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To preface this: Amazon really wants me to use their app store instead of the Play store, so they gave me a $20 credit, which I used to get a bunch of games that aren’t free-to-play.
Evoland ($5) - I love this setup: Every treasure chest you open unlocks some aspect of the rpg/adventure game experience. This is influenced by (and references) mostly the 2D Zelda games and Final Fantasy 7, which is not something I object to. While the lack of tactile feedback (because there are no real buttons) will probably always irk me about playing on phones/tablets, I found the control scheme here decent and the difficulty wasn’t so high that occasional button-press mistakes caused me issues. And if some aspect of the game annoys you (the life meter, the graphics, the battle style, the puzzle style…) just wait until the end of that dungeon and it’ll be gone.
The trick to turn-based battles is to remember you have infinite MP. The trick to the Undead King seems to be to trap him behind a tombstone where you can hit him but he can’t reach you. The sidequests before the final dungeon are mostly just to collect stars and cards, but there’s also an extra Life Heart to find.
$5 is a little steep for a tablet game, but not unrealistic for a good 4-5 hour action/adventure gaming experience.
Scribblenauts Remix ($1) - A smoother, Android-optimized version of the original DS game. Maxwell seems about as stupid as before. I suspect the library is a bit broader (and it includes adjectives, which were added in later games). The “action” mode is gone; there’s a single set of puzzle levels, though you don’t have to complete every one of them to unlock later stages, which is a nice compromise. There are five “worlds” of ten puzzles each with the base game; for a dollar you can get a “world pass” to more content. (Also, to “really” complete each level, you need to do it three times without repeating words.)
This actually lends itself really well to the phone/tablet experience, because the “action” elements of it always sucked, and it’s much easier to type words this way. The problem is they never really improved the base gameplay, instead choosing to stay with the “you can type almost any world, so guess which one you need here” style. Oh, and remember to use “wings” in any stage when Maxwell needs to do stuff; it’ll make your life much easier.
10000000 ($3) - You’re trying to escape a dungeon by playing reel-style match games to fight monsters and get treasure. You’ll fail a lot, but there are rooms in your cell that will help you get stronger weapons, magic and skills so you can get closer to escape. It’s an excuse to play a lot of row-matching games, though I did feel like I was making progress with repeated runs, unlocking the various upgrade rooms and levels of upgrades, which made my runs last longer and my point totals higher. Nice addictive quality with a set end-point, which I appreciate. If you’re decent at the game, it takes 5-6 hours of play to max out all of the skills and equipment, at which point you’re just trying to get a really good run to unlock freedom and the credits.
Block Legend ($2) - You’re trying to complete heroic quests by playing connect-four style match games to fight monsters and get treasure. Similar to 10000000, but with longer runs and a lesser feeling of continuity between them / continuous progress. It didn’t grab me as much.
Evoland ($5) - I love this setup: Every treasure chest you open unlocks some aspect of the rpg/adventure game experience. This is influenced by (and references) mostly the 2D Zelda games and Final Fantasy 7, which is not something I object to. While the lack of tactile feedback (because there are no real buttons) will probably always irk me about playing on phones/tablets, I found the control scheme here decent and the difficulty wasn’t so high that occasional button-press mistakes caused me issues. And if some aspect of the game annoys you (the life meter, the graphics, the battle style, the puzzle style…) just wait until the end of that dungeon and it’ll be gone.
The trick to turn-based battles is to remember you have infinite MP. The trick to the Undead King seems to be to trap him behind a tombstone where you can hit him but he can’t reach you. The sidequests before the final dungeon are mostly just to collect stars and cards, but there’s also an extra Life Heart to find.
$5 is a little steep for a tablet game, but not unrealistic for a good 4-5 hour action/adventure gaming experience.
Scribblenauts Remix ($1) - A smoother, Android-optimized version of the original DS game. Maxwell seems about as stupid as before. I suspect the library is a bit broader (and it includes adjectives, which were added in later games). The “action” mode is gone; there’s a single set of puzzle levels, though you don’t have to complete every one of them to unlock later stages, which is a nice compromise. There are five “worlds” of ten puzzles each with the base game; for a dollar you can get a “world pass” to more content. (Also, to “really” complete each level, you need to do it three times without repeating words.)
This actually lends itself really well to the phone/tablet experience, because the “action” elements of it always sucked, and it’s much easier to type words this way. The problem is they never really improved the base gameplay, instead choosing to stay with the “you can type almost any world, so guess which one you need here” style. Oh, and remember to use “wings” in any stage when Maxwell needs to do stuff; it’ll make your life much easier.
10000000 ($3) - You’re trying to escape a dungeon by playing reel-style match games to fight monsters and get treasure. You’ll fail a lot, but there are rooms in your cell that will help you get stronger weapons, magic and skills so you can get closer to escape. It’s an excuse to play a lot of row-matching games, though I did feel like I was making progress with repeated runs, unlocking the various upgrade rooms and levels of upgrades, which made my runs last longer and my point totals higher. Nice addictive quality with a set end-point, which I appreciate. If you’re decent at the game, it takes 5-6 hours of play to max out all of the skills and equipment, at which point you’re just trying to get a really good run to unlock freedom and the credits.
Block Legend ($2) - You’re trying to complete heroic quests by playing connect-four style match games to fight monsters and get treasure. Similar to 10000000, but with longer runs and a lesser feeling of continuity between them / continuous progress. It didn’t grab me as much.
