Reviews - 8/69 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Dec

Modern Combat 4 Review: Playing By Big Boy Rules On The Small Screen

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Games, Reviews

Gameloft has carved out a nice little niche for itself by taking popular console games, and tweaking the formula (and title) just enough to get away with it. The Modern Combat series has been presented as the mobile equivalent of Modern Warfare, and it's just reached its 4th incarnation with Modern Combat 4: Zero Hour. Does this formula of console-style play still work on Android?

Gameplay And Story

Modern Combat 4 is a first person shooter that makes heavy use of cinematic elements to tell what we can only hope is a good story. The game is split up into missions with a few auto-saving checkpoints along the way.

Dec

Flying High: Falcon Pro Review

Posted by Matt Demers in App Reviews, Applications, Apps/Games, Reviews

Despite Twitter making it difficult for developers to maintain third-party clients, they just keep popping up. This week, we take a look at Falcon Pro, which seems to marry the idea of beauty, functionality, and smooth animations into a solid contender for the best of its kind.

^{Hey look, we're in this screenshot!}

Falcon Pro had roots as Falcon, a Twitter widget that was fully-functional and looked damned good, to boot. However, fans were restless for a full client release, so the development team released Falcon Pro, first as a beta and now as a complete package.

Dec

Dropping Some Science: Splice Review

Posted by Matt Demers in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

I first played Cipher Prime's Splice when it was part of a recent fourth Humble Bundle, and it still enjoys a place in my Installed Games list on Steam. It's a puzzle game that involves taking different strains of bacteria and "splicing" them, moving around cells in order to fit an provided outline. Of course, you have a set amount of moves, and added "mutation" cells will change the game in different ways: for instance, one mutation will cause each cell attached to it to grow, or split identically. The trick is to plan ahead and think strategically in order to finish each level and move on.

Dec

[Quick Look] Afraid Of Scratching Your Nexus 4? Check Out Spigen's 'Steinheil Dual' Front + Back Protector

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Other Reviews

The Nexus 4 is unique among Android phones, as it's one of the first to feature glass on both the front and back. As such, thoughts of seeing the brand new handset covered in scratches has haunted my dreams since I first cracked the box open. Fortunately, Spigen has me - and everyone else with an N4 - covered, thanks to the new Steinheil Dual front+back protector.

Now, let me get one thing out of the way: I'm not normally an advocate of screen protectors. In fact, this is the first one I've used in... a long while. I may have forced myself to use them as part of a review in the somewhat recent past, but this is the first time in years I have personally chosen to stick a piece of plastic over the display of my phone.

Dec

Jet Set Radio Review: As Funky As Ever, But Controls Are A Grind

Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Games, Reviews

Twelve years ago, Sega released a game for its brand-spanking new Dreamcast system that was so stunningly original its influences can still be seen today. Jet Set Radio (Jet Grind Radio for US gamers) became an instant sleeper hit, and has earned its cult classic status. The impressive, stylish visuals, unique gameplay and awesome music are still remember fondly by my generation. Now that Android hardware has caught up to and in many ways surpassed the old beige box, Sega has re-released Jet Set Radio for the mobile world. You can pick it up on the Google Play Store for $4.99.

Dec

Raiden Legacy Review: A Reminder That Video Games Used To Be Really, Really Hard

Posted by Ryan Whitwam in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

Last Updated: December 9th, 2012

Twenty years ago you had to pump quarters into an arcade machine to enjoy the punishing shooter known as Raiden. The game was so successful that multiple sequels followed. Now you can play four Raiden arcade games on your mobile device for a one-time fee. This is a retro gaming experience that tries to preserve the feel of the original game, and still make it work on a touch screen. So is Raiden still awesome? Let's see.

Gameplay

See that thing there? Shoot it. That other thing over there? Shoot that, too. That third whatsit over there? That one is a power up.

Dec

LG Spectrum 2 Review: Verizon's Mid-Range Handset War Just Got More Interesting

Posted by David Ruddock in Phone Reviews, Spectrum 2, Verizon Wireless

If you're a Verizon Wireless customer, and you're not looking to spend over $100 or so on an Android smartphone, your options aren't exactly limited at this point. If you want one that's relatively current, though, the RAZR M and Incredible 4G are basically your choices, one of which we actually really liked.

Both of those phones, though, by modern Android smartphone standards, are relatively small, with 4-4.3" qHD displays. For some, such a size may actually be desirable - there have always been a steady stream of complaints about the growing dimensions of Android phones. I, too, often wonder if this is indicative of a larger trend (pun intended), or if it is merely a symptomatic of some subtle problem with the current touchscreen interaction paradigm.

Dec

Time To Wreck It!: Wreck-It Ralph Review

Posted by Matt Demers in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

As gamers, we've all become familiar with the tie-in title. These are usually released in conjunction with a movie or TV show to widen its exposure, and historically they're usually pretty sub-par.

However, Disney's Wreck-It Ralph subverts this trope because it's in the unique position of being based off of video games. That's kind of hard to mess up.

Wreck-It Ralph is a series of three (soon to be four) arcade games that feature characters and environments from the movie. The first is a direct port of the Fix-It Felix Jr. arcade game that Ralph calls home, the second will remind players of Doodle Jump and other "bounce as high as you can" games, and the third is a very modest twin-joystick shooter.

Dec

Game Review: Shoot Em Up + Rave = Beat Hazard Ultra

Posted by Matt Demers in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

I've been enjoying video games for most of my life, and some of them come with a seizure warning before I start playing. This is to make sure that people who are prone to seizures or headaches know that there is a large amount of strobe effects in the game they're about to start.

I've never felt that been susceptible to the problems the warnings are meant to address, but then again, I hadn't played Beat Hazard Ultra, either.

Beast Hazard Ultra is a shoot-em-up game that uses your music to generate levels. Gameplay-wise, it's a mix of Asteroids and the traditional two-joystick shooters that many players are already familiar with.

Dec

Do The Twist: Pixel Twist Review

Posted by Matt Demers in Apps/Games, Game Reviews, Games, Reviews

For all the shooters and racing games that mobile fans see, there's another subset that seems specifically made for the touch environment. "Zen" games are popular because they're relatively simple, can be played in short bursts to cure boredom, and ultimately allow their audience to sit back and relax. Pixel Twist fulfills all three of those criteria.

Pixel Twist starts off quite simple: you're given an exploded view of an image, like a lime, painting or game controller, and by moving the camera around you can line up the pixels so that they form a complete picture.

As you can see from the left screenshot, the game provides a hint to particularly frazzled players on the first few levels, but eventually they disappear.