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Feb

[Hands-On] Cartoon Wars By Gamevil Is A Great Time-Killer, Nothing More

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Game Reviews, Games

You may know Gamevil as the developer of the ever-popular Zenonia and Baseball Superstars series, and a bunch of other awesome games, but their latest leaves something to be desired. Similar to their earlier title Cartoon Wars: Gunner+, Gamevil's latest installment - Cartoon Wars - uses a well-know (if not overused) game concept, which is just a nice little time-killer at best. That being said, it's still fun to play and does a good job at keeping you occupied.

Gameplay

The story behind the war that is tearing Cartoon World apart is one of oppression and slavery. The Black and White Tribe had been enslaved by the Color Tribe for generations, until they figured it was time for a revolution, so they went up in arms and marched into war.

Jan

[Hands-On] GBikes Is A Great Futuristic Racing Game, But Still Leaves A Bit To Be Desired

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Game Reviews, Games

GBikes by Unchained Developers is a futuristic racing game that recently hit the Android Market. It features fast-paced, high adrenaline gameplay, along with some pretty stunning graphics. In terms of relativity, think Wipeout. This game is dangerously similar to the entire Wipeout series, but fortunately it is well-made and worth playing. There is, however, definitely room for improvement.

Gameplay

If you're looking for deep gameplay, this game simply does not have it, but that really isn't what titles like these aim for. Basically, we play games like these to race some anti-gravity crotch rockets at break-neck speeds, right? Well look no further, because GBikes has you covered with several different high-speed races across 6 worlds.

Jan

[Hands-On] Big Fish Games Brings Suspense And Adventure To The Hidden Object Genre With 'The Serpent Of Isis'

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Game Reviews, Games

You may have already played this game on a computer or an iDevice, but it has recently made its way into the Android Market and is really worth a mention. We don't usually cover many hidden object games here at Android Police, but The Serpent of Isis by Big Fish Games really has something captivating about it. Not only is it challenging to find the objects you're looking for, but the whole game ties very nicely into an interesting and suspenseful plotline. While this is the idea behind nearly every game in this genre, not many can do it well.

Gameplay

The whole game is centered around finding The Serpent of Isis, an ancient Egyptian artifact that your grandfather found several decades ago.

Jan

[Hands-On] Osmos HD Floats On Over To The Android Market Bringing Unique Captivating Gameplay Along With It

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Game Reviews, Games

Some of you may have already played Osmos on your computer or on an iDevice, but this quirky little number by Hemisphere Games has finally hit the Android Market for more to enjoy. For those of you that have never heard of Osmos, it's a physics-based game that has such a simple concept it may leave you dumbfounded. Basically you control an organism, or 'mote', and aim to absorb other motes through osmosis (see what they did with the title there?). As I said, it sounds simple, but it truly is an astounding game.

Gameplay

The reason Osmos works so well is because everything ties together to create an undeniably solid gaming experience.

Jan

[Hands-On] Half Breed Is A Fun Alien Shooter That Has Great Potential, But Could Definitely Use Some Work

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Games, Reviews

Introduction

Half Breed, by iNoko Studios, is an alien-themed shooter that just landed on the Android Market today. As the title indicates, you play the role of a mysterious being who wakes up to find that he is now half-man and half-alien. If that wasn't enough, this creature has a whole arsenal of crazy powers, and is bent on seeking revenge against the people who made him this way.

Gameplay

There are two different game modes in Half Breed, story and multiplayer. Unfortunately, multiplayer isn't true online gameplay, as the only way to take advantage of it is to play with a friend over a Wi-Fi connection.

Jan

[Review] Though It's Still Being Polished, Bomberman Online Adds Online Multiplayer To An Addictive Classic

Posted by Brandon Lancaster in Game Reviews, Games

Last Updated: January 20th, 2012

It looks like it has been pulled from the Market (we're not entirely sure why, but it probably has to do with copyright violation). Fret not - we've got the apk for you to download right here.

