Right now Eskaycee has been having a great time playing through Angry Birds Space. He’s trying to get a review out as soon as he can.

Other games he’s playing are Modern Combat 3 and Zenonia 4. He’s also planning to play some social drawing game.

I’m playing through Cut the Rope: Experiments and am pretty much ready to write a review. It’s a great game by the way. I’ve also dabbled with Zenonia 4, but Eskaycee is way ahead of me in that. I’m planning to review Zookeeper DX afterward and I’m using MyFitnessPal daily, preparing to review it to.

Look out for some Essentials posts coming soon with lists of our favorite apps. There could also be a video or 2.

Until then you can get the game for yourself on Google Play, here’s the official description:

Run for your life!

The addictive mega-hit Temple Run is now out for Android! All your friends are playing it – can you beat their high scores?!

You’ve stolen the cursed idol from the temple, and now you have to run for your life to escape the Evil Demon Monkeys nipping at your heels. Test your reflexes as you race down ancient temple walls and along sheer cliffs. Swipe to turn, jump and slide to avoid obstacles, collect coins and buy power ups, unlock new characters, and see how far you can run!

“In every treasure hunting adventure movie there’s one scene in which the plucky hero finally gets his hands on the treasure but then has to navigate a maze of booby traps in order to get out alive. Temple Run is this scene and nothing else. And it’s amazing.” – SlideToPlay.com
REVIEWS

★ “Best endless running game in the App Store… You’ll love every minute.” – AppleNApps.com

★ “Most thrilling and fun running game in a while, possibly ever.” – TheAppera.com

★ “A fast and frenzied iPhone experience.” – IGN.com

★ “Very addicting… definitely a very different running game.” – Appolicious.com

★ Voted by TouchArcade Forums as Game of the Week

★ One of TouchArcade’s Best Games of the Month

★ Over 45 MILLION players worldwide!

 I still remember playing this game when I was around 12 years old. My mom bought us a new computer with Windows 98, and I was up day and night playing Death Rally!
How could a young boy resist? This game had the action, the cars, the explosions and lots of customization. Now I’m 28 years old, a devoted father, CEO of a multinational corporation, advisor to the rich & famous and a walking lady magnet, though I am faithful to the one I’ve chosen. In short, things are different and I have a different outlook on things.

So when I heard that Death Rally was released for Android, I immediately jumped on it. Could it possibly have evolved in 16 years as much as I have?
The short answer is a resounding yes! Death Rally on Android is very fun to play and more than keeps up with similar games. The best part is that, in truth, it hasn’t changed that much. Death Rally was ahead of the curve upon its release in ’96 and besides the original Twisted Metal, I can’t think of a game in the action racer genre that comes close.

The controls are what surprised me the most, Remedy Games managed to nail this right on the head. Controlling your car and shooting your gun are second nature. The only flaw being that due to the steering being combined with your gas, you can never really lift your finger, this can get tiresome if you have a long session playing.
The graphics are on point, the game is using a completely different graphics engine than the original. They didn’t just take the original and apply it to a different platform, this is a complete remake. The game is beautiful, as beautiful as several wastelands could be anyway, and you can see cars become more damaged over time as they get hit by bullets, missiles,  mines and whatever nonsense comes their way.
Above all else, this game is simply fun! There is nothing serious about pretty much any activity involved. The developers clearly want you to only mind what’s important, getting in your car, blasting fools and enjoying it as you do so. Hell, you dont even have to try and win races if you choose, just stay behind and win by killing the other drivers.
The game is free, why are you still reading this review? Get it! Get it now!

Liked

• Still feels like and maintains the tone of  the original
• Smooth as butter on my phone
• Non-linear progression
• There’s a story if you care to follow it
• Tons of options for upgrades
• Repairing your car isn’t punishing, doesn’t remove from overall enjoyment
• Power-ups gravitate to you when you get close, again letting you focus on the gameplay
• Gotta love a blast from the past

Disliked

• Fingers can get tired if you play a long time
• Can we get a sequel?

Kiss it or Diss it?
Addictive gameplay, lots of customization, this game is just how I remember it but better and mobile, Kiss!

Eskaycee reporting in ~

Still hot off the press and most likely will be for a while, the developers at Rovio Mobile Ltd released yet another Angry Bird game yesterday on Android, IOS, PC and Mac. This being their 4th installment of Angry Birds, they’ve taken the birds where no birds have gone before… in Space. Now how did they end up in space?! Take a look at the games description from Google Play below.  

