Smart Tac Toe

The games default screen

 Having played Tic-Tac-Toe and Four in a Line recently I had also seen the very similar "Smart Tac Toe" which expands on the concept. Instead of needing to connect 3 or even 4 you need to connect 5 in a line (either horizontally, vertically or diagonally) on an open layout (unlike the gravity based Four in a Line) that expands far beyond the realms of both the other games.

The game gives the option of 3 types of opponents, Human (shared phone), as well as 3 levels of AI and the very ambitious Online. Sadly the online version is still in Beta mode and is awfully flawed with the 3 games I tried playing all finishing within seconds with the other "surrendering". Hopefully the developer will improve this part of the game in the future.

Although the game is technically a very strategic one and will, with 2 equally leveled opponents be very interesting. It's not likely to be the sort of game that will draw you too it. For a start there isn't a title screen, the screen to the right is the first screen you see when the game has loaded. It doesn't help that there graphics are so ultra simple and there is no clever background just a plain white grid it really is stupidly simple and the sounds (or again, lack of) don't help to add anything.

A full match played
in just a 5 by 5
square

 Whilst the idea is a brilliant one in principle the game sadly fails to build on it and whilst the strategy of it is a good idea it's just too plain and too unexciting to keep you hooked. Sadly the game's one big step forward is still in a beta and you see lots of the screen to the right when you attempt to play online.

The typical screen
that follows
an attempt at
playing online

 The lack of sound, the lack of colour and the lack of a title screen all take away and make the game look amateurish and whilst I do like the concept of a large scale O's and X's it just fails to really come together as it should do. Added to the fact you're forced to see an advert after every single game and you soon get sick of it. Hopefully the developers do come back and sort out some of the flaws, add a little background music and a little more colour as well as correcting the Online mode and they maybe on to a winner, for now they have a good idea but not great.

Addictiveness-4/10 It is fun and a nice idea but until the online works it'll have very limited appeal
Controls-8/10 They do their job and are really simple.
Graphics-4/10 Uninspiring and unexciting
Sounds-0/10 Silence means a score of 0
Originality-5/10 Tic-Tac-Toe with a a twist that improves the game but fails to completely reach the heights that I hoped it would.

Total score 21/50

Overall the game is, at heart, Tic-Tac-Toe with a twist and it's a twist that could really work. Sadly though the game can be a little boring on single player and until the online version works completely it's got limited appeal. If the developers want to get in touch when they fix the online I'll be happy to update the review, though for now it's a slight disappointment.

Game mark C

bubble pop

The title screen

 Despite the fact we've started this blog by looking at some well known clones, sometimes you get a game that shocks you. This Bust-a-Move clone is simple one of the standard out Android games and yet will have been often dismissed as simply being "another clone".

As soon as you see the title screen (look to the left) you should realise this is something that has had real time put into it. The screen is shiny, it's bright and yet it's also sharp, there isn't any sort of messiness to it...it looks likes the developers (Ezjoy Network) have put effort into making it look good, though they didn't just stop there.

The help screen

Before getting onto the actual game most players will want to know how this differs from your regular Bust-a-Move clone. If you visit the help screen from the title menu you get this very attractive and excellent little guide explaining how to play the game and also pointing out how it is different to the usual games. In the normal games of this type you need to clear all the bubbles from the screen, this time you only actually need to hit 1 bubble in particular, a bubble with a heart it that is generally hidden behind a lot of other bubbles.

In game screenshot

So now onto the game it's self, you fire bubbles from the bottom of the screen upwards trying to match 3 or more of the same colour. When you match them up they will pop and vanish from the screen moving you closer to the elusive heart bubble that marks the end of the level. To fire the bubbles you tap the screen with your finger in the place you want to (much like in Shoot Bubble Deluxe) and using the bubbles you can form combinations and collect points for high scores.

The failure screen

Where this game really separates it's self from similar games is in the way it's been packaged and made. The game doesn't only look beautiful and play like a dream with slick controls and smooth actions but also a genuinely nice musical tune in the background. The game doesn't have the big flaw of one of it's main rivals, it doesn't sit there quietly "blopping" every so often, instead it sounds happy to be played with.

