Reviews - 13/69 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

A Blast From The Past: A Review of Chrono Trigger for Android

Posted by Matt Demers in Game Reviews, Reviews

If you were a gamer in the 90s, there was a good chance you either owned or had played a Super Nintendo. While the debate still rages on about whether that machine or the Sega Genesis was superior, it can be safely stated that the SNES had some amazing role-playing titles.

Chief among these was Chrono Trigger, a game by a group of developers so storied that they were labeled a "Dream Team." The game was one of many titles (Final Fantasy VI, Earthbound, Super Mario RPG) that helped further the genre and leave a lasting impression on gaming as a whole.

Nov

Initial Impressions Of The Nexus 10: Say Hello To The New Benchmark For 10" Android Tablets

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Nexus 10, Tablet Reviews

At the end of June, Google unveiled its first Nexus-branded tablet to the world: the Nexus 7. Since then, it has become the premier Android tablet, which is now selling at nearly a million units each month. For good reason - it's a fantastic tablet.

Despite the storm that rocked NYC, three days ago Google took the wraps off the latest addition to the Nexus tablet family: the Nexus 10. I've been playing with the N10 for the past 24 hours (give or take) and instead of waiting several days to post a full review, I want to share my first impressions with you.

Oct

Zombiewood Review: Please Insert $1.99 To Complete This Title

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, Reviews

French developer Gameloft has a complicated and contentious history with Android. Initially the company refused to put its games on Android, then only offered them through its own store before finally getting into the Play Store. Like other devs, Gameloft has started pushing in-app purchases pretty hard, but the games are usually quite high-quality. In this game, you play as a stuntman fighting off the zombie invasion through a number of film sets. The zombie apocalypse trope is nothing new, but can Gameloft at least do it justice? Let's find out.

Controls

Zombiewood is a top down shoot 'em up, so the use of our old friend, the dual analog sticks, should come as no surprise.

Oct

MOGA Controller Review: This Is How You Build An Android Controller, But Not How You Program One

Posted by Eric Ravenscraft in Accessories, Reviews

Touchscreens have allowed a whole new era of innovation in mobile gaming and so far it's been pretty great. Sometimes, though, you just need buttons. There are a variety of companies out there trying to create the right solution and this isn't even the first review I've done on a third-party controller. With a unique grip to hold your smartphone, though, this one actually seemed like it stood a fighting chance of not disappearing into the nearest drawer. Of course, hardware is rarely the real problem for Android controllers, is it? But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The Good

Decent size.

Oct

Real Football 2013 Review: Turns Out It's Not So "Real" After All

Posted by John Thompson in Game Reviews, Games

FIFA may be the undisputed king of football games on the console, but when it comes to mobile gaming, it's a totally different ball game.

Gameloft will be hoping that Real Football 2013 (also known as "Real Soccer 2013" in the U.S. store) can take advantage of FIFA 13's delayed arrival to the Play store this year, and amass as many downloads as possible, but how does it compare to its rivals?

Gameplay

When you launch Real Football for the first time, you can choose to take control of a club from a number of leagues across the world. Pro Evolution Soccer fans will no doubt be glad to see the return of teams such as 'Man Red', as Gameloft hasn't acquired the rights to the names of most of the teams available.

Oct

Sector Strike Review: Beautiful, Predictable, Fun, And Tedious

Posted by David Ruddock in Game Reviews, Games

Sidescrolling / top-down space shooters are nothing new - but really good ones are still, like any good game, worth pointing out. I went into Sector Strike, by Clapfoot, with high hopes - they made the now-Android-classic Tank Hero. And while Sector Strike is a pretty good game, odd control choices, repetition, and in-app purchases make this free-to-play title a short and predictable love affair.

The Gameplay

Sector Strike plays like almost any other spaceship sidescroller: you shoot enemies continuously with a bunch of lasers and other sci-fi age goodies that come out of the front of your craft like the contents of a psychedelic new year's party popper.

Oct

Samsung Galaxy Note II Review - Samsung Finally Finds Their Killer App

Posted by Ron Amadeo in Galaxy Note II, Reviews, Samsung

Last Updated: October 29th, 2012

I panned the Note 10.1 in my review. It was subtitled "An Embarrassing, Lazy, Arrogant Money Grab" and, for my conclusion, I took a picture of it in a trashcan. I did not like it. It had erratic performance, a squishy, creaky back, and a bunch of gimmicky features that didn't work. Now, I've got a Note II!

I'm happy to report the Note II is not as crappy as its bigger brother. It's much more solidly built in comparison, really fast, and god help me, some of the TouchWiz features are actually good. They greatly improved the split screen app feature of the Note 10.1, and I think Samsung has finally found their huge, differentiating software feature that they've been searching for.

Oct

[Review] Motorola DROID RAZR HD: Far From Perfect, But I Love It Anyway

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in News, Phone Reviews, RAZR HD / RAZR MAXX HD, Verizon Wireless

As we all know by now, Google purchased Motorola in August of 2011 for a whopping $12.1 billion. Nerds rejoiced, analysts balked, and the general public didn't really notice or care. But Motorola's newest wave of handsets - the excellent Razr M and the new Razr HD/ Razr Maxx HD - aren't the result of Google ownership. They were already in the pipeline, so they're products of the old Motorola.

I'm happy to report that the analysts' skepticism was unfounded. The Razr M hinted that Motorola was already on the right track before being acquired; the Razr HD confirms it. Although it has some silly software flaws, it's one of the most lovable devices I've used in ages.

Oct

Sumioni Demon Arts Review: Great Ideas And Awesome Style Brought Down By Poor Controls

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Games, Reviews

Despite the fact that tens of thousands of games are available on Android, most of them are easily placed within genres that have been around for decades, or they simply copy the conventions of mobile-friendly games (tower defense, runners, physics games, etc). IT's refreshing to see a game like Sumioni: Demon Arts, which combines traditional platforming with the kind of touch-enabled gameplay mechanics that's only been possible for a few years. It's a shame, then, that it has to come from a PlayStation Vita port... with the high price tag that usually accompanies console games.

The artistry on display in Sumioni, lifted from Japanese sumi-e paintings (with "oni" meaning "demon" in Japanese, creating a crude quasi-pun in the title), is undeniably attractive.

Oct

SEGA's Zaxxon Escape Review: A Classic Game Successfully Reimagined For Your Phone

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Games, Reviews

Readers of a certain age might remember pumping quarter after quarter into arcade machines back in the day. Maybe one of those arcade games was the classic shooter known as Zaxxon. Now 30 years later Zaxxon is back as a fast-paced tunnel racer that requires some quick reflexes. It's easy for a reimagining of classic titles to go off the rails, but how does Zaxxon Escape fair? Let's see.

Gameplay

There's not much of a backstory here; you are in a space ship and have to get out of Zaxxon's asteroid city through a series of randomly generated tunnels with an explosion hot on your heels.