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Portabliss: Trials Frontier
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Hi, my name is Earnest and I have a motorcycle problem. It started small, a few races here and there, a couple minor upgrades, but before I knew it, I was standing on a street corner, panhandling for enough cash to make it through just one more run. Don't pity me though. It's too late for that. Instead, take a lesson from my struggle. Remind yourself each morning that no matter how much the withdrawals hurt, no matter how hard it is to cope with your demons, spending $5 on virtual gas for your fake motorcycle is an awful investment. That fanciful scenario was brought to you by developer RedLynx and its new iOS (and eventually Android) entry in the Trials series, Trials Frontier. If you've played any of the prior Trials games, you can likely commiserate with my addiction, but, unfortunately, the microtransactions present in the mobile game are a glaring dark spot on an otherwise glowing pedigree. Don't let that ominous introduction scare you, though. From a design perspective, Trials Frontier is one of the most engaging iOS games available. It offers a short race structure – almost every event can be completed in under a minute – which is perfect for portable play, but more critically, RedLynx made some very intelligent choices when designing Frontier's controls.
Portabliss: Tengami
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Days after having soaked in the culture of Tokyo's suburban streets, I played Tengami for the first time, and it was the perfect set up to blow me away. Nyamyam's point-and-click (or point-and-tap) adventure draws inspiration from Japanese fairy tales, and when you see it in action for the first time it certainly feels magical. Its papercraft world, glossed in subtle, flowing shades of red, green, and blue, folds in and out frame-by-frame through some meticulous 3D wizardry. Sliding to turn and fold the paper of its pop-up landscape is an elegant pleasure, and walking in its world and visiting its lovingly detailed shrines makes me wish I'd really taken the time to explore Tokyo's rich history, rather than spending all my hours and yen in Akihabara arcades – that was great too, but still. Tengami is the creation of a three-man team, which explains why it took more than three years to create. As Nyamyam's Jennifer Schneidereit told me in September, a good year or so was spent on the 3D digital editor that makes the game's pop-ups mirror the physics of paper. The technical aspects run even deeper, like how the book's look and feel is based on a natural Japanese paper that has watercolor-like gradients, or how its puzzling temples have their roots in the schematics of real Japanese shrines.
Portabliss: The Walk
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Gym memberships see a sharp spike in January, due to fitness-minded New Year's Resolutions. Gym attendance typically sees a sharp decline in March, as the Resolute realize how boring getting in shape actually is. Goals like "decrease my chance of diabetes" or "lose 10 pounds" are admirable, but often fall short of keeping people motivated to do enough exercise to attain them. With that in mind, Six to Start has crafted The Walk, a fitness app (Android, iOS) with a more manageable intent: Get up off the couch, get moving. Not a lot, just a walk down to the corner shop, maybe, or around the block. The Walk's predecessor, Zombies, Run! cast you in the role of a survivor of the zombie apocalypse, sent out on missions to gather supplies, rescue other survivors, and unravel a larger mystery, running all the while. Not everyone can run, however, and many of those who can find the notion utterly intimidating, so The Walk is a compromise. All you have to do is walk. The story of The Walk begins with a shady group called The Burn setting off an EMP in Inverness. A bit of mistaken identity leaves you holding a unique package that could quite literally save the world if you can manage to get it out of the city, but police have put up checkpoints everywhere and they are serious about defending those borders. A handler communicates with you via a special earpiece, giving you instructions and guiding you towards your ultimate destination. Episodes take as much as an hour to complete, and you'll receive an achievement for completing them in one go, but you can do them in whatever size chunk you like. Story-advancing audio clips unlock every few minutes, so even short jaunts feel worthwhile. The Walk's goal is to increase the amount you walk every day, easing you into a more healthy lifestyle; I haven't had it for long, but can vouch for its ability to suck you into its narrative. You can watch your progress on an overhead map, unlocking scenery items mentioned in the story by tapping small squares on the