Flash Mobile Game Review: Rune Mage

Rune Mage
Developed by Pixelthis Mobile
Released: February 2007
Availability: OTI (over the internet)
Requirements: Flash Lite 1.1 enabled device
(176x208, 176x220, 240x320 native resolutions are supported)

"If you’re like me, and you enjoy games like Sudoku, or Tetris, you’ll most likely eat this little ditty right up."

Review by Scott Janousek









Overview:

So, I had a chance a few evenings ago to play a new Flash Lite puzzle based game released by Pixelthis Mobile; a New Zealand based Flash Mobile game company.

What can I say about Rune Mage? First off, it’s addictive (for me anyways). I’m always up for a good puzzle, and this game delivers. If you’re like me, and you enjoy games like Sudoku, or Tetris, you’ll most likely eat this little ditty right up! Fair warning though … it’s equivalent to cocaine for your run-of-the-mill puzzle junky out there. No joke, consider yourself forewarned!

The overall objective of the game is pretty simple. In the role of a “spell caster” you move around various ancient (magic) rune symbols set on a square grid until they complete a “magic spell” (they solve the puzzle for a particular stage). If you’re correct and runes match, then the spell starts to take shape (pieces start to glow in their respective places in the grid). Think of a traditional rainy day puzzle and you’ll get the picture here. Things fit or they don’t, until the puzzle is solved.

Unlike a traditional puzzle, however, moving the symbols involves selecting a position (or rune) in the grid with the select key and then using the up, down, left, and right keys to shift entire columns or rows of the overall puzzle. In a way it is very similar to some of the slider puzzles you see where you push around puzzle pieces until they complete a visual picture. Close, but this is much more satisfying …

But, herein lays one of the particular challenges of this game. In moving a particular row or column, you can sometimes unintentionally move pieces you’ve already placed, making it a requirement to think ahead. This kind of thought process is much in line with what you do when playing a game of chess, or sudoku. You need to give some thought about what your current move so you can complete the overall spell given. On lesser stages it’s not a requirement, but some of the later stages it’s imperative! Not to fret, as you move from being a “Neophyte” rune caster to being a “Master Rune Mage”, you’ll have to learn how to visualize the spell based on the level title hints. Fun!

To make everything even more challenging, each stage in the various levels (did we mention the game has 25 levels which contain multiple stages!?) has a predetermined time limit. If the time runs out, you lose the level and have to play it again. Luckily, there is your handy dandy “enter a code” feature to allow you to skip right to where you left off.

All in all, we found Rune Mage to a be a true classic in the Flash Lite puzzle genre category, worthy of very high praise due to both its addictive game play and unique theme. For a Flash Lite 1.1 game, this one rocks in my book.

The good:

Graphics – the game really shines here. The actual runes, stones, and overall game screens are laid out quite nicely. Other areas of the game, add a little pizzazz to the title. I think some might have been held back on because of overall file size, but some areas such as the splash screen could be a bit more engaging. After all, this is the first thing a user sees and is very important to captivate them there.

Sound - another bonus is the sound. I found the overall soundtrack to fit nicely with the game. There’s also a lovely option to toggle off sound. Although we wish we could do this throughout the game instead of at the very beginning, it’s still a valuable feature as you’ll end up playing this everywhere.

Game Play – I'll just came out and say it. The game play in this game is superb. The stage and level creation were given quite a bit of thought and it shows. The game is reminiscent of Tetris on a few levels. But the game play is unique enough to classify this title into its own genre. It's a shame we don't still do ratings here at Frame 27. This game is nearly perfect in terms of overall game play and experience, IMHO.

Multiplayer or a high score mechanism would be a nice have, but overall the title works best a standalone solo game. Overall, I enjoyed the atmosphere of the game. Frankly, it brought a tear to my eye, as the quaint memories of role playing games danced about in my head. If you like fantasy, or puzzles you’ll love this particular title!

The bad:

Minor User Interface Aesthetics: Level codes entries (sorry my battery just died so I don’t know the exact terminology used in the game) took some time to figure out based on the existing graphical assets. This could be easily fixed by swapping some graphical assets and changing the color coding to be more dramatic. The idea is there, we just found the existing method a bit unobvious at first try with what “grey” versus “brown” was. Although we are not colorblind, we might sympathize with someone who may suffer. Entering codes shouldn’t require any learning at all, and with some minor changes, this area of the game would be perfect! Adding a Flash Lite 1.1 save state style feature would be a bonus, but as is it works fine.

