the gameplay well.
Sound: It is OK. It uses (very compressed) recordings of sounds and screams. The music does not distract.
Gameplay - There are 3 characters to choose from - Dwarf, Barbarian and Amazon. They differ in their power and range. All 3 can cast magic, collecting blue bottles on their way. The magic has a few levels of damage, depending on the number of bottles collected. The Amazon has the most powerful magic, but requires the most bottles. They are cast, using the third button, and are visually very spectacular.
The characters can hit, jump and run. They can also ride some fantasy creatures, using them to hit enemies. The hit detection is not perfect, sometimes the character hits the air instead of the nearby enemy. The enemies do not have life bars, so it is hard to tell how much beating they need :)
The game itself is relatively short, but requires many credits to be completed. There are many short levels, sometimes I did not know that the level has changed.
Will I keep playing it? Not one of my favorite, but works well as a rest from other titles. The graphics are nice, the enemies are tougher than the usual. 20 years later, it is still a decent game.
Rating - 6/10
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Beat-Them-Up game review: 64th Street - A Detective Story
For my first game review I selected the 1991 "64th Street - A Detective Story". It is a typical Beat-Them-Up and does not add much to the genre.
Graphics - about average. Some effects are present, but since the enemies are just a dozen re-used characters, it leaves mixed impressions.
Sound - hardly any sound effects. Few short music pieces are repeated throughout the whole game. After the first 5 minutes, they become so annoying, they made me turn off the sound.
Gameplay - besides the standard hit and jump, there is just one special move - the throw. It is actually the most enjoyable part of the game, being unpredictable in its outcome. When thrown towards the top of the screen, the enemies may break a window or a wall, as well as drown in the sea.
There are 2 characters available to play with - Rick and Alan. Alan is the better choice, because he hits faster, even though his damage is a bit less. There are a couple of weapons the player can pick up, but they are not very powerful. There is hardly any food to find in the levels and it restores just a bit of your health back.
The biggest problem with this game really are the level bosses. Be prepared to die a lot during the fights with bosses. All of them have some special move, which they use all the time, and it is almost impossible to hit them meanwhile. If they hit your character and he falls, once he stands up again, they are waiting for him and hit him again. And again. That makes the boss fights a miserable experience, where you just hope for it to finish sooner.
Will I keep playing it? Not really. It offers very little in comparison with other games. It would be acceptable, if it was not for the boss fights - they really ruin the whole experience.
Rating - 3/10
Graphics - about average. Some effects are present, but since the enemies are just a dozen re-used characters, it leaves mixed impressions.
Sound - hardly any sound effects. Few short music pieces are repeated throughout the whole game. After the first 5 minutes, they become so annoying, they made me turn off the sound.
Gameplay - besides the standard hit and jump, there is just one special move - the throw. It is actually the most enjoyable part of the game, being unpredictable in its outcome. When thrown towards the top of the screen, the enemies may break a window or a wall, as well as drown in the sea.
There are 2 characters available to play with - Rick and Alan. Alan is the better choice, because he hits faster, even though his damage is a bit less. There are a couple of weapons the player can pick up, but they are not very powerful. There is hardly any food to find in the levels and it restores just a bit of your health back.
The biggest problem with this game really are the level bosses. Be prepared to die a lot during the fights with bosses. All of them have some special move, which they use all the time, and it is almost impossible to hit them meanwhile. If they hit your character and he falls, once he stands up again, they are waiting for him and hit him again. And again. That makes the boss fights a miserable experience, where you just hope for it to finish sooner.
Will I keep playing it? Not really. It offers very little in comparison with other games. It would be acceptable, if it was not for the boss fights - they really ruin the whole experience.
Rating - 3/10
Android Apps Review: Coloroid
Coloroid is a free puzzle applications for Android. The goal of the game is to make the entire board one color. The player always starts at the top right corner, then selects one of the possible colors at the bottom of the screen, which changes all of the neighboring blocks with that color to have the already active active color. Then the next selection changes all the already changed blocks, adding the neighboring ones again and so on. There is a Par of moves to complete each level, which increases with the difficulty of the level. The player can set the number of blocks on the field (4x4 to 35 to 35), as well as the number of colors to have (3 to 6). There is even a setting for the colorblind users.