screen as you pass them on your route. Choosing longer, more out of the way paths will reward you with collectibles that fill in a bit of back story or add to the world's lore in some way, and snagging everything in a chapter gets you yet another achievement. The visuals aren't particularly interesting, but you're not really meant to be looking at them for long. Unlike Zombies, Run!, which integrated your playlist into the story's audio, The Walk isn't something you're meant to pay attention to the entire time you're moving. It's best suited to urban commuters, hoofing it from subway to work, or students ambling across campus. The Walk acts as a pedometer, measuring how much time you spend walking, then applying that to the mission you're currently on. The best way to experience The Walk is to turn it on, go about your business, get to your destination, check in with your progress, listen to the audio clips you've unlocked, and put it away again. The Walk's story and rapid rewards do a good job of encouraging you to keep going, and more importantly, the app makes you mindful of how inert you are over the course of your day. The one big downside to The Walk is that you can't turn off the app mid-chapter or you'll lose your progress in the current mission, and keeping it running in the background drains your battery. Not dramatically, but if you're hitting Twitter or texting friends over the course of the day while The Walk is active, you'll notice the hit on your battery life. The solution is simply to finish off missions in one fell swoop, and a slider allows you increase or decrease the amount of time it takes to complete an episode. The Walk probably isn't enough by itself to get you active, but for those already interested in being less sedentary, it's a fun way to track your progress and feel good about whatever movement you've managed to squeeze into your day. If you already do a lot of walking or use a pedometer, The Walk's story and awards spice up your step-tracking with some danger and intrigue: Who are The Burn? What's in the package? What on earth is a curly wurly and why would I want one? This review is based an iTunes download of The Walk, provided by Six to Start.
Portabliss: Device 6
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Device 6, most simply described as a puzzle game for iOS, makes me the delicious kind of uncomfortable that comes from being in a room with ordinary objects that are just not quite right somehow. A simple chair that for some reason gives you the shivers, or a statue that makes you slowly back away as the hairs on the back of your neck start rising, or a recording with exactly the wrong amount of static in it. Other games will douse you in blood or throw unstoppable killers your way this Halloween, but if you truly want to be creeped out, take part in Device 6's deceptively pleasant tests. Device 6 is presented as an entertainment for you, Player 249, as you read chapters involving Anna, who awakes to find herself in a strange castle filled with all manner of odd apparatuses and decorations. Device 6 uses text, music, voice, and pictures to great effect – you don't just read about Anna moving down the hall and turning a corner when she hears voices, you reorient your iPad (or iPhone) as the text itself forms a corner and suddenly the audio rises and you hear the sounds that drew Anna forward. The text is like a living thing, changing and flowing as the narrative itself changes. Words use the full space of the screen, not content with merely guiding your eye left to right, but up down, back around, and over, creating a motion and fluidity that makes you feel like you're actually walking along with Anna as she explores her curious surroundings.
Portabliss: Buddy & Me
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Remember how you watched The Neverending Story, and you wished you had your very own luck dragon to pal around with? Enter Buddy & Me, a delightful runner-style game for iOS and Kindle Fire. The enormous orange Buddy is like a chubbier, cheerier version of Falkor, happily air-swimming alongside you as you jog through treetop walkways, rushing to your aid when you encounter a gap just a bit too big to jump across. His big, goofy grin is the embodiment of childlike joy you get from being around your bestest pal in the whole world. He's ... well, he's your buddy. As, erm, "Me," you've got two minutes to run as far as you can through a beautifully-drawn infinite tree house, collecting stars and flying angel bunnies as you jump gaps, bounce off massive mushroom caps and swing on tire swings. In addition to saving your bacon when you misjudge a jump, each new bunny you collect adds five seconds to your time. Oh, and they also sing. They're a little flying angel bunny chorus. The only way this game could get more adorable is if it actually hugged you.
