Airports. Most people asociate them with slow, uninteresting, even boring environments, and normally I'd agree with you. However, a little game called Airport Mania 2 has made its way onto the iOS scene and completely blown this idea away. Two years on from the original game, Airport Mania - First Flight, this is the sequel fans of time management games have been hungering for.
There is no actual story to the game, but instead you are tasked with the everyday running of a series of airports around the world, ranging from the North Pole to the Tiki Islands, and even in space. This is a huge step up from the first game, where all of the levels looked practically identical besides a slight change in colour palette. Your goal is to land the airplanes, unload and reload passengers, and also repair and refuel the plane if necessary, all while keeping combos on the runways and terminals stacking up.
On the face of it, this game has changed only slightly since the original, but the dynamics have been altered with the ability to wash dirty planes and load luggage onto a plane. In addition, there are nearly twice as many different planes as the original, featuring military planes and even intergalactic planes alongside commercials as the levels progress. However, although the idea was fantastic it hasn't actually been implemented overly well as it becomes quite difficult to distinguish between the specific types of planes, which in turn is required to build the highest score combos. The colour palette for the planes has also been dulled down from the first game, leaving the once brightly coloured and easily distinguishable planes as dull, pastel colours that are easily, and often, confused for each other. Another point to note is this game does not feature retina definition graphics, so users with a 4G model and up will be disappointed.
Despite the disappointment with the graphics, the game is still just as fun to play as ever before. The touch controls feel both improved and more accurate, as I found my finger rarely selecting the wrong terminal or runway. The music is also exactly what you'd come to expect from both the Airport Mania franchise and games of this genre in general. In short, you won't be rushing to tun the music off as your ears bleed, but an extended playing session may require your own personal music collection to save you from insanity.
Featuring a whole 99 levels, with the promise of more coming, this game easily provides 6+ hours of gameplay. Replayability is not limited either, as every level you complete is graded, from a normal pass up to a 'perfect' score, which is extremely challenging to achieve, even to a practiced gamer.
With a price tag of a mere 59p, this game is no less than a must-buy, even if you're only sightly curious. Besides, this game has done the impossible. It has made airports.. fun.
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Saturday, 18 June 2011
Time Management Games - Why You Should Make Time For Them
In this day and age that we all live in, nobody has any time free any more. Jobs take priority, family take priority and responsibilities take priority, leaving you with little time to enjoy the finer things in life. For so many people, video games sit so far down in their list of priorities, that they can only play the best of the best games out there; the Call of Duties, the Halos, the Assassin's Creeds. You are well aware that there are thousands more games, but you'd be damned if you could play them.
Now what if, somehow, you could arrange every aspect of your life so they flowed perfectly together, so you could fit every element of your life in a perfect order so everything you wanted to achieve was fesable? Impossible, you would say, and probably rightly so. However, not all games require your upmost attention for hours on end, especially not since services like the Apple and Android markets have exploded in a whole host of cheap, accessable games for your mobile phone.
Mobile phone games are perfect for the everyday person, the person who only has 10 minutes every here and there to get their gaming fix, or maybe the person who isn't confident enough in their own ability to warrant purchasing a £40 game over a 59p bargain. The success of games such as Doodle Jump, Tiny Wings and Angry Birds display clearly the need for easy, pick up and play games that will satisfy your gaming cravings with little input on the users part.
There are, however, people like me and many others out there who feel shortchanged by the shallow gameplay that many of these games offer. Brilliant for a quick fix, but ultimately will not give you the quality and depth of gaming to truly satisfy you throughout your daily commute. Surely there must be games out there which will keep you satisfied for longer in short bursts?
Indeed there are, which is where I glide gracefully onto the point of this arcticle. Time Management games are a genre of games that have come into their own light thanks to the accessibility of touch-screen devices such as the iPhone. However, chances are you've never played one. These are the games where you have to race against the clock to complete objectives, build combos and advance through the levels.
The most notable time management game available is probably Playfirst's Diner Dash, the first of their 'Dash' series of games. This game is available everywhere, from the XBLA to your smartphone, and is probably one of the finest examples of a simple concept sapping time away from every person who stumbles upon it. This game flourishes with the simple touchscreen controls offered my the smartphones of today, and there is no surprise that many games have sprung up with similar concepts, and many have done it better.
If this sense of challenge in your ten minute breaks somewhat excites you, I have compiled a small list of games that will draw you into this type of 'hardcore-casual' gaming.