Excert from Google Play: Angry Birds: Space

After a giant claw kidnaps their eggs, the Angry Birds chase it into a wormhole and find themselves floating in a strange new galaxy – surrounded by space pigs! Luckily the Angry Birds have super powers of their own…

Right out of the wormhole, you have 60 levels to play on planets with little to no gravity.  Aaaaaannnnnnndddd… for those lucky Samsung Android owners out there, you are given an exclusive add-on named “Danger Zone” ~ Let me say it for everyone, ”Oh yeah dig it YEAAAAAAAAh!” as Randy Macho Man Savage would say!  Now, I leave you with some screen shots of Danger Zone.

Download it from Google Play @ Angry Birds: Space
Developer’s Webpage: http://www.rovio.com/

And I’m out ~ Eskaycee

Let’s face it; brains are a hot commodity these days. With the success of Plants vs Zombies, developers have recognized the opportunity to cash in on the trend; we’ve seen a steady stream of these games featuring zombies in tower defense games.

Samurai vs Zombies is the latest such game in the genre, as far as we know, and it comes to us by way of Glu Mobile. Being a Glu Mobile game, there are two features that we know will be a part of the game. First, it’ll be free to acquire and start playing; second, you will be tempted to buy credits later in the game when the difficulty ramps up.

As previously stated, Samurai vs Zombies is a tower defense game. More than that though, it is also an action beat em’ up. You command the hero, whom you can control directly from end to end in a 2D battlefield (more like a road), to fight the zombies head on and as you control the hero, he will gain resources called Leadership. Leadership allows you to call forth units to help you in the fight against the zombies and demons that are trying to attack your village.

The game is lost if the zombies manage to kill the hero or break the gate which leads to your village. Your goal is to defeat all the waves of zombies and demons that dare attempt to attack your village, destroy all the waves and you move on.

The graphics for Samurai vs Zombies are fantastic, the hero has big head mode from NBA Jam activated and this fits in well with the slightly humorous tone underlying the game. Even though the screen can often be filled with enemies, your own army and your playable hero, I never experienced any slowdown. What’s also great is that because each enemy is so clear, it’s easy to tell what type of zombie you are facing and plan your strategy accordingly.

For all the action that occurs though, there are many issues that bring dishonor to this Samurai themed game. For one, there are points in the game where the difference in difficulty between one level to the next shoots through the roof. Whereas you were able to manage the Zombies creeping towards your direction, now you are fighting for your life as the very same Zombies have somehow managed to become much stronger. This is obviously included to have you start looking at available upgrades, the cost to get them done and considering spending your hard earned money if you want to even the odds. If you are patient enough however, you can slowly earn the credits you need to upgrade your hero and your units enough to break through the insane difficulty jumps. Luckily, even when you lose, you still earn credits to spend on those upgrades, so you can essentially farm credits by repeatedly trying the stage. You are pretty much required to purchase Glu Mobile Coins, you can earn them in-game but it’s an excruciatingly slow task.

Samurai vs Zombies can get quite repetitive, through the first 20 stages, the stage still has yet to change. Sure the tree leaves, and decoration changed colors from time to time. but everything is exactly the same. Also, once you defeat a boss, a weaker version of it will be included in the waves going forward from that point. It would be nice if the stage design, paths taken or anything at all changed at times. The only changes to the game are the evolution of your units, your hero, weapons and of the enemies. One positive thing I’ll say is that the zombies do look bigger and badder as they get stronger, and visually that can cause you feel like you are dealing with an escalating problem.

If slicing and dicing zombies is your thing, Samurai vs Zombies will keep you satisfied for a very long time, that is if you don’t mind the repetition. The game doesn’t have the flair and character of Plants vs Zombies but it brings in different ideas, and great graphics to keep you fully immersed.

Liked

• Graphics, this game looks great!
• Constant action
• No slow down even with a large number of characters on screen
• Special effects are exaggerated and look great
• Difficult bosses take time to figure out
• Fire sword is on fire!

Didn’t Like

• Running, laughing bomb thing.. I hate you!
• Only one stage that has changing decorations over time
• Enemies get repetitive, due to lack of variety
• Difficulty from one stage to the other can sometimes change dramatically

Kiss it or Diss it?
Kick ass Samurai? Check! Zombies? Check! Sword with fire on it? Check! This game rocks, Kiss!