The Drowning touches on mobile FPS greatness
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. The Drowning has the best controls of any touch-based shooter I've ever experienced. I'm in love; I don't ever want to go back to the way things were before. I hope I never touch a virtual thumbstick again. It's an incredibly simple and intuitive interface. You tap on the screen with two fingers and your shot is fired directly between the two pressed points. Close shots are easy to aim, but the further away the target is, the more difficult it is to land a decent shot – and the more rewarding it is when you do. The system effectively marries the concepts of a user-friendly interface with skill-based aiming, providing a welcome change to the clunky or watered-down control schemes seen in other touch-based shooters. Movement is also surprisingly intuitive: A simple tap anywhere in the environment will move you in that direction. The Drowning employs a smart path system, and your character will automatically walk around obstacles in the environment to reach the chosen destination. Looking around only requires a swipe in that general direction, either while standing still or in motion. It all works surprisingly well, even in the most panicky moments when you're firing at multiple encroaching enemies. If only the rest of The Drowning were as good.%Gallery-195308%
A touch of military-grade tactics in Breach & Clear
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Taking cues from the realism and mission planning in the original Rainbow Six games, Breach & Clear offers iOS players a turn-based, tactical strategy game with mountains of potential. Sadly, the Gun and Mighty Rabbit Studios project never reaches that potential, because much of the game is still in development. Initially, Breach & Clear captured my heart. Missions require strict planning and can be slow and plodding, which is directly up my extraordinarily boring alley. A customizable four-man squad, drawn from real world military organizations in the USA and Canada, enters a mission and can approach from a number of different entry points. In Breach & Clear's lone mode, Terrorist Hunt, the goal is to wipe out each room. It's entertaining at first, but after multiple plays of each of the game's fifteen missions at varying difficulties, Breach & Clear gets stale.%Gallery-194781%
Nintendo 3DS StreetPass roundup: A Ghostly Warrior's Flower Force
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Nintendo served up a collection of new StreetPass games for the Nintendo 3DS earlier this month, offering players new opportunities to exploit their 3DS-owning friends to earn new Mii hats and outfits. Like the existing StreetPass games, they're lightweight diversions that you'll either ignore after a few plays or delve into obsessively. You can count me among the obsessed. I've unlocked every Mii hat available through Find Mii, and I've completed Find Mii II's secret quest multiple times -- the Famicom hat I earned afterward was totally worth it. Despite their simplicity, Nintendo's StreetPass games have a undeniable charm that can keep you hooked for months. Unlike the StreetPass games that are bundled with the system, however, these new games aren't free. After putting a few dozen unsuspecting Mii Plaza visitors through the new StreetPass offerings over the last several days, I found that some games were more enjoyable and worthwhile than others. [Mii Force, Flower Town, Warrior's Way, and Monster Manor are priced at $4.99 each. All four can be purchased as a bundle for $14.99.]
Attack of the Friday Monsters, I'm in love
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (3DS) is a multi-pronged nostalgia assault, combining creator Kaz Ayabe's well-documented love of early 1970's small-town Japan childhood with a fond look back at the Ultraman-style monster shows children of the era grew up on. But even if you didn't grow up in Japan, or in the 1970s, and never heard the word tokusatsu in your life, Friday Monsters is likely to make you feel like you did. It's a movie-length, low-key, sweet game that delivers an absolutely perfect summer day on demand.%Gallery-194367%
Velocity Ultra: One tiny ship's journey through hyperspace
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Shoot-'em-ups often cater to a hardcore niche, so it's encouraging to see developer FuturLab take an alternate approach to the genre with its recent PlayStation Vita release Velocity Ultra. The finished product effectively blends its core shoot-'em-up mechanics with puzzle elements, resulting in a novel experience. Velocity Ultra resembles a typical vertically scrolling shoot-'em-up on its surface. Players blast enemy ships on the way through each timed level, rescuing survivors in order to boost scores and post-stage rankings. The timer gives the game a frantic pace, but it's never so strict as to make gameplay frustrating. If you don't care about your rank on the leaderboards, you can casually stroll through the majority of the game's levels with more than enough time left over. Giving the player control over pacing is a brilliant move, and Velocity Ultra encourages new strategies as its challenges ramp up in ferocity. Each level scrolls at a leisurely pace by default, but if you're the competitive (or over-caffeinated) type, you can hammer on the Vita's right shoulder button to engage hyperspeed and scream through every level as quickly as possible. It's a risky decision, but it pays off in the form of post-level accolades and unlockable trophies.%Gallery-175909%