Seeing as Bomberman has been perennially resurrected since its 1983 release, chances are extremely high that you've played some variation of the game in your lifetime. Now, if you're like me, you seriously jones for some Bomberman action from time to time, and are only satisfied once you renter the Bomber Nebula to blow your way through mazes. Now you can carry the little guy in your pocket, and even play multiplayer with friends or random opponents.

Jan

[CES 2012] Video Hands-On With The Sony Xperia Ion And Xperia S, Including Their Speedy 12MP Rear Cameras

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sony, Videos, Xperia Ion (Aoba), Xperia S (Nozomi)

We stopped by the Sony booth earlier this morning at CES, and got some hands-on time with the very first Sony smartphones (Sony-Ericsson is no more, subject to regulatory approval) - the Xperia Ion and the Xperia S. While these devices were designed before the Sony Ericsson breakup, they'll be marketed as Sony devices when they hit retail channels.

First up is the Xperia Ion, announced a couple of days ago by AT&T. As you may already know, Sony's upcoming flagship device (headed to AT&T in Q2) will be powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 4G LTE, and features a 720p display with a truly impressive 12MP rear shooter.

Nov

ASUS Transformer Prime Initial Impressions: Four Isn't A Prime Number, But It Sure Feels Special

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in ASUS, Eee Pad Transformer Prime, News, Reviews

Around midday yesterday, I received my review kit for the Transformer Prime, complete with dock, wireless gamepad, and HDMI cable - meaning I'm well equipped to take a deep dive into the hottest new tablet to hit stores. But to be completely honest, an in-depth review on a product this brand-spanking-new requires more hands-on time than can be had in two days. The full review will be up on Friday, but in the interim, enjoy the initial impressions and gadget porn below.

First up, let's run over the specs, largely from our official announcement post:

10.1-inch SuperIPS + display with Gorilla Glass
1.3GHz quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 Processor with 12-core GPU
1GB RAM
32GB or 64GB internal storage with microSD card slot
microHDMI port
8MP F2.4 rear shooter with continuous flash for video recording, 1.2MP front camera (1080p camcorder!)
8.33mm thin
586g (1.29 lbs.)
12 hour battery life playing 720p video, 18 hours with keyboard dock
Metallic spun finish
Two available colors: Amethyst Gray and Champagne Gold (show below, respectively)
Android 3.2.1 - will be updated to Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) as soon as possible after release
$499 for 32GB model, $599 for 64GB, and $149 for the dock
North American availability is expected to begin the week of 12/19 - this is straight from Asus's mouth in the Prime details that were sent to us (and again confirmed a few hours ago), contrary to the other "official" date of December 8 that we heard earlier today.

Nov

[Video] First Hands-On With Asus' Transformer Prime Surfaces – Just As Sleek And Fast As We Expected

Posted by Liam Spradlin in Eee Pad Transformer Prime, Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0, News, Videos

It seems like Asus' Transformer Prime has been constantly making headlines since before it was announced. Giving those looking forward to the tablet/netbook hybrid another bit of news to drool over, the first hands-on video of the Prime has surfaced on YouTube.

http://youtu.be/ZHaczwP3nHI

It's worth noting that the tablet featured in this video is pre-production – it's running Android 3.2.1., and using hardware that may not be finalized for production or sale. That being said, it looks just as sleek, fast, and powerful as we expected, and did you notice the benchmark? It seems the Transformer Prime scores somewhere around 11,000 with AnTuTu Benchmark, light years ahead of even the Galaxy Nexus.

Nov

Hands-On: The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus Is An Exynos-Packing, Benchmark-Decimating Speed Demon

Posted by David Ruddock in Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, News, Samsung, Tablets

Earlier today, I received my review unit Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus, Samsung's latest addition to the Tab family of products. Now, you probably thought, upon hearing about this little device, "gee, this is just another scaled-down version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 - boring." But you thought wrong - very wrong.

The Tab 7.0 Plus has a little hardware secret in its diminutive package, and that secret's name is Exynos. I noticed from the moment I powered it up that the 7.0 Plus was no ordinary Honeycomb device - home screen swiping was unusually graceful, even with Samsung's TouchWiz UX overlay.