The game requires strategical thinking to be able to beat the level under the Par. It is very simple to control, has no sound and looks somewhat retro, thanks to its color schemes. It is much harder than Future Blocks and offers more options.
Worth installing? If you are a puzzle games fan, this is a good game to have.
What do I want to see in future versions? User-selected colors, sound, save game option.
Rating: 7/10
The game requires strategical thinking to be able to beat the level under the Par. It is very simple to control, has no sound and looks somewhat retro, thanks to its color schemes. It is much harder than Future Blocks and offers more options.
Worth installing? If you are a puzzle games fan, this is a good game to have.
What do I want to see in future versions? User-selected colors, sound, save game option.
Rating: 7/10
Android Apps Review: To Do List
To Do List is another list creating app for Android. What makes it unique is its very simple and straight-forward interface. The main window shows the title of the task, clicking on it shows its description. Every task can be prioritized as having a High, Medium or Low priority, which is pretty much the only option possible. There is no way to organize the tasks in lists or change their order within the same priority ones. However, it does its job very well by sticking to its main concept - to help you stay organized.
Worth installing? One of my favorite apps by far for Android. Many other similar apps fail by trying to be too complex or fancy, while To Do List relies on simplicity to succeed. Definitely worth installing.
What do I want to see in future versions? Alphabetical listing of the tasks.
Rating: 8/10
RECOMMENDED APP
Worth installing? One of my favorite apps by far for Android. Many other similar apps fail by trying to be too complex or fancy, while To Do List relies on simplicity to succeed. Definitely worth installing.
What do I want to see in future versions? Alphabetical listing of the tasks.
Rating: 8/10
RECOMMENDED APP
Android Apps Review: Future Blocks
Future Blocks is a very simple puzzle game for Android. The goal is to clean some of the same colored blocks on the screen, earning points. It has two modes: Triple and Sweep. In the first one, you just select three blocks with same color to be cleaned, while in the second one, all of the neighboring same colored blocks will be cleaned. There are 4 single and one multi-colored types of blocks. New ones come to replace the cleaned ones, making the game possibly endless. The game ends, however, when there are no three same colored neighboring blocks to be cleaned any more. There is hardly any strategy and thinking involved in this game, since at any moment the new blocks may completely change the playing field. The control is done through the touch screen, the track ball would not work.
Worth installing? Future Blocks is a decent way to kill a few minutes, waiting for the bus or being in class. However, it gets boring quickly and offers very limited experience. If you often need some short time waster, this might be your one.
What do I want to see in future versions? The top score is reset, when you exit the game. This should be fixed. Save game option, sound. Difficulty levels.
Rating: 4/10
Worth installing? Future Blocks is a decent way to kill a few minutes, waiting for the bus or being in class. However, it gets boring quickly and offers very limited experience. If you often need some short time waster, this might be your one.
What do I want to see in future versions? The top score is reset, when you exit the game. This should be fixed. Save game option, sound. Difficulty levels.
Rating: 4/10
Android Apps Review: Abduction Lite
By my opinion, one of the best games for the Android platform, Abduction Lite is a fun and addictive adventure. The story is simple - aliens have kidnapped the farm animals and escaped in Space. You have to jump up, trying to reach them, using the strips of land they dropped, trying to collect bonuses and some of the other animals on your way. This game uses the accelerometer to control the direction of the jumps of the "hero" - being a sheep, kangaroo, penguin or some of the other available animals. You have to reach the top to beat the level, trying not to fall from the platforms. By tilting the phone left and right, you can control the length and direction of each jump. There are several game modes, including career mode, where you have to beat the level to unlock the next one, or just trying to reach the top, or beating some of the challenges, like reach the top in a specific time.
The graphics are stunning, one of the best available for an Android game, the controls are very accurate, having a sensitivity setting. In the Lite version, just a limited number of characters, levels and challenges are available, since there is a paid version, too, called Abduction World Attack. Still, the game is one of my favorite and I had lots of fun, playing it with my sister, trying to beat each other scores. New updates for the game are released on a regular basis. Installed, the game is about 2 MB.