Deus Ex: The Fall stumbles as it lands
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Deus Ex: The Fall had a difficult coming out party. After predicting a follow-up to Deus Ex: Human Revolution, fans recoiled in frustration when Square Enix revealed The Fall as a mobile-exclusive game. Molding the movement and style of Eidos Montreal's reimagined world to a touch interface must not have been an easy task, but developer n-Fusion has pulled it off. Deus Ex: The Fall features a number of control options, including precision movements with virtual sticks and/or screen taps. Customizable icons allow for easy access to weapons, executions, abilities, items and more. Deus Ex: The Fall can be enjoyable, but the overall experience is hollow. With a sparsely populated world, unenthusiastic story, and drastic dips in quality, Deus Ex: The Fall lacks the same passion that made Human Evolution one of 2011's best video games.%Gallery-193588%
It's a dog-eat-dog world in Tokyo Jungle Mobile
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. In Tokyo Jungle's bleak future, gangs of wild animals hunt to survive in an abandoned, post-apocalyptic Japan, marking territory in a bid to find an ideal mate and to pass on their genes to hardier generations. The PlayStation 3 version released last year was a tense, creative take on the roguelike genre, and Tokyo Jungle Mobile veers its gameplay in an interesting new direction. Unlike its predecessor, Tokyo Jungle Mobile is presented from a grid-based, overhead perspective. Don't mistake it for a turn-based game, however, as gameplay is both real-time and very brisk. If anything, Tokyo Jungle became more action-oriented and arcade-like during its transition to the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation certified devices.
The 'Layton' is latent in Layton Brothers: Mystery Room
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. At first, Layton Brothers: Mystery Room comes across like a decaffeinated, oddly flavored cup of Professor Layton, shaken and stirred into something familiar, but not in an encouraging way. Gone are the prof and his boyish sidekick, in their place Layton's inspector son Alfendi and his tomboyish sidekick Lucy Baker. Framed as a murder mystery whodunnit, each of the game's cases is introduced with possible suspects, and Alfendi tells the player which suspects he thinks is the culprit – often with near absolute certainty, genius that he is. It's then up to players to scan the crime scene, question suspects, remove any remaining doubt and close the case. Gone is the odd mix of brainteaser puzzles and rustic exploration, now an odd mix of 3D crime scene investigation and more familiar 2D choice-based questioning. Beyond the characters' narrative ties and charming art, it's hard at first to suss out the "Layton" in this iOS adaptation. It doesn't help that the first two episodes – the only free episodes – are clumsy, and struggle to unearth a rhythm that comes easily to the DS and 3DS games. One minute I'm thoroughly checking out the crime scene, zooming in and out of the 3D environment à la Ace Attorney, the next I'm asking questions. Then suddenly it's back to the crime scene to re-click on clues I've already found. It's as jarring and unconvincing as Luke's accent but, unlike the whippersnapper's vocals, it does get better eventually.%Gallery-192555%
Solstice Arena is an inventive mobile MOBA from a surprising source
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Solstice Arena appeared on the App Store last week. It's a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game in which you choose a hero and play a top-down 3v3 match. Using various spells and abilities, you attack the opposing heroes and try to take out their towers before they do the same to yours. It's deep, well-balanced, and it's an inventive take on the burgeoning genre, designed from the ground up for mobile platforms and touchscreens. And oh yeah, it was published by Zynga. The mention of Zynga may conjure up more thoughts of smarmy farm animals and dessicated drawing games than it does words like "deep" and "inventive," but that's kind of the point. Zynga picked up the developer A Bit Lucky last year, and then immediately put them to work on something that could change the company's reputation, a "mid-core" title that did more right than it did wrong. And though you may be surprised, Solstice Arena succeeds at that task. It's probably not the next League of Legends (though Zynga wouldn't mind if it was), but it does represent the inklings of a new leaf for a huge casual game publisher on the wane.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown on iOS is spec-tap-ular
