AAQR: 3D Bio Ball (game)

3D Bio Ball is one of those "tilt and move a ball in a maze" type games in full 3D, and has pretty visuals, along with extra elements like light, spring pads, "cannon", and so on. There's a story mode too, about how "Bolt" freed you to do a few things for him.

Play is not that special, as the ball is a little small, but I guess you do need to see the whole play field. The extra features are interesting. There is a tutorial mode with some sample levels.

Not bad. 6.5 out of 10.

http://www.appbrain.com/app/3d-bio-ball-hd/com.arbstudios.bioball

AAQR: Gem Spinner II (game)

This game doesn't work on my OG Droid with CM 7.1

http://www.appbrain.com/app/gem-spinner-ii/com.mycompany.gemspinner2paid

AAQR: iDemolished (game)

This was an Amazon Appstore Giveaway.

iDemolished is is a game where you are given certain amount of explosives, and you need to bring a building down so the debris is no higher than a certain specified height. The less money you use, and the lower the final height is, the higher is your score.

There is a lot of physics involved, as they have different types of material, some of which are only vulnerable to bigger explosives.

For true demolition effect, you can adjust the timing in 0.1 second intervals, as you want the building to collapse, usually by blowing up one side of it.

You can also influence the "gravity" a little bit by tilting the phone to one side.

There's like 100 levels for you to test your demolition skills on, and there are additional levels to download, and there's even an editor if you want to get really cute.

Definitely worth your time, even paid.

http://www.appbrain.com/app/idemolished/com.iauns.idemolished

AAQR: Gem Spinner (game)

NOTE: This game was given away on Amazon Free App of the Day (not any more)

Gem Spinner is a genre masher, combining Bejeweled and Tetris.

The field is full of different "pieces" each containing several colored gems. You need to make 3 consecutive gems (horizontal or vertical only) of same color. The catch is, you can only move gems INSIDE the piece. You cannot shift a gem across two different pieces. If you remove gems, that square turns "dark" and gems are removed, and more gems drop from above to "fill" the pieces. If you don't see obvious possibilities, you can "rotate" pieces (double tap the piece) 180 degrees and see if that gives you more ideas. If you turn ALL squares of the piece dark, that piece is removed from the board. The idea is to remove as many pieces as possible before the time limit expire. You can actually MOVE the pieces around when you have removed a few pieces already and have some room to maneuver.

Too complicated? Yes. It's hard to keep track of all this stuff in your head. Not a bad idea, but a bit too complicated for action puzzler.

(Link to be added later)

AAQR: Refraction (free, $1.99) game / puzzle

Refraction is a cute puzzle game that ultimately left me more frustrated than puzzled.

The premise is great: a light / color based puzzle. You need to use a few parts, like mirrors and prisms to get a proper colored light beam from "source" to "destination". There could be more than one of either.

The problem is with the arbitrariness of the puzzle pieces.

You see, with a mirror, the output is obvious. Rotate the mirror to move the beam... somewhat. Else, move the mirror.

With the prism, it ain't so simple. A prism divides a secondary color light back into two components, or it split a single primary color light beam into two. Or if you shine two beams into it you get a combo. In other words, it will "bend" the light. However, the path is completely arbitratry: one goes 45 degrees, while the other output is actually rotatable (huh?!) to a degree. Now does that make any sense?

And I admit, I'm not the brightest guy, but I'm stuck on level 4 (out of 120, really). You get two light beams... yellow, and blue. You need to make TWO green beams... using just 5 prisms. Bending one beam and split off some branches, okay. No problem there. recombining them? NOT so easy. Argh!

Still, it's worth a look. It is unique in a sea of Bejeweled clones and derivatives.

NOTE: The lite version has 20 levels, while the full version has 120 levels (which are NOT the same as the 20 in the lite version)

EDIT: Apparently on the prism you CAN move BOTH beams by tapping the prism itself and it toggles between the exit beams in splitter mode. (This game needs a TUTORIAL!)

Refractions Lite  http://www.appbrain.com/app/refraction-lite/com.textualindices.refractionlite

Refractions Full   http://www.appbrain.com/app/refraction/com.textualindices.refraction

Related articles

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• [Quick Look] Refraction Tests Your Brain With Over 120 Levels of Reflection Madness (androidpolice.com)

AAQR: Spectrum Puzzles (free, $1.49)

Spectrum Puzzles is a puzzle where you try to reassemble a picture cut into pieces. The difficulty is that the pieces could have been rotated. You get 4 different sizes for the pieces (simple 3x3, more complicated 4x5, or you can go for crazy 20x20) as well as 3 levels of difficulty, as it depends on the amount of hints you get. If you need help knowing which way to rotate the piece, you can turn on piece hint (if it's the wrong side up, the border stays red). There's over a dozen puzzles for you to try, with different sizes and difficulty levels.