Worth installing? Absolutely, a candidate for the "Best Android game" award.
What do I want to see in future versions? Sometimes the game freezes for a fraction of a second, which could be fatal. So I would like some stability improvement. Otherwise very well made game.
Rating: 10/10
RECOMMENDED APP
The graphics are stunning, one of the best available for an Android game, the controls are very accurate, having a sensitivity setting. In the Lite version, just a limited number of characters, levels and challenges are available, since there is a paid version, too, called Abduction World Attack. Still, the game is one of my favorite and I had lots of fun, playing it with my sister, trying to beat each other scores. New updates for the game are released on a regular basis. Installed, the game is about 2 MB.
Worth installing? Absolutely, a candidate for the "Best Android game" award.
What do I want to see in future versions? Sometimes the game freezes for a fraction of a second, which could be fatal. So I would like some stability improvement. Otherwise very well made game.
Rating: 10/10
RECOMMENDED APP
Android Apps Review: Dilbert Droid
For my first Android App review I chose one very small and useful application. It is a reader for the Dilbert strips, my favorite comics. With its simple interface and decent functionality, hours of fun are guaranteed.
The app itself is tiny, less than 100 KB installed, and can be easily found on the Market. It allows the comics to be browsed by day, giving access to all the Dilbert strips since 1989 until now. It saves the already seen strips on a separate folder on the memory card, so they can be seen when offline. The quality of the images is good, the speed of downloading is usually good, too. This app is updated on a regular basis, with some bugs or speed issues removed.
Worth installing? Definitely, even if you are not a big Dilbert fan.
What do I want to see in future versions? Zoom option, faster loading, comment board for every strip.
Rating: 7/10
RECOMMENDED APP
The app itself is tiny, less than 100 KB installed, and can be easily found on the Market. It allows the comics to be browsed by day, giving access to all the Dilbert strips since 1989 until now. It saves the already seen strips on a separate folder on the memory card, so they can be seen when offline. The quality of the images is good, the speed of downloading is usually good, too. This app is updated on a regular basis, with some bugs or speed issues removed.
Worth installing? Definitely, even if you are not a big Dilbert fan.
What do I want to see in future versions? Zoom option, faster loading, comment board for every strip.
Rating: 7/10
RECOMMENDED APP
Some initial thoughts
Welcome, everyone, to my first official blog. Here I will share my thoughts about the topics in the title, as well as some random ones. I will try to update it as often as I can, which shouldn't be too hard for the length of the summer.
For clarification, I will not discuss illegal ways to download paid Android apps and Windows software, as well as Beat-Them-Up games. Also, as of now, my G1 doesn't have Cupcake install, since it's not officially available in North America yet, however, I will install it, once it is available. I also don't have access to most of the paid Android Apps, since they are not available in Canada yet.
Besides being computers and cell phones (almost) addict, I also sing and play piano/keyboard. I most play soft rock/pop/oldies, like Queen, Beatles, Coldplay, Keane, Elton John, ... you get the idea. I have a playlist of about 250 songs, which is constantly growing. I will inform you of the latest songs I add, as well as take suggestions for new ones. My idea is to record myself playing and upload the videos on YouTube, which I am working on. Whenever it is done, you will find out very soon after.
These are basically the things I will talk about in this blog. Please, comment and enjoy!
For clarification, I will not discuss illegal ways to download paid Android apps and Windows software, as well as Beat-Them-Up games. Also, as of now, my G1 doesn't have Cupcake install, since it's not officially available in North America yet, however, I will install it, once it is available. I also don't have access to most of the paid Android Apps, since they are not available in Canada yet.
Besides being computers and cell phones (almost) addict, I also sing and play piano/keyboard. I most play soft rock/pop/oldies, like Queen, Beatles, Coldplay, Keane, Elton John, ... you get the idea. I have a playlist of about 250 songs, which is constantly growing. I will inform you of the latest songs I add, as well as take suggestions for new ones. My idea is to record myself playing and upload the videos on YouTube, which I am working on. Whenever it is done, you will find out very soon after.
These are basically the things I will talk about in this blog. Please, comment and enjoy!
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