S.O.S. … Help Me: The help screen could be a bit more detailed (aka visual). If you’re into puzzle games, you’ll figure the game out on the 1st stage of the 1st level. It would be cool if this area could be spruced up a bit a graphic here and there, but the game is easy enough to pick up, so perhaps the overall file size isn’t warranted. No biggie!

Sadistic Level: “Carpet Snake” level was a particularly challenging and perhaps belongs with the later, more intricate levels. We found it very out of place on the very 1st level where some users may still be learning the game play. I see a lot of potential hair loss on this level … for your average casual gamer.

Performance: We wished there was an option to toggle on and off the motion effects when moving a puzzle piece. The “Rubix cube” effect is cool, but gets tiresome after a while. Plus it just tacks on more time when you’re trying to complete a particularly difficult stage where time is of the essence. Also, I did have one freak occurrence (1 time only instance) of the game freezing while seemingly idle, but otherwise the overall stability was quite good for the amount of game time we’ve put in this far.

Review by Scott Janousek

Flash Mobile Game Review: In the Crib with Rob and Big

In the Crib with Rob and Big
Developed by Zodal
Released: February 2007
Availability: OTI (Over The Internet)
Requirements: a Flash Enabled PSP

"This game is not to be missed as it represents perhaps one of the first Flash games created for the PSP platform for a major entertainment company!"

Review by Scott Janousek










Overview:

"In the Crib with Rob and Big", developed by Zodal (a New Zealand based Flash Mobile development company) has released a PSP Flash game loosely based on the MTV Networks reality TV show characters of the same name.

The game is a “sidescroller” with both old school 80's arcade style play and retro pixel graphics. The objective of the game is to earn points as Rob performs various skating moves, avoids obstacles/enemies, all while grabbing various "goodies" along the way.

At the end of each stage with Rob, the other character, "Big" then contends with various bosses, in which he must fight to help send Rob to the next level (of which there are currently three we know of). The object of the goal score as many points as you can on three unique levels of game play.

The game starts with a splash screen on which the pixelized representations of the Rob and Big characters are displayed. The graphics here set the tone for what you are to expect from this casual, yet rather challenging game. On the main menu screen, the user can select play the game, check out the scoreboard, toggle sound, or get the game credits. Clicking on the "Play Now" screen, leads the user into a rudimentary "How To" (Play) screen that explains the basic PSP keys to be used in the game. Clicking continue here bring the user directly into Level 1, "Beverly Hills".

The game play consists on using the left and right arrow keys to control Rob's skating speed as he moves from left to right in each scene presented. Using the "X" key makes Rob jump over obstacles. Using the "X" key in conjunction with arrow keys, such as when jumping off onscreen objects makes Rob perform skating tricks that earns him points. If you fail to clear an obstacle or mess-up you lose energy from your health bar. Lose enough energy and it wipes out one of your 3 total lives for game.

After each stage is cleared with Rob, Big is faced to fight some baddie. The controls here consist of various key combos that must be performed in exact precise order and within a quick elapse of time, otherwise Big looses health. If the user executes enough moves, Big defeats the enemy and Rob is able to go to the next level. As you progress throughout the game the levels do get harder, and are quite challenging given this is a casual game.

This game is not to be missed as it represents perhaps one of the first Flash games created for the PSP platform for a major entertainment company! It’s a fun, yet simple to play game with pixel based graphics reminiscent of early Sierra games. If you're expecting a nice casual and fun game, then you won’t be disappointed. If you're seeking a Tony Hawk like experience with 3-D graphics galore … well, look elsewhere!

Also, for those without a PSP, there is an alternative web version that you can play directly from your desktop at:

http://www.dcrobandbig.com/home.html

Here are some highlights of the PSP game:

The good:

Graphics: The quality bitmap graphics really set the tone for this game, and really make it one of the first high quality PSP Flash game created for a big name in the entertainment industry (MTV Networks) … that we know of, that is. We love the graphics and style!

Sound: The sound effects are excellent and the custom soundtrack created by Sam Trevethic and Nick Robinson, who form part of the well known New Zealand drum and base band Shapeshifter, really makes the game experience fun. We can’t imagine this game being quite as good without the sound! Kudos to the sound engineers on this project!