This experience began when I decided to download the game Airport City as it was one of the top free games on the Android Market on March 1st. As you reach new levels in the game, naturally, new quests appear. On one of those levels, I acted in haste so that my planes could take to the air and complete the new quests. On the quest “Yes, I’m a Foodie”, there’s a special item that you are required to have in order for your plane to take off. Now, there’s two ways you can acquire this item; if it drops from a plane that landed on your runway or by spending a “virtual” dollar for it. Guess which one I decided to choose? – Virtual dollar it is – In Airport City, you acquire virtual dollars as you gain levels or by purchasing them with real dough. If it wasn’t for the virtual dollar, this post would not exist.  As I clicked the “Fly” button from the menu screen to send my plane for takeoff, the plane just vanished; taking with it my hard earned dollar.

I tried on numerous occasions to sell my plane but, it kept saying that it was on the runway. Since there are no planes on the runway… the game must be trying to tell me I’m blind – (‘~_~!) – As it’s apparent that the game has a glitch, I decided to report it to the support email link provided on the market. I sent an email and considering that this game has been on the Market for a few months, my expectations of receiving a reply from them was extremely low.  To my surprise, I received a reply within 24 hours by a representative named Natalia. Her response was the following:

Thank you for your request!

Please, give us the following information about the issue:

1) Device name, carrier, and model.
2) Your version of Android (e.g. 2.3.3) and whether it has been modified.
3) Your version of firmware, which can be found in Settings->About.
4) Your friend code
To see your friend code please tap the “Sociality”button (the button with 3 people in the lower left corner of the display) → another button with 3 people and you will see your friend code.
5) Your game version
6) Screenshots

Your information will help us. Thank you!

 My Response to her email:

Hi Natalia,

As per your request, here is the information that I can provide
1) Skc, Virgin Mobile Canada, Nexus S
2) 4.0.3 Custom install – not the OTA version but derived
3) 3.0.8 gb55e9ac android-build@apa28#1
4) bd51jj
5) 1.13

Unfortunately, I cannot provide any screen shots.

The reply I received was advising me that they have forwarded the information to their specialist – Wow, they’re keeping me in the loop of the process.  Although, the conversations span over 2 days and it really could have taken just 2 seconds, I found their support to be top notch. Considering how other companies support customers, anyone remember snail mail? This email based correspondence was just fine from my point of view.

After 2 days of waiting, I received a reply requesting to download the new version. I went to the Market and it wasn’t there (‘v_v;). So we continued to email back and forth, with me explaining that I could not see it on the Market via my phone, them trying to help me to obtain the download and even trying to have me log into the Market through a web browser and try to download it from there. – Seriously, all this troubleshooting via email?! – Whoa!

In the end, I’m pleased to say that I was able to download the update and when I loaded up the game, my plane was on the runway. So when I look back and realize that within 7 days I had 14 emails for this type of conversation, the days spent and the amount of emails doesn’t trump the fact that they made my plane re-appear on my runway as if nothing ever happened. Proving they care about the experience of even a single customer.

Special Thanks to Natalia and her peers!

And I’m out ~ Eskaycee

As an avid basketball fan, I am absolutely thrilled to announce that NBA Jam has been released for Android and is now available on Google Play for purchase.. if you have the right device.

This marks the first licensed NBA game on Android, and the first competent basketball game to be released on the platform also. This is truly a great day for any basketball fan carrying an Android.

Dousing The Flames

I am absolutely ready to punch a damn hole through a wall because NBA Jam is NOT available for the Galaxy Note or the Galaxy Nexus.. my current phones. Though I guess I could play it on my fiancee’s Nexus S, it is inexcusable for EA Sports to release such a high profile game and not have it ready for today’s high end devices, they need to right this wrong as soon as possible!

Also available today is Fifa 12! The beautiful game, as it is called in most countries not in North America, is available for Android and this time IS available for my Galaxy Note and Galaxy Nexus but not available on my fiancee’s Nexus S. Confused? So am I.

Seriously, EA Sports, what the hell is going on?

Anyway, if you can get either one or the other, are somehow lucky enough to get both or not able to get any at all… (EA Sports, please fix this) Check them out on Google Play, hopefully the game you want is available for the device you have.