Not bad, but ain't that good either. Worth a try, at least? Chugs a little upon startup.

Free version  http://www.appbrain.com/app/spectrum-puzzles-free/com.stevenhaley.spectrumpuzzlesfree

Full version http://www.appbrain.com/app/spectrum-puzzles/com.stevenhaley.spectrumpuzzles

AAQR: Wiz Kids Jr. (free, $0.99) (Game / Puzzle)

Wiz Kid Jr. is basically another variation on "link the tiles". The grid is square this time, and you need to get rid of as many linked tiles of same color as possible, minimum of 3 at a time. What's special? Some of those tiles at later level becomes "monsters" that will eat your mana. When they ate all your mana, game over! You get some special spells to beat back the monsters though... hammer breaks them one at a time, while later spells take them out in an area, and more.

It's basically a color / tile matching game, with a semi-coherent back story, but game wise it ain't that different.

Worth a try, I guess.


Wiz Kid Jr. Free Trial   http://www.appbrain.com/app/wiz-kid-jr-free-trial/com.WizKidJrDemo

Wiz Kid Jr Full  $0.99  http://www.appbrain.com/app/wiz-kid-jr/com.WizKidJr

AAQR: 180 / 180 Ultra (free, $1.99) game

180 / 180 Ultra is basically a relative of Tetris and Bejeweled. The premise is simple: the "tiles" keep falling from above. If they reach the bottom of the screen, it's game over! To remove the encroaching tiles, you can "shoot" your "next tile" at the dropping tiles to make 3-in-a-row, which will remove all touching tiles of same color (and if you can make other tiles make 3-in-a-row as well, you'll get chain bonus. If you don't see any tiles you can shoot, you can tap the tile to "flip" them to a different color. (You can flip your next tile also).

The mechanics are pretty simple, yet somewhat addictive. Not as simple as Bejeweled or Tetris, but a fun combo nonetheless.

Given away by Amazon Appstore for July 11th, 2011. Get it before it's too late!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005529BDK?ie=UTF8&ref=mas_faad

AAQR: Apparatus (game, physics, puzzle)

Apparatus is basically "The Incredible Machine" for the new generation with some 3D graphical flair.

The premise is simple: get the ball into the blue "basket", even if only for a moment, by using various tools available, usually gravity. You have various planks you can connect, power to motors to "paddle", and other tricks.

You will come up with very Rube Goldberg-type machines where one thing leads to another, then another... The one above has the ball getting "scooped" up the vertical chute by that motor with winch. The scoop is nailed together by several "planks".

There are dozens of levels, all of them challenging to a degree.

This was offered for free one day on Amazon AppStore, but the developer experienced very bad experience on it, and pulled it from Amazon. You have to buy it from Android Market now.

Works GREAT on tablets!

Definitely try the lite version first!

LITE version (free)
http://www.appbrain.com/app/apparatus-lite/com.bithack.apparatuslite

Full Version ($1.87)
http://www.appbrain.com/app/apparatus/com.bithack.apparatus

AAQR: Solitaire Deluxe (only available on Amazon Appstore)

Solitaire Deluxe
screenshot via Amazon Appstore

Solitaire Deluxe was given away a few days ago on Amazon Appstore. It is a very pretty implementation of various solitaire playing card games, from pyramid to klondike and a few in between. It also adds accomplishments and in-game "currency" or points to get perks like new card backs, new backgrounds, and so on. My only complaint with this game is its HUGE size and slow-startup... 17 MB in size! Fortunately, Move2SD shrank the size down to less than 2MB, but that's still a lot for just a game.

The production values are quite good, and there are various modes to play. I am just not sure if it's worth $4.99 (regular price). Furthermore, there's some rumblings among reviewers that the app lets you buy more ingame currency (with real money through micro purchases) to unlock more games. You start with 70 plays free, but what happens when that runs out on an app you already paid for? Hmmm...

Rating: try it, maybe? When they offer a demo...

http://www.amazon.com/Mobile-Deluxe-Solitaire/dp/B0057YPQVW

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• AAQR: Random Majhong (androidappquickreview.blogspot.com)

AAQR: Random Majhong

Random Mahjong is a very well done version of mahjong solitaire, commonly known as "Shanghai" from the Activision version of the game. It runs fine on phones, and looks even better on tablets.

Mahjong solitaire is basically tile matching with the mahjong pieces. Random Mahjong have both long games and quick games, with varying levels of difficulty (number of pieces), varying arrangements / formations, and such. The animations are very smooth, and the table "zooms in" as you remove the pieces around the edges. Very nice!