Airport Mania: First Flight - A fantastic time management game based, you guessed it, in an airport environment. You are tasked with landing planes, unloading passengers, fixing and refueling the planes, reloading passengers and letting them take off again, all while trying to match up the plane colours and manage the runways effectively. Easy learning curve moving into a challenging game balanced with an in-depth upgrades system make this game a no-brainer at 59p. Oh, there's also a free Lite version if I haven't convinced you enough.
Cooking Dash - One of Playfirst's 'Dash' series, and spiritual successor to Diner Dash, you are tasked with seating customers and cooking up the dishes they request. Fast paced with a wire array of food options spanning across five different themed restaurants, this game will keep you addicted for hours trying to reach the Expert scores. In addition, the game has a Challenge Mode where you can pick a difficulty and a restaurant, and just continuously serve to try and beat your highscore. Oh, it also has a Lite mode. Get to it!
Sally's Salon - All of you uh.. aspiring hairdressers out there will love working at Sally's Salon. With an in-depth upgrades system and an easy but quick learning curve, this game will challenge even the best gamers. The controls can get you a little frustrated at times but it's by far the most challenging game on this list. There is a free demo of this game on the marketplaces so don't forget to try before you buy.
If you do decide to try one or all of these, I hope you do feel satisfied, however long you get to play each break. I'm currently trying a new game, Wedding Dash, so a review isn't far away.
-Fire
Now what if, somehow, you could arrange every aspect of your life so they flowed perfectly together, so you could fit every element of your life in a perfect order so everything you wanted to achieve was fesable? Impossible, you would say, and probably rightly so. However, not all games require your upmost attention for hours on end, especially not since services like the Apple and Android markets have exploded in a whole host of cheap, accessable games for your mobile phone.
Mobile phone games are perfect for the everyday person, the person who only has 10 minutes every here and there to get their gaming fix, or maybe the person who isn't confident enough in their own ability to warrant purchasing a £40 game over a 59p bargain. The success of games such as Doodle Jump, Tiny Wings and Angry Birds display clearly the need for easy, pick up and play games that will satisfy your gaming cravings with little input on the users part.
There are, however, people like me and many others out there who feel shortchanged by the shallow gameplay that many of these games offer. Brilliant for a quick fix, but ultimately will not give you the quality and depth of gaming to truly satisfy you throughout your daily commute. Surely there must be games out there which will keep you satisfied for longer in short bursts?
Indeed there are, which is where I glide gracefully onto the point of this arcticle. Time Management games are a genre of games that have come into their own light thanks to the accessibility of touch-screen devices such as the iPhone. However, chances are you've never played one. These are the games where you have to race against the clock to complete objectives, build combos and advance through the levels.
The most notable time management game available is probably Playfirst's Diner Dash, the first of their 'Dash' series of games. This game is available everywhere, from the XBLA to your smartphone, and is probably one of the finest examples of a simple concept sapping time away from every person who stumbles upon it. This game flourishes with the simple touchscreen controls offered my the smartphones of today, and there is no surprise that many games have sprung up with similar concepts, and many have done it better.
If this sense of challenge in your ten minute breaks somewhat excites you, I have compiled a small list of games that will draw you into this type of 'hardcore-casual' gaming.
Airport Mania: First Flight - A fantastic time management game based, you guessed it, in an airport environment. You are tasked with landing planes, unloading passengers, fixing and refueling the planes, reloading passengers and letting them take off again, all while trying to match up the plane colours and manage the runways effectively. Easy learning curve moving into a challenging game balanced with an in-depth upgrades system make this game a no-brainer at 59p. Oh, there's also a free Lite version if I haven't convinced you enough.
Cooking Dash - One of Playfirst's 'Dash' series, and spiritual successor to Diner Dash, you are tasked with seating customers and cooking up the dishes they request. Fast paced with a wire array of food options spanning across five different themed restaurants, this game will keep you addicted for hours trying to reach the Expert scores. In addition, the game has a Challenge Mode where you can pick a difficulty and a restaurant, and just continuously serve to try and beat your highscore. Oh, it also has a Lite mode. Get to it!
Sally's Salon - All of you uh.. aspiring hairdressers out there will love working at Sally's Salon. With an in-depth upgrades system and an easy but quick learning curve, this game will challenge even the best gamers. The controls can get you a little frustrated at times but it's by far the most challenging game on this list. There is a free demo of this game on the marketplaces so don't forget to try before you buy.
If you do decide to try one or all of these, I hope you do feel satisfied, however long you get to play each break. I'm currently trying a new game, Wedding Dash, so a review isn't far away.
-Fire
Monday, 23 May 2011
Oblivion "5th Anniversary Edition" Announced - X360/PS3/PC
Just in case the Game of the Year edition wasn't exciting enough, fans of Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion will be able to get their hands on a limited "5th Anniversary Edition", Bethesda announced today, in anticipation for Skyrim's release in November.