Performance: Truly, we can tell that this game has been greatly optimized for the PSP. “In the Crib” is more in lines of a Flash Lite game, than a true desktop game … but for good reason, the PSP has quite a few device constraints and limitations that Zodal has addressed quite nicely here. Once you start playing you won’t notice much performance lag at all!

Challenge: There are 3 fairly unique levels which will challenge you and keep you from getting immediately bored with game. The magic number 3 also makes it an ideal casual game for the train, or other places where you have a few minutes to kill.

The bad:

Instructions: The game instructions are not very encompassing. The game help is unfortunately not available on-the-fly, but rather served up before each game sequence begins. There is no pause during game either. There is no way to save or load your game. But is there a need? There are only 3 levels game play so perhaps not.

Game Play: In regards to game play, we did find it to be particularly challenging on the various "boss" levels with the Big versus baddy duels. You must be quick with key combos, or get your $ss handed to you! Perhaps this is intended ... as Big may not be “fast” but he sure packs a mean punch? We do not know. However, the key combos could be a bit larger here and the difficulty begs to ask the need for easy, medium, and hard settings, particularly in this area one area of this otherwise great game.

We also had one instance of the game freezing during a critical point in the game. We are not sure if this was a genuine bug, or perhaps some flakiness with either the Flash Player or PSP browser. It was not a regular occurence, so we believe it the later.

Installation: First time users to Flash based PSP gaming will have to do some digging in order to get the game installed and running within the PSP browser (but to no fault to Zodal). Unfortunately, at this time, no standalone and self executing Flash content is supported on the PSP. However, for those who are stuck, Zodal has graciously provided some help instructions which can be found here:

How to install "Rob and Big" (PDF)

In regards to the Rob and Big website ... we would have also liked this site to cater to the PSP, but currently it does not. Hopefully this is something that can be addressed in the near future, as it would perhaps allow another method for players to easily download as well as access the game online. We don’t blame Zodal here, as distribution is handled via another party.

Review by Scott Janousek

Flash Mobile Game Review: SokoLite

SokoLite
Developed by PTM

"Challenging game with inifite levels!"














Overview: SokoLite, developed by PTM, a finnish Flash Lite Dev company, is a Flash Lite 1.1 remake of "Sokoban", a classic puzzle game, and really impresses for the large amount of levels (100). It also features an useful level saving system (you wouldn´t want to go through all the levels again if you reached level 50 or so) and the possibility to dynamically load levels from the web, which grants additional hours of fun. The "undo" and "restart" function are unlimited available during the game, so be prepared to play the same level over and over until you find the correct solution. An online hi-scores system is also planned in further versions.

The game is addictive and gets really challenging after the first levels, producing an excellent brain exercise.

The good: The multiple levels and challenging puzzles are the stronger points. The sound was used very well and the battery/signal meter inside the game are a nice idea.

The bad: The background graphic is quite distracting and the vision gets "tired" after a few minutes playing.

Flash Mobile Game Review: Log Jam

Log Jam
Developed by Blue Sky North

"Blue Sky North pushed the bar on Flash Lite game development and created the perfect mobile game."














Overview: This must be one of the most interesting mobile game cases around. Developed by Blue Sky North, Log Jam was released in two versions: 01 for the iRiver U10 portable device and 01 for S60 phones. In both platforms they succeeded to provide the best Flash Lite game to date. When you play it on the iRiver, there´s a feeling that the device itself was specially designed for the game, due the fact the game controls fit exactly the U10 navigation system.

The main objective of the game is to keep the lumberjack buddy spinning on the log as long as possible. When the player reaches 40-45 seconds, the game speed is increased and it turns a bit harder to control.

There are slightly minor differences in the available versions (due to hardware limitations and input methods aspects), considering the score is not persistent on S60 phones, but works well on the U10, and, on the phone, it looks like to be a little easier to achieve better times.

The good: The game is just perfect. Original concept, professional graphics and really FUN gameplay. Everyone around always want to give it a try, so the experience can turn into a huge group activity.

The bad: No sound at all.

Flash Mobile Game Review: Whack Attack

Whack Attack
Developed by DRD Interactive (Moket)

"If you have five minutes to spare, this is the game."














Overview: Published by Moket, an australian Flash Lite game development company, this is one of the most downloaded games in Adobe Flash Lite Exchange, with over 6,000 hits. The game was precisely targeted for mobile devices: light graphics, simple rules and easy gameplay. The player must hit as many "imps" as possible in a short period of time. The imps come up and down from all the nine spots placed on the screen, each one corresponding to a numeric key (1-9) on the phone.