Try the free version, pay for the pro version if you really like it.

http://www.appbrain.com/app/random-mahjong/com.shoecakedroid.RandomMahjong

AAQR: Walkabout

Walkabout is one of those puzzles where you are supposed tn single-path (without cross-over your own path) while collecting "stars". Presented in a very kiddie fashion (think MySims, young kids version), this game is clearly aimed at a very young audience.

There really isn't much to this game other than 72 levels to try (in the full version).

Rating: Try it, but I'd be bored very quickly

Free: http://www.appbrain.com/app/walkabout-lite/com.base2.walkaboutdemo

Paid: http://www.appbrain.com/app/walkabout/com.base2.walkaboutb

AAQR: Cryptologic (game, free, puzzle)

Cryptologic is a puzzle game where you are simply given a code, with no clue whatsoever, and "solve it!"

The problem is the game can't trim spaces, which are automatically entered by many keyboards, and it does care about capitalization. Also, with no clue whatsoever, the game is more frustrating than interesting.

Frankly, I've seen better "codebreaker" games than this.

Rating: skip it

http://www.appbrain.com/app/cryptologic-free/ch.atclic.android.crypto

AAQR: The Secret of Grisly Manor (game, puzzle, paid)

Image via CrunchBaseThe Secret of Grisly Manor was given away free on Amazon Appstore a little while back. It's a decent little "puzzle adventure" in the vein of Myst. Whether it's worth $1.99... well, that's up to you.

Basically, you got a summons from your eccentric grandpa to visit him at his manor, where he was rumored to have disappeared and the place turned into a haunted house. When you got there, you need to solve various puzzles to advance and eventually, find grandpa and discover his secrets.

The puzzles are not bad, as most of them makes sense. There is a bit of back and forth as clues for one section are often left in a completely different section of the house. The game is sneaky in that there is ANOTHER door between the bathroom and the two bedrooms. If you try every pixel on screen you would have missed it. On a PC there are little "arrows" showing you where you can or cannot go, but not on an Android phone or tablet!

Another problem or two I have is on the slider puzzle (i.e. enter combination of safe). The sliders are supposed to let you enter a number from 1 to 100. However, the sensitivity of the sliders are such that it is virtually impossible to stop on the exact number, and there are no up/down arrows to let you fine tune. It was an extremely frustrating exercise. Again, on a PC this was no problem, as the the mouse have infinitely better sensitivity (and the whole desk to work with). Same problem in the final slider puzzle: the solution may not engage the first time as you can't get the stuff to line up precisely.

Overall, the game is an "also-ran". There really isn't much to go for. The bad UI really turned me off. The puzzles are average. As it was free, I guess it didn't hurt much, but again, I doubt it would have paid $1.99 for it. This was a port from a Flash Game (and was also ported to iOS, apparently).

Rating: skip it, unless you REALLY enjoy this sort game

http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.firemaplegames.games.thesecretofgrislymanor

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A few hints and tips for Airport Mania

Image via WikipediaThis cute little game from Reflexive is not as hard as I originally thought. Here are some hints:

(review is here:  http://androidappquickreview.blogspot.com/2011/03/aaqr-airport-mania-airport-management.html )

• Get VIP Runway -- makes it easier to chain the landings for more bonus
• Get bonus jet -- the bigger the planes you land, the more money you make, so you need to spend money to make money, so to speak. 
• Change the setup -- if you are stuck at 2 star and can't break through, change the upgrades a bit. Sell a few upgrades, and get some OTHER upgrades instead. 
• Not all gates need to be upgraded. If you you have 3-4 gates, upgrade 2 of them should be enough. 
• Keep the planes happy -- use the movies and/or soda fountain when they started to get mad
• I've never needed to "repaint". I do fine without ever using it
• You often have TWO different plane wait areas. Use both! 
• The only reason you need more than one runway is to anticipate ice / fog. If you already have 3, you should NEVER need a 4th one. And if you already got the fan / dryer then you don't need a 4th runway. 
• double-tap to cancel an existing order queue
• Your order queue can go up to 4 steps, use as many as you need. 
• If you are really stuck, get a recorder and recite which color planes have arrived. This will give you a table of which color is more frequent, thus you need to keep those relatively together 

AAQR: Tiki Tower 2 (game, paid)

Tiki Tower was one of better physics puzzle games around for Android. I actually played it first on an LG non-smartphone. Later I bought the app for Android as well. So I was kinda surprised when I found there's a sequel.

The sequel is pretty much MOTS, and bit enhanced.

The plot is whimsical as ever. In the previous game, the monkeys made their way through 5 islands and finally found a plane. As they fly along, a gorilla general shot them out of the sky. They bailed out just in time, and the gorillas took the wreckage, but the monkeys are now stranded on this island. Thus, another adventure!