All packaged inside a rather sexual steel book case, the 5th Anniversary Edition includes:
Oblivion: 5th Anniversary Edition is scheduled for release 28th June for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC, and will be available in stores for $29.99
All packaged inside a rather sexual steel book case, the 5th Anniversary Edition includes:
- A Game of the Year copy of Oblivion; including the Knights of the Nine and Shivering Isles expansion packs
- A bonus, "Making of" DVD disc, with an unseen Skyrim trailer included
- A full map of the game world, Cyrodiil
- A $10 off voucher for the purchase of Skyrim (redeemable in North America)
Oblivion: 5th Anniversary Edition is scheduled for release 28th June for Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and PC, and will be available in stores for $29.99
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Feeding Frenzy - Xbox 360 Review
Any person who is familiar with the Xbox Live Marketplace will recognise the PopCap Games brand, the people who brought you Bejeweled 2. However, standing somewhat in Bejeweled's shadow is a far lesser known game. Feeding Frenzy is a bright and colourful title in which you take the role of a tiny fish right at the bottom of the food chain, who must eat other fish the same size to grow larger until he is the most dominant force in the sea.
The game encorperates two game modes; both the normal 40 levels where you have to progress through wihout losing all of your lives, and a Time Attack mode. However, neither mode presents much of a challenge, and there is no ability to change it. The gameplay mechanic is such a beautifully simple concept. As you start out as a small fish, there are many fish swimming on the screen which are bigger than you, and will eat you if you come into contact with you. The skill is managing to dodge the large fish to get to the smaller ones to grow in size, making the larger ones available for eating. As you progress through the levels, other obstacles present themselves; including paralyzing jellyfish and exploding bombs, but you also get provided with bubble powerups and special skills to aid you on your journey.
The one thing that is truly memorable about this game is the vibrant graphics. Each type of fish you encounter is rendered brightly and uniquely, and the marine backgrounds are simple but stunning. It's hard not to be sucked into the dashes of colour as you progress. The sound that accompanies compliments the graphics, it's hard not to smile when hearing a comical 'chomp' sound when you eat a smaller fish. However, the actual backing music is lacking.
The only gripe with this game is that it is quite short, you could complete it easily under an hour if you tried, and there is very few compelling reasons to replay except to relax and enjo the game for what it is. There are a couple of achievements for 10 hours of gameplay and eating 40,000 fish, but the most compelling feature is trying to get the highest score on the leaderboards.
Despite the lovable graphics and simplistic play style, it's hard to actually recommend this game. If you're not looking for a deep, story driven game and just want to relax, then this may indeed be the game for you. However, for the same price there are many full game experiences that will give you more bang for your buck, it all depends on what you're looking for in your title.
The game encorperates two game modes; both the normal 40 levels where you have to progress through wihout losing all of your lives, and a Time Attack mode. However, neither mode presents much of a challenge, and there is no ability to change it. The gameplay mechanic is such a beautifully simple concept. As you start out as a small fish, there are many fish swimming on the screen which are bigger than you, and will eat you if you come into contact with you. The skill is managing to dodge the large fish to get to the smaller ones to grow in size, making the larger ones available for eating. As you progress through the levels, other obstacles present themselves; including paralyzing jellyfish and exploding bombs, but you also get provided with bubble powerups and special skills to aid you on your journey.
The one thing that is truly memorable about this game is the vibrant graphics. Each type of fish you encounter is rendered brightly and uniquely, and the marine backgrounds are simple but stunning. It's hard not to be sucked into the dashes of colour as you progress. The sound that accompanies compliments the graphics, it's hard not to smile when hearing a comical 'chomp' sound when you eat a smaller fish. However, the actual backing music is lacking.
The only gripe with this game is that it is quite short, you could complete it easily under an hour if you tried, and there is very few compelling reasons to replay except to relax and enjo the game for what it is. There are a couple of achievements for 10 hours of gameplay and eating 40,000 fish, but the most compelling feature is trying to get the highest score on the leaderboards.
Despite the lovable graphics and simplistic play style, it's hard to actually recommend this game. If you're not looking for a deep, story driven game and just want to relax, then this may indeed be the game for you. However, for the same price there are many full game experiences that will give you more bang for your buck, it all depends on what you're looking for in your title.
Friday, 15 April 2011
Tiny Wings - Review (iOS)
Browsing the app store on your chosen iDevice grants you access to thousands of games all competing for your casual gaming fix, with most of them being average at best. However, buried amongst the mediocity and blandness lies a handful of gems, and Tiny Birds is by far one of those shining diamonds.
