Recent post
Archive for January 2017
Released by Pandora Game Studio, Bushido Saga is a hack and slash that's recently been released on Android. In this game players will assume the role of Oishi, a samurai who serves to protect the Asano clan in 18th century Japan. The story is based on the Legend of the 47 Ronin.
At the start of the game Oishi has a Nightmare of sorts about shadowy beings that have invaded the estate that he's been charged with protecting. With that being the case he sets out on a variety of missions, keeping this dream in the back if his mind as a prophecy foretelling of a danger that he must avert. Oishi is controlled through a combination of taps and swipes; there's no apparent support for hardware controllers. So players will tap where they'd like Oishi to go, or tap on an enemy to kick into the target while swiping away in order to attack.
Players will have access to a variety of weapons, ranging from short and rusty swords to newer, better ones; other weapons include the likes of a bow and arrow set, and weaponized staffs. Other categories that players can upgrade are armor, charms, and even the number of inventory slots. The game utilizes check points for their save system, so there's only a single save file in operation at any one time.
FEATURES:
- SLASH your enemies by swiping the screen. Control is at your fingertips!
- KILL dozens of minions as only a skilled and expert SAMURAI can do!
- BATTLE with varied Japanese weapons, be it a blade, halberd, spear, hammer or bow.
- TACTICS are essential! EQUIP the right weapon to battle different types of enemies. Each weapon has it strengths and weaknesses.
- VANQUISH powerful and fearsome BOSSES.
- CUT down hordes of fierce SAMURAI, stealthy NINJA and fearsome RONIN!
- LOOT dozens of masterful sets of armor, legendary blades and mythical swords.
- IMPROVE your mystical KI POWERS. Learn new skills as you progress through the game.
- UPGRADE your CASTLE. Turn your headquarters into a strong and resourceful base.
Bushido Saga is currently available from Google Play for free. The game does include optional IAPs that cover a "starter kit" of upgraded items and weapons, or bundles of gold to spend in shops. Prospective players can check out the trailer below to see more of the game in action.
Asmodee Digital and Horrible Games have teamed up to bring a digital version of the popular tabletop game, called Potion Explosion, to Android devices in the near future. For those of you not familiar with this game, Potion Explosion is a pattern recognition puzzler style of game designed in which players reveal their inner wizard skills.
Update: January 30th, 2017 3:37pm PST: Fans of the actual tabletop game Potion Explosion can now pick up the mobile version of the game from Google Play. You'll be able to pick up a copy of Potion Explosion off of Google Play for $4.99 for the full game.
Players will be attending the Horribilorum Sorcery Academy for Witty Witches and Wizards (yes, that is the school's name) and attempt to become the head of the class by creating the best potions in the class. First you will need to gather all of the ingredients for each potion you want to create, and then you'll actually need to produce it. Ingredients include such things as Unicorn tears, dragon smoke, ogre mucus and fairy dandruff.
"Gather your resources in the dispenser, and compete with ingenuity to collect ingredient marbles of the same color to trigger explosions! The more identical marbles collide, the more ingredients are collected through chain reactions to cook up your magic beverages. Combine the correct ingredients to create stunning potions such as the Elixir of Blind Love, the Potion of Prismatic Joy or the Sands of Time. You can also drink potions and benefit from their magical effects to collect more ingredients to be placed in the player’s dispenser or directly into a rival’s inventory." - Potion Explosion
You'll need to create as many potions as you can, all of which actually need to work. In order to win skill tokens, you will need to master a particular potion several times, or by proving your skills at preparing a variety of potions. Gain the most skill tokens and you will win the game. You can play against AI opponents, or go up against other players.
Potion Explosion is slated for release onto Android (and iOS) in early December, although no specific release date has been announced just yet. When it does arrive, it will cost a flat $6.99.
Indie developer Zeimtoer has released their first game onto Android called The Samurai Wars. This particular title is a tactical strategy war game based in the more ancient Japanese era where samurais and ninjas were the elite warriors of the land. However, during this period in time, Japan was split up into different regions which were controlled by different warlords and their samurai.