Basically, you need to help 5 monkeys get to an "exit" by building various structures, lines that the monkeys can climb up/down etc. You only have certain number of these bamboo sticks to use so you can't waste them. In fact, some of the later goals is to use the minimum number possible for higher levels of success.

To make things complicated, there are 5 bananas scattered around the level and if you get the monkeys to the bananas you get additional achievement that level.

Monkeys are not gentle beings. They will swing back and forth and such, often breaking your structure. Clearly, if you lose a monkey, or if the structure broke and the monkeys can't get to the exit, it's "do over" time.

Later levels introduced multiple exits: you can go one way, or the other, and get access to certain "bonus levels". Other special levels give you access to certain special item(s) on a level which will give you access to yet OTHER special levels.

There is also a "world map" now that tracks your progress, and gives you access to other levels as well.

There are no demos for this game, but I believe they are worth $2.99 each.

Rating: Try it (for both)

http://www.appbrain.com/app/tiki-towers/com.realarcade.TIK  (original)

http://www.appbrain.com/app/tiki-towers-2%3A-monkey-republic/com.realarcade.TI2  (the sequel)

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AAQR: Flight Control

Image via WikipediaFlight Control was the ORIGINAL air traffic touch-screen control game from Firemint. It has finally appeared on the Android Market, and it came with a host of features.

It has 5 different levels on the full version, each with some unique challenges.

The fourth level introduced emergency flights that will just ignore your commands and have their own course. You have to go around them.

The fifth level is a real doozy... You have TWO sets of runways, and depending on wind direction, some runways may be closed! (fortunately, any planes you already directed to land there will still do so... you can't can send any MORE planes to land on that runway)

There is also a full set of achievements... anything from finishing to tutorial to land 3 planes at the same time, and so on. Some of those can be quite hard to arrange, like keeping a plane in the air for a LONG time.

Unfortunately, the planes still are not that responsive, compared to other entries, and this one does not seem to have a demo version. It's PAID only (though it was free for a day on Amazon App Store)

Rating: Try it

http://www.appbrain.com/app/flight-control/com.namcowireless.flightcontrol

AAQR: Airport Mania the airport management game

Image via WikipediaEvery play those spinning-plate games where you're trying to juggle several different activities at once? This is another variation on that. In a way, it's a repackage of the Diner Dash, albeit, this time, you're dealing with planes, and that's the essence of Airport Mania, a new game from Reflexive.

Airport Mania have you as an airport manager trying to get as many planes landed and serviced as fast as possible. The faster you can do it, the better your "bonus". Bonus can be spent on upgrading airport facilities to provide even better bonus.

The idea is simple: airlines, from little "puddle jumpers" to jumbo jets, need to land, disgorge passengers, get any repairs and refuel (if needed), get new passengers, and take off again. You only have limited amount of gates, limited amount of runways, limited amount of "wait space", and limited amount of refuel and repair bays. You also get bonus for scheduling streaks, which can come in various forms: several take offs in a row, several landings in a row, keep one airline's plane at the same gate (i.e.a "color streak") and so on. Streaks result in multipliers which adds to your score significantly.

There's a bar graph on top that reminds you there are 5 levels of success, from simple "goal" all the way to "master". And it is NOT easy to get "3 stars" on all mission as one mistake will doom that attempt. There are no do-overs in this game.

While the premise is simple, it's the upgrades that keeps the game interesting. You are limited to maximum of 3 gates, so you need to spend money upgrading the gates, the runways, improve the wait spaces, and so on, to keep providing better service. Upgrading the wrong item and you may have a problem later down the line.

Each airport has several missions (lasting a few minutes at most), and you do your upgrades in between. Interface is simple: tap the plane, then tap its "destination", be it a runway, a gate, a wait space, and so on. A plane can receive multiple commands in a queue and it will follow the best it can.

All in all, Airport Mania is a fun little game with cartoonish presentation (all the planes have eyes and attitude and they will start to get angry if you left them "hanging") that hides a deeper "spinning dishes" management game than you first realize. Defnitely worth a try for fans of this genre.

Rating: Get it

http://www.appbrain.com/app/airport-mania-free/com.reflexive.airportmaniafree

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AAQR: Spaghetti and Marshmellows Lite

Spaghetti and Marshemallow is a "construction kit" type game where your objective is to build up the flimsy structure so you can keep a marshmallow INSIDE the specified circle. It reminds me of a Japanese Flash-based game where the objective is to keep ONE node above the line even as the structure collapses.

The main problem with the game that I have is it's VERY difficult to undo moves or the edit the existing marshmallows. This reminds me a bit of Tiki Towers, but that game has a lot of attitude. This game, on the other hand, lacks all that.

All I can say is "try it", you may like it.

Rating: Try it (but it's not for me)

http://www.appbrain.com/app/spaghetti-marshmallows-lite/com.fiffigt.spaghetti.lite