Google Play Links: NBA Jam | Fifa 12

In the day, I work for a bank as a people manager. I work on this site during my breaks, my commute to & from work and at night at home. As a bank employee, it is a violation when at work to have your phone even be visible, so believe me that my ability to test or even look at apps during the day is very limited.

My commute to and from work is 45 minutes, 30 minutes of which is spent underground on the subway; this is where my rant is born.

March 12th 2012 was the rebirth of Kiss My Apps, when i’m buying and downloading apps now, it is for review, I dedicate the available time I have to experiencing Android apps, it is paramount to this website’s success. So imagine how I must feel when I pay for an app on Google Play, download & install it and then while on my commute, I launch it and get this screen:

The problem with the way too many apps check licensing is that the app is programmed, first and foremost to assume that I, the paying customer, am a thief. The app launches, realizes it can’t check due to no wifi or data connection, then gives the rejection message and exits.

Google, needs to consider it’s customers put itself in our shoes. Software should never be programmed to outright defy the intended action it is supposed to take. Add limitations or find other ways to accomplish your need, but do not tell me I am not entitled to use the app I paid for.

If I seem frustrated,  it’s because I am, and this is something I felt I should share with my fellow Android users and hopefully this gets back to Google. Before my commute recently, I installed 4 apps, I planned to play Zoo Keeper DX during my subway ride to work for review but it rejected me due to license issues, I tried 2 more with the same result. What’s worse, the 4th app needed to download additional data to work. 

..sigh..

Puzzling me further is the direction which Android is headed, Samsung is releasing their second wifi only iPod competitor very soon. So how the hell are these iPod competitors supposed to work when the apps won’t even launch without a data connection? Plus I don’t own a tablet, but this must also be a huge issue for owners of those. Wifi isn’t everywhere, and there will be a moment where you will absolutely need a certain app.

Looking ahead though, Google absolutely needs to figure a way that an app downloaded from Google Play should be installed with all the required data so that it will run on the first try (no additional step to start a download) and most importantly the apps need to be authenticated without the need to launch it. I obviously had a network connection when the app was downloaded, so authenticate, right here, right now and without having the user initiate it, do anything or even know it’s happening!

Users are being forced to participate in activities they don’t care about. We should only have to participate in choosing an app, buying/downloading it and using it when we’re ready (even if that’s somewhere without wifi or a data connection). At this time, the only way around this is to run every app right when you finish installing it, in order to “check in” with the license system or to ensure there isn’t additional data to download. Let’s say you installed 10 apps at once, can you imagine having to babysit your phone through that?

Let’s remember that these apps need to “check in” again from time to time, so even if you took the precaution to “check in” but you’ve become accustomed to playing the same game often on the subway, you’ll one day find yourself launching the game and inexplicably getting the “black screen of licensing”. Now, how is that for user experience?

Kiss it or Diss It?

Google, fix yo’ sh*t! DISS!

Welcome to Liberty City, on your phone and in full 3D (not the kind of 3D that requires glasses and gives headaches, I mean good old 3D graphics)!

To start I must share that, having played this game on the PlayStation 2 & Xbox, I’m absolutely shocked at how far mobile technology has gone that I can play this on a device that fits in my pocket.

Nothing is missing! The radio stations, the beautiful graphics, large selection of cars to steal, missions and a huge city to explore, this isn’t Liberty City Mobile Edition, this is the real deal!

When I saw that GTA 3 was released for mobile phones, I immediately had negative thoughts about the control scheme. There was no way this would be playable without physical buttons. I’m glad to report however that this game is actually quite a pleasure to play when using the touchscreen. I feel total control of the on-screen character on his feet and while driving. The only requirement is that you spend some time with the game, I’ve seen other reviews mention how poor the controls are but I wonder how much time some of those reviewers have spent with GTA 3 for Android.

During gun fights though, there was a problem with the controls, I often struggled to shoot at the intended target and it just became a frustrating mess at those times. Imagine retrying the same mission 10 times because every time you finally arrive to your target, you start shooting everyone but the person you mean to. Next thing you know, cops are chasing you, you’re running for the hills and you either get arrested, die or your target gets away.

The city is alive, people around will often be heard talking when you get close enough, random turf wars will break out with zero involvement from you and bullets will fly all over the place, people will dive out of the way if they notice you driving at them, and you might even see people steal cars from other drivers. Basically, if Rockstar Games held anything back in this port, I haven’t noticed it. Even 10 years later, GTA 3 still shows just why it was credited with debuting a whole new genre of gaming.