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. XCOM: Enemy Unknown seems like it was built for iPad. The touch-screen controls on the iOS port are so good that the game feels like it was lovingly crafted specifically for touch devices from the get-go. These controls are easily the highlight of the iOS version of XCOM (which also runs on the iPhone, by the way). With a redesigned HUD full of chunky buttons, completing actions in the game is a cinch. I actually prefer the touch scheme to wielding a controller. It's a simpler, more intuitive process, and the meat of the game is every bit as good as its console and PC counterparts.%Gallery-191738%
YU-NAMA: The Puzzle - Minion mayhem on PlayStation Mobile
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. "Yu-WHAT NOW?" If you own a PSP, you may already be familiar with Acquire's RTS-like YU-NAMA series. NIS America released the first two entries stateside as Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! After Bruce Wayne's lawyers stepped in, the games were retitled What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord!? Sony further complicated matters when it later localized the third entry in the series as No Heroes Allowed! At this point, it might just be easier to refer to the series by its Japanese title, Yuusha no Kuse ni Namaikida. Sony apparently agrees, as a PlayStation Mobile-exclusive spinoff game was recently released in North America as YU-NAMA: The Puzzle. It's a shame that the series can't seem to hold on to a single consistent title, as it means that PS Vita owners might miss out on one of PlayStation Mobile's best releases to date.
Combo Crew lets you beat 'em up with two fingers
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. There was a time when the beat-em-up was king, a time when Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Golden Axe were at the top of the heap. Combo Crew on iOS and Android looks to return to those days, offering several unique fighters, lots of combos and plenty of bosses to bruise, clobber and otherwise pummel. The impressive part is that it does all of that with just two fingers.
Ron Gilbert's Scurvy Scallywags sings a salty sea shanty
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. Ron Gilbert's Beep Games has a new game out on iOS called Scurvy Scallywags (subtitle: In the Voyage to Discover the Ultimate Sea Shanty), and it's a match-three puzzle game with light RPG elements and plenty of pirate humor. It's only 99 cents in the App Store right now, and that's probably all of the inspiration you need to go and download it, right matey? Oh all right, ye lousy landlubbers, I can put an X on yer treasure maps for ye. Scallywags is a bit of pirate-infused joy. It's a simple game with mechanics that don't always light the cannon fuse, but it's got enough charm, depth, and solid fun to justify the very cheap cost of admission. Plus, there are real sea shanties included.%Gallery-188719%
Men's Room Mayhem: Please wash hands before playing
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. The PlayStation Vita represents an interesting cross-section between traditional console games and mobile apps. During the time I've spent with the handheld, I've found myself gravitating toward its mobile-influenced games; I lost a solid week to Jetpack Joyride, and the free-to-play ecosystem sim Ecolibrium is my current obsession. Men's Room Mayhem is another successful Vita take on mobile gaming concepts, and I've had a lot of fun with it so far. Men's Room Mayhem plays similarly to the iOS hit Flight Control, only you're in charge of bladder and bowel relief, rather than air traffic management. Patrons enter your bathroom wishing to use a urinal or a stall. Your job is to guide your customers to their destinations by drawing paths on the Vita's touch screen. You'll need to act quickly, though – ignore your waiting customers for too long and you'll have a mess on your hands. Bonus points are awarded for maintaining bathroom etiquette (leaving empty space between urinal users), and for making your patrons wash their hands before exiting.
Karateka Classic adapts vintage martial artistry
This is Portabliss, a column about downloadable games that can be played on the go. It's rare for an iPhone adaptation of a classic game to work out at all; rarer still for said adaptation to be preferable to the original. Jordan Mechner's faithful iOS/Android port of Karateka accomplishes this task handily, partly because of convenient portability, and partly because of nice new features. But more than anything else, Karateka Classic succeeds because the original's controls weren't that great to begin with. Karateka is, when you get right down to it, a game about shuffling your feet up to your opponent, and then mashing on the kick buttons until he falls over. Like every other pre-Street Fighter 2 fighting game, attacks are slow and connecting depends not so much on timing or frame counting, but the will of some capricious computer god.
