Hello! I'm quixoticdreamer (Maggie), the newest and gender-diversifying member of the Silver Asterism crew! :-D So, without further ado, let's jump into a quick review!
Since I spent the weekend playing on my mom's iPad, I was inspired to write about two games that I obsessed over: Plants vs. Zombies and Cut the Rope. And to introduce my experimental smiley-face rating system (that will last as long as I'm not bored with it), here we go!
Plants vs. Zombies
Story: :-)
Gameplay: :-D
Graphics: :-D
Overall: :-D
The concept of this Pop Cap game is that zombies are trying to invade your house and you use your fearsome garden to fend them off. It's just the kind of simple yet ridiculous idea that a game like this needs. It's a tower defense setup with up to six rows of garden and a variety of both plants and zombies to play with.
I'll admit it: I got really cocky at the beginning of the game. I was totally on top of it - I was collecting sunshine at the maximum possible rate, planting peashooters in orderly rows like a well-trained home defense militia, keeping my wall-nuts in top condition. Those zombies didn't have a chance of getting in. Until the ones with dolphins. He came in fast, jumped my defenses, and ate through my peashooters before I could replace them. Then he got into my house and ate my brains. The point is that the game does a good job of ramping up the difficulty. They only got through to me three or four times, but the other levels, particularly the final boss, really kept me on my toes. It was a good balance of staying fresh while remaining the fun distraction it was made to be. While I haven't played it on a computer, the game uses the touch screen very well. I was able to quickly pick up both sunshine and coins and rapidly place plants where I wanted them.
The graphics looked great on the larger iPad screen, something some games don't account for well. From the whimsical bouncing sunflowers to the shuffling, and occasionally dancing, zombie horde, everything was bright and very fun. Crazy Dave, your neighbor who wears a pot as a helmet, and his shop for "twiddy-dinkies" adds a great level of silliness and an easy excuse for exposition. Simply put, the game made me smile. :-)
And even after I'd gotten through the adventure mode, the game wouldn't release its hold on me. The zen garden is pleasant and I'm really enjoying acquiring more plants for it. And the ability to return to all the levels and try to play them with challenges such as playing a daylight level with only mushrooms or surviving a level without using any peashooters really gives the game replay value. I've cleverly left my littlest sister with the permission to play in my game whenever she wants to just quick play and to please tend my garden while I'm gone. She happily reported this afternoon that we're close to getting a 9th seed slot.
This game is a great diversion that also offers a good level of challenge, not to mention the glory of using your green thumb to thwart the zombie apocalypse.
Cut the Rope
Story: :-)
Gameplay: :-D
Graphics: :-D
Overall: :-D
Cut the Rope is a delightful puzzle game. The game begins with a box labeled "Feed With Candy" that is opened to reveal an adorable green creature appropriately named Omnom. In order to provide Omnom with sugary goodness, you, as the game title suggests, cut the ropes in order to drop the candy into his mouth.
The puzzles are really cool. There are multiple "boxes" that introduce new puzzle elements, from sliding rope points to timed stars to winches. Some of the puzzles are hard to figure out the order and others just take a bit of time to do right. Some levels require careful timing to cut ropes in order to slingshot the candy or avoid the spiders trying to steal it. A few are frustrating not because they're hard to solve, but rather because they're hard to execute. Generally the tougher levels are easily completable but getting all three stars is hard. These levels are not prohibitively difficult, however, and even my 11 year old sister has been able to 3-star many of them. The game uses the touch functions well to cut ropes, burst bubbles, move sliders, etc., even making use of multitouch to cut multiple ropes.
The graphics are adorable. Omnom's design is fantastic and the face and sounds he makes are amazing. Maybe it's just my penchant for cute things, but the sad face he makes is the worst (and most adorable) part of failing a level. Again, the graphics are really sharp on the iPad screen.
Overall, a beautifully done and entertaining puzzle game that is challenging enough to keep you occupied but doable enough that kids can keep up. The short levels are perfect for a quick game, though you'll have to watch that Replay button when you're just trying to get that last star - it's a little like crack.
Well, that pretty much sums it up for my first two reviews here, and hopefully I'll be back reasonably soon to review some console titles. In the meantime, it's probably a good thing that I don't have an iPad of my own.
Since I spent the weekend playing on my mom's iPad, I was inspired to write about two games that I obsessed over: Plants vs. Zombies and Cut the Rope. And to introduce my experimental smiley-face rating system (that will last as long as I'm not bored with it), here we go!
Plants vs. Zombies
Story: :-)
Gameplay: :-D
Graphics: :-D
Overall: :-D
The concept of this Pop Cap game is that zombies are trying to invade your house and you use your fearsome garden to fend them off. It's just the kind of simple yet ridiculous idea that a game like this needs. It's a tower defense setup with up to six rows of garden and a variety of both plants and zombies to play with.
I'll admit it: I got really cocky at the beginning of the game. I was totally on top of it - I was collecting sunshine at the maximum possible rate, planting peashooters in orderly rows like a well-trained home defense militia, keeping my wall-nuts in top condition. Those zombies didn't have a chance of getting in. Until the ones with dolphins. He came in fast, jumped my defenses, and ate through my peashooters before I could replace them. Then he got into my house and ate my brains. The point is that the game does a good job of ramping up the difficulty. They only got through to me three or four times, but the other levels, particularly the final boss, really kept me on my toes. It was a good balance of staying fresh while remaining the fun distraction it was made to be. While I haven't played it on a computer, the game uses the touch screen very well. I was able to quickly pick up both sunshine and coins and rapidly place plants where I wanted them.
And even after I'd gotten through the adventure mode, the game wouldn't release its hold on me. The zen garden is pleasant and I'm really enjoying acquiring more plants for it. And the ability to return to all the levels and try to play them with challenges such as playing a daylight level with only mushrooms or surviving a level without using any peashooters really gives the game replay value. I've cleverly left my littlest sister with the permission to play in my game whenever she wants to just quick play and to please tend my garden while I'm gone. She happily reported this afternoon that we're close to getting a 9th seed slot.
This game is a great diversion that also offers a good level of challenge, not to mention the glory of using your green thumb to thwart the zombie apocalypse.
Cut the Rope
Story: :-)
Gameplay: :-D
Graphics: :-D
Overall: :-D
Cut the Rope is a delightful puzzle game. The game begins with a box labeled "Feed With Candy" that is opened to reveal an adorable green creature appropriately named Omnom. In order to provide Omnom with sugary goodness, you, as the game title suggests, cut the ropes in order to drop the candy into his mouth.
The graphics are adorable. Omnom's design is fantastic and the face and sounds he makes are amazing. Maybe it's just my penchant for cute things, but the sad face he makes is the worst (and most adorable) part of failing a level. Again, the graphics are really sharp on the iPad screen.
Overall, a beautifully done and entertaining puzzle game that is challenging enough to keep you occupied but doable enough that kids can keep up. The short levels are perfect for a quick game, though you'll have to watch that Replay button when you're just trying to get that last star - it's a little like crack.
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