Hello Kitty Tap and Run: Super Cute and on the Run!! Review [Android, iOS]

Let's face it, we all want great Hello Kitty games to exist. Imagine if they made a Hello Kitty game so great, that everyone was playing it, from dude-bros to hobos, it would be amazing. Well… you better sit down.

Hello Kitty is a terrible game, I just don't see the point of any of it. I'm sorry to have built it up but you wouldn't keep reading otherwise. There is just so much wrong with it. Firstly, I hope you like the back of Hello Kitty's head because you're going to see a lot of it during the loading screens. Secondly, the translation is horrible, you are purifying the toys, purifying them!? I want to say so much on that but honestly, I think it's best not to. Thirdly, there are plenty of glitches Finally, the gameplay...

In case the name didn't give it away Hello Kitty Tap and Run is in the endless runner category of games, although it has stages instead of endlessly running. There is nothing wrong with this category but it needs something interesting to keep you hooked, Hello Kitty doesn't really have that. The levels are bland and often right at the end of them nothing happens at all. You can jump and you can attack, occasionally you might fight a boss but there is no skill to it. It's aimed at kids you might say but then why bombard you with all these dialogue boxes and crush kitties to make your ones stronger? Yes, you crush them together to power up your strongest (purest?) kitties. Okay they are meant to be mechanical toys but that fact may be lost on little kids.

There is more to this game than just terrible levels, you can design your room, or spend all your parents hard earned money in the market but there are also many more terrible features I haven't mentioned like graphical glitches and repetitive music. You know maybe I just don't get this game, maybe I'm not a Hello Kitty fan at all but I tried my hardest and now I just want to be left alone to play some violent video games, you know, to purify myself of this game 2/10.

What if I only rescue 95% of her?

Australia Day Warning

Australia day is coming up fast people. If you are sober enough to remember, you might want to check out the deals on the App Store and Google Play. Titles made in Australia will be offered at discounted rates and possibly even for free. Apps to look out for include Epoch and Epoch 2 plus any titles from Half Brick Studios.

Mr. Crab [iOS]

Mr. Crab is a crab themed endless runner, or should that be endless jumper? Here you have to jump your way to the top, jumping on monsters, jumping on bosses and occasionally rolling things along. The game reminds me a lot of the Mario series, particularly Mario Galaxy, as although Mr. Crab is a 2D game, the way the world moves is reminiscent of moving across a planet in Mario Galaxy.

The only control you have in game is to touch the screen to jump. Hold for a long jump, tap for a short one. So you jump from platform to platform, do wall jumps and use walls to send you in the opposite direction. Timing is critical with Mr. Crab and if you don't time things right, you may see yourself plummeting back down to where you came from. You see instead of killing you, enemies send you flying back down levels. The game does stop you from falling too far though with platforms collapsing to block the way back after you have reached them. But this can make the game frustrating as you continuously are knocked back to where you came from with no end game screen or anything to stop your next attempt.

I found that the difficulty peaked and troughed with no rhyme or reason, some early levels were hard, some later levels were quite easy. I didn't mind this too much though, as it just meant I needed to really focus and learn what steps were ahead. The levels aren't too tedious as they are usually quite short, perfect for a mobile game. You also get to fight some interesting bosses along the way, although, again all you are doing is jumping on them until they are defeated but it does add to the variety of the overall experience.

Although it is simple, I think it's worth a play as there is something enchanting about the world. You scuttle along as a silly little crab, unlocking new worlds and crab outfits(!?), it just has this odd charm. Also it's free, though you can buy extra levels for a dollar which seems relatively fairly priced. Oh, I nearly forgot! You pick up baby crabs throughout the level which are so adorable, now, who doesn't want adorable crabs in their pants? Nobody worth knowing. 7.9/10

Hearthstone Beta

Aaaaargh! I have become addicted to this game, help me, it might be worse than this. Seriously though, Hearthstone might only be in beta but it is a great game. It's an online trading card game (TCG) developed by the folks at Blizzard and set in the world of Warcraft (pun not intended). It's free to play and to get into the beta all you need to do is register for it in your Battlenet account.

The game starts you out in a tutorial, which is perhaps a little longwinded and currently unskippable, at least users are reporting errors when they try to. Here you'll learn the basics like hero powers, what cards to play and when. There are 9 different heroes to choose from, each with a unique set of cards and hero power. All hero powers cost 2 mana to play and they really add to making each character distinct. Some examples of hero powers are the Warlock, who loses 2 life and draws a card or the Mage, who gets to deal one damage to any character on the board.