You'll be taking on the role of one of these warlords who commands an army of samurai, with the goal of unifying Japan under your rule. In order to accomplish this goal, however, you'll need to beat the other warlords and their armies in order to gain control of that particular warlord's region of land. Players will not only need to lead their samurai army into battle and win, but will also need to maintain diplomatic relations with the regions taken over and other regions who join via diplomacy instead of being conquered.
On top of all of those activities, you'll also need to build up and strengthen your own region as well. This comes in a variety of ways including using trade and other options to build up your resources, which you can then use to build up your town and army. In total, there is over 200 different samurai, all of which actually use images of actual samurai for ancient times. There's also 200 treasure items to collect, which help boost your army in different ways.
If you're into tactical strategy games, or just like samurai, you may want to check out this game. The Samurai Wars is available off of Google Play for free, and does contain ads, as well as optional IAPs.
Google Play: The Samurai Wars
Zut Games have developed a peculiar puzzle game involving the rearrangement and organization of tiles on colored mosaics into ordered spectrums titled I Love Hue. I Love Hue was designed specifically for seeking serenity with no timers, no move limits, or punishments for failing to find solutions. Its beautiful minimalism is meant as a gentle and relaxing experience for players to sink into.
Update: January 30th, 2017 1:12pm PST: If you're into zen/relaxing style puzzle games, I Love Hue is now available off of Google Play for free with optional IAPs available as well. You can check out some of the gameplay with the added trailer below as well.
I Love Hue Features:
- Mesmerising color-based gameplay - a puzzle of perception, not logic
- A minimal, modernist aesthetic
- A soothing synth soundtrack
- Share your accomplishments
- Multiple play modes
- Over 300 levels to solve
- Compare your performance to the world average, and unlock achievements by beating it
Players are encouraged to find harmony by simply moving tiles around the mosaics to bring order out of the chaos. There will be over 250 levels of chromatic tranquility to visually enjoy, while being supported with a soothing soundtrack in creating a calm and meditative ambiance.
I Love Hue will be released (finally) in January 2017 as a free-to-play game.
Google Play: I Love Hue
In what looks to be one of the most amazing jumps in the quality of a sequel, Developers Cornfox & Bros.' Oceanhorn: Knights of the Lost Realm is improving on the original game on every level possible. It features a new protagonist in a different time period, a new perspective (moving from top-down, to 3rd person), a new engine (the tried and true Unreal Engine 4!), and even new features that will make this action RPG even better than the first.
The gameplay will consist of the typical item collecting, battles, and puzzle solving all combined with a fully explore-able map of Arcadia. The new Caster weapon is a magical tool that only Knights are allowed to carry. It's a gun that shoots magical projectiles, as well as other uses such as solving puzzles or luring unaware enemies into sticky situations. We should actually be on the look out for new and creative uses of the Caster during our play- as it might be more useful than it already appears.
What sounds even more intriguing is an unrevealed element of the game that has been kept a secret so far. It's said that this unique gameplay element has been designed for specifically the game since the beginning and will set it apart from all other games in the action RPG genre- and they are now seeing how much of an impact it will have in Oceanhorn 2.
Like many classic JRPGs, Oceanhorn: Knights of the Lost Realm's huge map will be completely traverse-able and serve as a hub world between towns, dungeons, and levels. There will be a great variety of area types on top of that. From forests and fields to mountains and water,
Developers Cornfox & Bros have stated that they won't confirm all platforms just yet, but they also certainly won't be excluding any. Since they've moved to the Unreal Engine, porting shouldn't take as long as the first game did, because they had used a proprietary in-house one. We're crossing our fingers that the potential port to Android won't take half as long as the 3 years it did for Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas to arrive.
Cornfox says that although progress is happening very quickly now with content, cutscenes, and quests are all coming along well each week, but they've still got a long way to go before the game is finished- and we'll keep readers posted as more news comes in.
Websites Referenced: Oceanhorn Official Dev Blog (1, 2), TouchArcade Forums (1, 2)