Whilst I'll admit I was playing this on the brand new spanking Samsung Galaxy S2 and it may "kill" older phones which don't have the power of the phone I was using, it played like a dream with only 1 problem. If you make too many moves too quickly and clear the screen before it can catch up with it's self the game does seem to get confused  and reset it's self. This is a worrying problem though one you can work around by just giving the game a few seconds to catch up with it's self.

Addictiveness-9/10. It's Bust-a-Move, it's a classic and it's addictive very very addictive
Controls-9/10. Nigh on perfect, a minor improvement over Shoot Bubble Deluxe
Graphics-9/10 Simply glorious. A real really beautiful take on a classic
Sounds-7/10 Whilst many alternatives only have limited sound effects this has nice background music.
Originality-3/10 It's a Bust-a-move clone with a few added concepts. Nothing hugely original but a nice twist on a classic.

Total score
37/50

Overall one of the slickest most attractive and brilliant Bust-a-Move clones out there today. Whilst the game has just a single flaw that seems to force it to reset (and I'm hoping Ezjoy Network to rectify this in an update) it has a lot going for it and is genuinely a joy to play. It's simply fantastic, smooth, charming and addictive, simple to play and even simpler to enjoy.

Game mark A+

If you enjoy this game also try out:

Shoot Bubble Deluxe

Tetriss

The title screen

To start this new blog reviewing Free Android Games I've decided to begin with the Tetris clone "Tetriss" which is developed by Tingcon AB and is available for free from the Android Market. The original Tetris was a staple game of the classic Gameboy and has seen so many versions that it was inevitable to see an Android version, though is "Tetriss" able to live up to the immortal game that it's so obviously a clone of?

As we can see in the image to the right of the screen the title screen looks somewhat cheap and even "tacky". The menu (all accessed by using the touch screen) is simple to use though the "Tetriss" logo looks relatively....poor. 

The recogniseable blocks and playing area of Tetris are immediately here for people to see. All of the original 6 block types are in the game and each has their own colour coding, as is common through the coloured versions of the game. The screen is what we are used to though the bottom of the screen has the games control system. The arrows along the bottom move the blocks and allows you to rotate them (as many phones, including the Samsung Galaxy S2 that this was being played on, don't have "buttons" to use). The control method does feel somewhat flawed compared to the original system and it's somewhat fiddly to use despite being simple in design. A mere press of the down arrow sends the block hurling downwards with no control over it at all which is a little bit disappointing and can cause you to make really un-needed mistakes. Although the concept is the same old simple one that it always has been "make a complete line along the screen to delete it" the controls can make the aim of the game trickier than it should be.

As well as the flawed control the system another gripe is the sound, or rather lack of. The game has no in built sounds at all, no chirpy little background music or even a setting to turn it on (see below for what's in the settings menu). Although there is no stopping you from playing your own music over the top by using a music player app it seems an over-sight to have not included any by default.

The settings screen

If, like me, your the type of person who looks for more in your games, you'll again be disappointed. The game doesn't feature a multitude of alternative game modes such as time attack or line attack and the whole settings menu is instead just a difficulty select screen. A rather dull menu and something that should have been built into the game via a levels system rather than the settings screen.

Although I had had high hopes of this free game I've felt rather disappointed. Whilst it is a Tetris clone and it is addictive it just lacks those small things that made the original Tetris so special. The flawed control system is perhaps the biggest problem and although you will be able to get a lot of play out of the game it feels more like an addictive guilty pleasure rather than a must play game that will wear down your battery.

Addictiveness-9/10 It's Tetris. It's addictiveness in a blocks.
Controls-6/10 Simple but flawed. The controls are very basic but they do have their flaws
Graphics-4/10 Very simple and very basic. They do their job but nothing extra
Sounds-0/10 No sounds at all
Originality-0/10 It's an out and out Tetris clone, nothing original here

Total Score
19/50

Gaming mark C

Overall a flawed Tetris clone that will have you both hooked and frustrated in equal measure.