Cards are broken up into 3 types, spells, weapons and minions. Whilst there are cards of all types that are unique to heroes, there is a pool of neutral minions that anyone can select from. Decks are comprised of 30 cards and in Constructed mode you are limited to 2 of the same card. Constructed mode allows you to select cards from your collection, to battle it out in either casual or ranked play. You can also enter Arena mode by paying in-game gold, or real money. In Arena mode you select a hero and then a deck of 30 cards from cards randomly presented to you. There are no restrictions on how many of one card you have in this mode, which can make for some interesting decks. Playing in the Arena gives you rewards such as cards, gold and dust.

Like all TCGs a large part of the addiction factor is collecting the cards. Cards can be crafted by using dust and cards you don't need anymore can be disenchanted into dust, to make the cards you want. You can also buy packs of cards with gold and real money. I think this is a major factor in what got me hooked. There are a lot of cards to collect and creating a new deck with the shiny card you just won can be a lot of fun. And yes there are shiny cards; cards can either be standard or gold and the gold ones are animated and just look cool. The other factor is that you are given a quest everyday, which when you complete gives you gold, plus you can earn 10 gold for every 3 matches that you win. The combination of the addiction to collect and free rewards, has really sucked me in and makes me want to login everyday.

Now, onto the gameplay. It is very similar to Magic the Gathering and those sorts of card games, except it has a much better flow. There is no possibility to play a card on someone else's turn, instead you can play secrets, that are triggered when the other player meets the conditions. For example, the Counterspell secret card that Mages have, will be played on the Mages turn as an undisclosed secret. Then as soon as an opponent plays a spell, it will trigger, countering the spell. This actually speeds up gameplay a lot, as you no longer have to pause constantly and wait for someone to decide if they want to make an action. It is definitely a card game that is designed to be played on a computer and not the other way around. For me the constant flow of the game is what makes it so fun, it even has clever elements such as timed turns that get faster if someone doesn't complete their turn, i.e. goes AFK.

There are numerous glitches in the game as it is only still in the beta stage. Cards will go flying around the screen, there are flickers and odd graphical errors. Sometimes the music will stop, or the sound will appear distant, or distorted. However, the core engine is very solid and these errors rarely get in the way of the gameplay. It's always difficult to judge a game whilst it is still in beta but with the open beta already being pushed back by Blizzard I think they are going to take the time to get this right. Of course Blizzard are notorious for taking a long time with releasing their games, so it will be interesting to see how their first big foray into the world of free-to-play unfolds.

If you are looking for a fast paced action game this is not for you, however, if you want a tactical card game that your are going to end up addicted to look no further. Apply for the closed beta now, or wait for the open beta, which surely is just around the corner. Either way you better start building your card collection now and abandoning friends and family 8.8/10.

The Best Games of 2013 as Reviewed by AGS

So 2013 is over allegedly and all the developers have been far too busy eating and drinking to release much in the way of games over this silly season. So here is my top favourite games of 2013 plus one dishonourable mention.

Number 4: Sid Meier's Ace Patrol
Sid Meier's Ace Patrol was a bit of a surprise entry into the mobile world for Sid and now there is the sequel Pacific Skies. Sid Meier has done very little wrong in his career and this game shows why he is the king of turn based strategy. You can't go wrong in picking up this title or the sequel.

Number 3: Natural Selection 2

Can we use the term asymmetric gameplay whilst not talking about the Wii U. If we can then that would be the best way to describe Natural Selection 2. One team plays the aliens, the other the marines in a first person shooter view, whilst one commander on each team plays an RTS. You can't get much more asymmetrical than that, yet the game is still quite balanced and a hell of a lot of fun to play. It's 90% off right now on Steam which makes it ridiculous cheap but only for another 13 hours.

Number 2: Company of Heroes 2

A lot of titles have come and gone this year and often they have received rave reviews from the early press only to be much maligned come launch day. Company of Heroes 2 is the opposite of this, it got solid reviews but it wasn't overly hyped and it has just been getting better and better. A bunch of free content has been released and there has ben plenty of balancing patches to keep the game fair. Well worth the play if you like RTS or WWII games.

Number 1: Desktop Dungeons

It's a tough decision for me between Desktop Dungeons and Company of Heroes 2 for the number one spot but I chose Desktop Dungeons because it is so different to the bulk of titles out there. A tactical rogue-like, with kingdom building aspects is quite unique. If you are looking for something unique it is a pretty cheap game (also available on the Steam sale for another 13hrs) but beware, it is immensely challenging.

Dishonourable Mention

Mechwarrior Online was another title that got a high score from me this year and it was only officially launched in September. What I have realised after a lot of play is that this game was better in beta, in fact it was great. You would get a share of money to spend and then the whole game would be reset and you'd receive your money again. You could have so much fun with different builds and try out the new mechs and guns but now that it is fully released, it's a grind. You have to grind to get a gun and grind to get a chance to try the new mech, or spend a tonne of money. I already put $60 into it right from the start and I don't think I got a full games worth of value out of it.