The good: Easy gameplay makes it a great mobile leisure option for all ages.

The bad: Gets repetitive after a few minutes (but, hey, that´s the point, isn´t it?) and there´s no temporary score storage. A background music would be a nice touch too.

Flash Mobile Game Review: Four Play

Four Play
Developed by Nitrome

"Cute graphics, nice theme but lacks performance."














Overview: This game looks like to be the first Flash Lite game by Nitrome, a tradional Flash game development company. As any other experience, it has really strong and some weak points. The main game objective is to "drop" 04 aliens of your own color in order to form a line (horizontal, vertical or diagonal). Nitrome picked up a great game stlye for a casual game and also offers players the chance to play against each other on the same device (it may sound crazy, but I really like this idea).

The good: The graphics and color choices have a professional look, with a "pixel tendency" style. Well, so professional that could be ported to J2ME easily (I don't like this idea...No, I don´t).

The bad: Slow performance. The game speed affected my interest over the game after 30 seconds, plus, the "...turn" warning showing up all the time, gets really annoying too. A faster frame rate or graphic optimization would be very useful.

Flash Mobile Game Review: GO SUSHI

GO SUSHI
Developed by Blue Sky North

"Simple, beautiful and addictive."














Overview: The game has a simple engine where the player must "eat" the sushis Yoshi is currently thinking. The game starts really easy and gets smoothly harder after each level. Eating the "wasabes" extends your time in five seconds, so grab them whenever you get a chance. The game is also available on a previous Flash Lite 1.0 version and one for the iRiver U10, the korean portable media player. GO SUSHI is a great example of how a simple game can be a great and fun experience.

The good: Perfect vector graphics with nice and detailed sushis. The background colors contrast really great with the character and food, making a wonderful colorful combination.

The bad: Animations are really basic and doesn´t match the graphics sophistication. The "wasabe" eating animation is very similar to the "wrong" sushi one, wich can be confusing for the player.

Flash Mobile Game Review: Journey of Jin: Mobisode 2

Journey of Jin: Mobisode 2
Developed by Flownaway

"More than just a casual game, Journey of Jin brings a deeper experience for Flash Lite enabled phone users. "














Overview: Journey of Jin is a RPG game different from anything ever made for Flash Lite. The player must guide "Jin" through a desert valley where he faces several enemies along the way to the "West". The battles are turn based and the player can either attack, throw a spell, retreat or defend. (Almost) Every battle won, adds extra points to Jin´s skills (power, magic, armor and xp). The game keeps has a very stylish art concept and can keep you entertained for a few good minutes.

The good: The guys at Flownaway worked hard to produce a game with a solid storyline and guess what? They did a nice job. The battle system is also really interesting, making each battle unique, even against the same enemies. The music quality is also very good and fits the game theme.

The bad: There´s no instructions screen for the game controls, wich can make the new players' life a bit harder. After you get the handle of the battle system, the game looks really short and you will have to wait for Mobisode 3 to play the next level. A "save/load game" system would also be very useful.

Flash Mobile Game Review: Dawn of the Fly - Chapter One

Dawn of the Fly - Chapter One
Developed by Breakdesign

"This game is for Flash Lite what Pac-Man is for videogames. Breakdesign created a classic."












Overview: Dawn of the Fly is really fun game with a magic touch of sense of humour. The player controls a little "something" (that happens to be the main character) and the objective is really simple: eat as many flies as you can in a short period of time. Green flies makes your energy bar go up and red ones decrease it. If your energy bar is over, our little "friend" simply puts a bullet on his own head or gets killed in some other bizarre (and funny) way. The flies get way quicker after each level and your energy bar is not restored, so try keeping it up since level 1 if you plan to go any further in the game.

Hint: You can eat multiple flies pressing 2, 5 and 8 keys at the same time.

The good: There´s a lot to say about this game, but it´s original concept (design, game characters and music) is what makes it one the best flash lite games to date. Breakdesign "dark&evil-but-funny" style produced a state of the art game for mobile devices. Great features as online score submission, idle system with direct access to phone functionalities, wallpapers and update link turns the game into a real immersive experience.

The bad: Poor background scenarios and the "camera" access option in the idle menu doesn´t work in all phones.