Created by just one man, Andreas Illinger, Tiny Wings transports you into the boots of the titular character; Tiny Wings, a little bird who has always dreamed of flying high and flying far, but.. Yes, you've guessed it, has tiny wings and as such cannot fly very well at all. However, the lush environment that Tiny Wings is based in is full of hills which can be used as ramps to propel you far across the map in an array of beautiful colours thanks to the varying, bright colour pallete used to keep you engrossed.
This game is all based around your timing and skill, a trend followed by many of the best iOS games. You start the game 'day' by launching yourself off a hill, propelling yourself into the air, and then timing when to land on the next hill so you experience a smooth landing to propel yourself off of the next hill efficiently.When you touch the screen of your device, Tiny Wings folds back his wings and you plummet like a stone to the ground, enabling you to gain momentum if timed correctly to speed down a hill. Releasing your touch will let Tiny Wings unfold and flap his wings, soaring through the sky to new islands until darkness comes and the day ends.
The only issue I have with this game is, basically, that that is it. Once you have mastered the skill of launching your bird between islands there is little more depth than just trying to beat your high score. There is a rudimentary levelling system for your bird by doing certain tasks as colecting a certain amount of coins, achieving a certain amount of perfect jumps or even getting to an island with the device held upside down.
Regardless, this game will still grip you with every time you launch Tiny Wings into the sky, and you will be biting your lip to see if you can beat your high score or get the last challenge before you level up. As a pick up and play game, it is utterly fantastic, and will see you turning off your Angry Birds in favour of a certain other bird's quest of glory.
Plus, at 59p, what have you got to lose?!
(I purchased this game for my iPhone 3GS and played it for a good four hours before reviewing)
Created by just one man, Andreas Illinger, Tiny Wings transports you into the boots of the titular character; Tiny Wings, a little bird who has always dreamed of flying high and flying far, but.. Yes, you've guessed it, has tiny wings and as such cannot fly very well at all. However, the lush environment that Tiny Wings is based in is full of hills which can be used as ramps to propel you far across the map in an array of beautiful colours thanks to the varying, bright colour pallete used to keep you engrossed.
This game is all based around your timing and skill, a trend followed by many of the best iOS games. You start the game 'day' by launching yourself off a hill, propelling yourself into the air, and then timing when to land on the next hill so you experience a smooth landing to propel yourself off of the next hill efficiently.When you touch the screen of your device, Tiny Wings folds back his wings and you plummet like a stone to the ground, enabling you to gain momentum if timed correctly to speed down a hill. Releasing your touch will let Tiny Wings unfold and flap his wings, soaring through the sky to new islands until darkness comes and the day ends.
The only issue I have with this game is, basically, that that is it. Once you have mastered the skill of launching your bird between islands there is little more depth than just trying to beat your high score. There is a rudimentary levelling system for your bird by doing certain tasks as colecting a certain amount of coins, achieving a certain amount of perfect jumps or even getting to an island with the device held upside down.
Regardless, this game will still grip you with every time you launch Tiny Wings into the sky, and you will be biting your lip to see if you can beat your high score or get the last challenge before you level up. As a pick up and play game, it is utterly fantastic, and will see you turning off your Angry Birds in favour of a certain other bird's quest of glory.
Plus, at 59p, what have you got to lose?!
(I purchased this game for my iPhone 3GS and played it for a good four hours before reviewing)
Wednesday, 13 April 2011
Greetings and salutations my friend!
Well greetings traveller, and welcome to my humble blog. I shall introduce myself as Firenzeii, and I shall guide you through my world of video game news, reviews and.. if I myself am lucky, the occasional interview.
There is one hurdle we must cross first, and that is that I am indeed a female gamer. But wait! Before you protest, I am indeed a genuine female gamer. What does that mean? In simple terms, I have already heard all the abuse and flack you can give me a hundred times over and have as such constructed a forcefield to protect me. Checkmate. Do your worst!
Regardless, I do thank you for stopping by, and I hope I can at least bring a slight smirk to your person or indulge your thirst for gaming knowledge in some way, shape or form.
Cheers!
-Fire
There is one hurdle we must cross first, and that is that I am indeed a female gamer. But wait! Before you protest, I am indeed a genuine female gamer. What does that mean? In simple terms, I have already heard all the abuse and flack you can give me a hundred times over and have as such constructed a forcefield to protect me. Checkmate. Do your worst!
Regardless, I do thank you for stopping by, and I hope I can at least bring a slight smirk to your person or indulge your thirst for gaming knowledge in some way, shape or form.
Cheers!
-Fire
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