Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Best games of the year

The end of the year is upon on us, which is great -- the holidays often mean a bit of a break from work or school, and gives us all a chance to sit back and reflect on the year. You might spend that time traveling, getting together with friends and family, or gearing up for a brand-new year ahead.

Or, you'll while away the hours playing video games. Lots of them. Here are a few for Android that should get you through the next few weeks.

Do note: this is a list of my favorite Android titles from the the last few weeks. They're not necessarily the biggest (or freshest) games on the Play store, and while you will find me playing the occasional mega-blockbuster, I tend to save those for a few weeks after they launch -- there are far too many gems slipping under the radar.

Soda Dungeon
Soda Dungeon is largely a hands-off, number-crunching affair, so it might not be for everyone. You play as... let's call it an entrepreneur, hunting for dungeon loot but unwilling to actually put themselves in harm's way. You'll instead hire fighters from the local tavern, attracting them with "soda" (definitely not booze, wink wink), paying a marginal fee, and then keeping a chunk of the loot they stumble upon as they slay monsters.

There's a surprising amount of depth if you're willing to stick it out: you can set the game to "Auto Combat" mode and let it play itself, but you'll have much better luck equipping a team with a solid balance of weapons and abilities, and taking a strategic approach to fights -- especially as you delve deeper into the dungeon, and reach higher levels. The right balance of healing gear and brute force will make the difference between struggling through a stage or breezing past boss fights.

Digfender
Digfender is a neat take on the tower defense genre. You'll dig tunnels under the foundation of your castle, crafting a turret-studded maze to take out your foes. And most of the usual genre tropes apply: defeating enemies nets you a few gold coins, that you'll spend on your defenses. There are towers that'll slow your opponents down, or hit two enemies at once, or lob explosions that're great at damaging groups, but incredibly slow. And you'll be juggling resources all the while, designing tunnels in an effort to give baddies the most circuitous route to travel, while also collecting the best loot scattered underground.

Traps and support towers are tossed in to keep things interesting. Support towers will buff any tower they're adjacent, too, allowing them to hit a little farther or level up a bit faster, while traps are a one-use item that give you a bit of extra firepower -- useful, in a pinch. Digfender is simple, but fun -- and free. There are some in-app purchases that'll help you buy a few powerups, but the abilities you'll get feel a bit like overkill, and I never felt the need to use one.


Star Wars Galaxy of Heroes
Galaxy of Heroes is part RPG, part trading-card collect-athon, and packed with onerous free-to-play drawbacks. But it's still quite a bit of fun. You'll fight in battles for the Light and Dark and of the Force, earning currency you'll spend on new characters, or training to make existing ones stranger. There's also gear to collect, to give your team an edge. Combat is straight-forward. Squads of up to 5 characters face off In turn-based battles. You'll want to take out healers first, but some units have special abilities that will force you to target them; others can damage you're entire squad. Of course you have the same tricks up your sleeve...

Your play time is limited by "energy" -- you'll spend a bit to enter a battle, and earn a bit more every few minutes. I've always used the energy systems in free-to-play games as a guide to let me know when to take a break, but if you're really into the game, then this hard stop -- unless you're willing to pay, of course -- will be off-putting. You'll also earn a ton of bonus energy as you play, so if you take things slow and steady, and don't get sucked into the morass of microtransactions, you'll be just fine.


Tuesday, April 5, 2016

3 Android Games Worth Owning: Alto’s Adventure, Lost in Harmony, and One More Dash

It’s only early April, but already, plenty of new games have been hitting Google Play, swooping mobile gamers up out of their daily lives, placing them in fantastical realms of imagination, wonder, and excitement. Being quite the fan of mobile gaming, as well as console gaming, it has been a real joy watching many premium titles be made available for mobile devices, lifting up the entire Android platform as a whole. Whether you are an intense player with a game controller accessory, or maybe just a porcelain throne warrior looking for 10 minutes of enjoyment, there is something for everyone on Google Play.

The latest three games I have compiled land right in the middle for everyone. As a fan of more intense titles, Alto’s Adventure has been a real treat or me, as it’s the perfect mix of challenge and relaxation. Nothing beats carving down a mountainside. In addition, One More Dash will give the compulsive crowd something to cheer about, while Lost in Harmony is made for those who might want to escape for 30 minutes to an hour. Regardless of your play style, one of these three titles should suit you.

Here are 3 Android games worth owning.

Alto’s Adventure

Easily my favorite release of 2016, Alto’s Adventure is probably as close as I will ever be to having Tiny Wings for Android. In this game, you play a snowboarder racing down a mountainside, all while collecting escaped llamas and outrunning mountain elders. As you race, you collect coins, used for the purchasing of power ups. These power ups will help you survive for longer during your runs.

When you complete challenges (3 challenges per level), you get closer to unlocking new characters. To unlock a new character, you must complete 10 levels, equating to 30 challenges. Each character has their own set of abilities, whether it be better speed, faster flips, and higher bounces. Once you reach level 50, which I did not too long ago, you unlock your very own mountain elder who contains all the abilities of the previous characters. Essentially, he’s the greatest snowboarder of all time. Sorry, Ross Powers.

Alto’s Adventure is completely free to download, and the in-app purchases it features are completely useless. I highly recommend you stay away from those. However, as a pro tip, if you die during your run, you can watch an ad video for 15 seconds, then respawn at that same position. When attempting to complete challenges and go for long distances, this can be extremely clutch.



Lost in Harmony

Back in February, I discovered Lost in Harmony. On Google Play, it already had thousands on downloads and a high rating, so I was excited to see what the apparent hype was all about. Let me tell you, if you enjoy listening to good tunes and getting into a rhythm while playing a mobile game, there is no better title than Lost in Harmony.

At first, the gameplay is quite simple. You tap on the screen when instructed to, while also trying to evade oncoming cars that are attempting to mow you down. Mind you, all of this is being done while you are on a skateboard with a girl riding on your back. Is it ridiculous? Absolutely. Is it a lot of fun? Totally. With that said, the way that the gameplay syncs with the accompanying music does wonders for the imagination, as you go from one scenic level to another. The better you time your taps and evasions, the better everything syncs and the longer you will survive on that skateboard.

The game is free to download, although, the initial download from Google Play is just a short portion of the game. Via an in-app purchase, the complete title can be purchased for $3.99.



One More Dash

From the same studio that gave us One More Line, One More Dash is a relatively explosive sequel to the original. While One More Line can be somewhat slow-paced at times, depending on how you play, One More Dash is all about the utilization of rhythm and timing. As you tap your ball forward to new rings, evading obstacles and spinning spikes, you are in a race against your incoming death.

The overall objective is the same: get your little ball as far as it can go, competing against your friends to see who can go the furthest. One More Line also had a killer little soundtrack, and thankfully, so does One More Dash.

Being just as addictive as the first, I highly recommend this time killer. You can grab it for free on Google Play