There are some improvements made to the game versus it’s PS2 and Xbox counterparts, the biggest of which are auto-saving and the ability to retry missions.

It’s not all perfect though, I’ve run into game breaking issues on my Galaxy Note & Galaxy Nexus playing this (though luckily a reboot fixed any issue 100% of the time). At times, the menu just ceases to work. You can navigate it and partially see the options, but some of the selections will be gone. This is especially frustrating if you want to exit the game and want it to actually end, not stay paused in memory. You see, if you hit the home button, your phone will go to the home screen but the game will pause and stay alive in the ram while giving you an option to return to play in the notification bar. To truly quit, without a task manager, you need to do it through the game’s menu.

Another flaw in the game is that, often, it won’t run at all. Click the icon to start the game and you are greeted by a black screen. I’ve tried force closing the game, emptying my ram and nothing has worked to bring it back without either rebooting the phone, or there was one occasion where after about 30 minutes I tried the game again and it worked.

Despite these quirks, this game is a must have, it’s super fun! The humor isn’t lost on the story telling, and it may even be more engaging now that you can wear earphones while enjoying the sights and sounds of Liberty City. At $5 this is a total steal for 2001 console quality gameplay.

Liked

• Console quality, portable convenience!
• Ability to turn features off to improve gameplay (turning shadows off drastically improves framerates)
• The radio when driving has hours of audio, though I just leave it on Chatterbox
• Auto-save feature makes perfect sense for a mobile game, great addition
• Mission retrying is even better! Fail a mission, start right where it began with whatever weapons you had
• I managed to write this review without mentioning prostitutes
• Once you get the hang of it, the controls are great! Except…

Didn’t Like

• Causing mayhem and killing everyone in my sights.. except the one person I meant to shoot at, shooting controls are horrible
• Issues with menu not working randomly and game not starting up at times
• Where are the cheats from previous versions?
• Please make this compatible with the iControlPad (and other bluetooth controllers)

Kiss it or Diss it?

Grand Theft Auto 3 + $5 + Ability to play while I wait for my wife to choose a jacket at Winner’s = Kiss!

Mojo Bones brings us the adventure of 2 dogs, Mike & Ralph who are seemingly on a never ending journey to find bones.  While these bones do in fact seem to be in high supply, the canines will face many perils throughout their wacky adventure to get as many as they can.

The main twist behind this game is the tongue situation between the 2 dogs, Ralph and Mike’s tongues are for some reason tied together. What I find most disturbing about this development is that somehow, the dogs don’t seem to mind; they look very happy throughout the game.

The challenge in the game comes from the fact that the dogs are always moving forward. It’s your job to ensure that they get from start to finish in one piece. You’ll face holes, burning rocks, dynamite and more along the way. And believe me that the dogs won’t do anything to help you, they will never even slow down.

Physics are what drives the gameplay. Place your finger on one dog, and, while the other continues on his merry way, pull back to stretch their tongues and let go to see your dog slingshot like a pissed off bird.

Tongue Tied plays like a mixture of Lemmings and Angry Birds, but goes much further. This game will test your reflexes and aim, you need to be quick and accurate. The difficulty ramps up quickly and in no time you’ll find yourself wishing these dogs would display an ounce of intelligence on their stupid faces!!!

… sorry about that…

The graphics fit the gameplay genre and the music does it’s job in setting the wacky tone. There is the occasional hick-up or a feeling of lack of smoothness but it won’t bother you enough to impact the enjoyment of the game.

Overall, it’s a great game to just pick up and play during some down time, as long as you don’t mind a game that requires a very large amount of trial & error to get through.

Liked

• Cartoon-like graphics help set the tone for a wacky adventure
• Innovative gameplay combines elements from classic and well known titles
• Short levels, it’s actually possible to play this for a few minutes and be satisfied with your progress
• DYN’O'MITE!

Didn’t Like

• The difficulty ramps up very quickly!
• Some occasional stutters occur (in audio and in overall “smoothness”, gameplay isn’t affected by this)
• Trial and error nature of the game may feel repetitve at times but often becomes quite frustrating

Kiss it or Diss it?

Overall a very fun game and definitely challenging, Tongue Tied gets a wet slobbery Kiss!