Mobile Monday – Maze Magic, Light the Flower, Texas Poker, Trouble in Tin Town

Monday, Monday, MONDAY!! That’s how American’s start anything that happens regularly on a Monday right? Either way, Mobile Monday is back.

This week we’ve got Maze Magic, a maze game with wizards, Light the Flower, one of the most addictive games I’ve ever had the privilege of playing, Texas Poker, an in depth game based around competitive poker playing and lastly Trouble in Tin Town, a turn based strategy game where toys are plotting to take over the land occupied by other toys. Yes, this week is a little bit of a crazy one, but that’s the world of mobile games for you.

Keep reading for the full reviews of each game and check back next week for four more reviews of games that have the potential of helping you through your week.

Get downloading and get playing some games!

Titles are available on iPhone and iPad unless specifically stated otherwise. If you like what you read, click the small black “App Store” button to load iTunes up and purchase the title!

MAZE MAGIC:

Maze games aren’t something we come across very often when it comes to Mobile Monday. Sure, there are a few of them crossing our path, on very rare occasions, but we don’t often come across something that’s had as much work put into it a Maze Magic. Developed by Zoopa Inc., Maze Magic is a simple maze game in the sense that all you have to do in order to complete the level is get to the ending portal, after you’ve collected all of the coins that are scattered across each level. It may sound simple on paper but there are plenty of obstacles along the way that will make the gathering of these coins a hell of a lot more difficult.

The main game mechanic involves getting to the end of the level after you’ve collected all of the coins. Some of these coins will be easy to collect, merely appearing on the same path that you’re walking down, without much deviation at all, while other will require tactical use of the many teleport pads that are dotted around the levels. Use them incorrectly and you’ll find yourself trapped in a corner and getting yourself lost. Not a good idea when you’re inside a maze.

One of the other things that you’re going to have to watch out for while you’re playing Maze Magic are the evil wizards. These are the enemies of the game and are doing everything in their power to stop you reaching the end of each of the levels. They’re easy to take down, simply tapping on them will cause your character to shoot a ball of energy from his staff; but only if you’ve got enough potions to fire the energy ball in the first place. This simple game mechanic means that not only do you have to find all of the coins in order to exit the level, but you’ve also got to find potions in order to defend yourself; this adds quite a lot to the enjoyment of the title.

The controls are as simple as you would expect from a game whose concept is as simplistic as making your way out of a maze. The entire game can be played using a single finger, just tap on the screen where you want your character to move and he will move there. There were a couple of issues where the game didn’t seem to let me move to certain blocks that seemed to be available, but these were rare occurrences and didn’t detract from the overall game experience too much. Even defeating all of the evil wizards on any particular level is achieved by tapping on them, something which almost anyone will be able to do.

Maze Magic is a good concept, with simple controls that anyone can use. The major downside to the entire title isn’t with the game itself, it’s with the amount of adverts that are plastered on every surface of the game; some of which are even quite intrusive. It’s a shame too, as there’s a good game underneath everything, it’s just difficult to get to without tapping on something you didn’t mean to, or without the game crashing because it’s trying to load seventeen adverts at the same time as the game. If adverts don’t bother you, give Maze Magic a go, otherwise I’d skip it altogether.

LIGHT THE FLOWER:

Puzzle games have a way of drawing us in, keeping us entertained and stealing the hours away from us. It’s pretty much the same with every puzzle game I’ve played, the overwhelming notion that “I can do better” always looming over me; especially when stars are awarded for each level. Light the Flower, developed by TribeFlame is another example of a puzzle game that draws people in and simply doesn’t let them go. I’ll warn you now, if you start playing this game you can say goodbye to the rest of your day. Damn those puzzle games and their wiley ways!

The gameplay couldn’t be simpler, all the player is tasked with doing is directing the beam (or beams) of light towards the flower, or flowers, that are located in each level. Once all of the flowers are lit up and awake, the level will end and you’ll be able to move onto the next level. Things are simple enough at first, and most people will be able to understand and get to grips with the game fairly quickly, but it soon gets difficult, adding odd angles, multiple mirrors and even flowers that can only be activated by a certain colour of light. The later levels are some of the most maddening, yet strangely addictive levels I’ve ever played.

When it comes to the addictive nature of Light the Flower, it’s not just the game itself that will keep you coming back for more time and time again, but the addition of the three star system. Within each level there are three stars to collect, you don’t have to collect them in order to finish the level, but you’ll find yourself compelled to do so anyway. I can’t even count the amount of times I was able to finish the level, but not collect all three stars, so I wouldn’t allow myself to continue until I had; the true definition of an addiction. And I loved every second of it.

The controls are a little bit more difficult to use than your standard iOS puzzle game. Dragging a mirror around the screen with one finger will allow the mirror to be moved without rotating it. Two fingers, placed on either side of the mirror, will allow the player to rotate the mirror. It’s not a difficult control scheme once you’ve played with it a little while but it could be a little confusing for some people at first, especially if they’re used to extremely simplistic iOS puzzle games, which is something that Light the Flower isn’t.

If you enjoy puzzle games, and are looking for something a little different, then you definitely should give Light the Flower its time in the sunlight (see what I did there?). It’s a quirky little game that takes all of the good aspects of previous titles, improves on them and adds a little bit more to keep things interesting. I lost a whole afternoon of my life to this game, and I’m sure you lot will too.

TEXAS POKER:

Quite a few poker games have crossed the desk here at Mobile Monday HQ, some of them have been humorous takes on the game, enticing friends to play with each other through means such as Facebook integration, while other game have sat squarely on the more serious side of the poker fence. In that side of the fence people tend not to talk to each other (unless it’s to bad mouth them) and very rarely make eye contact. This is the side of the fence that Texas Poker sits on, and seems to be damn proud of it too. Developed by Kamagames, and sporting Carmen Electra as eye-candy throughout the game, is Texas Poker any good?

The short answer is yes, it is rather good, but only if you’re massively interested in poker as a sport, and that’s where the long answer comes in. If you’re not that interested in competitive poker then Texas Poker certainly isn’t the title you’ve been on the lookout for, things that are happening on the screen can get very confusing, very quickly and considering that you’re playing with real people from around the world, that could potentially feel a little daunting for some people. Once you’re in a game, if you’ve played poker before, then you’re likely to feel right at home. You’ll be betting, raising and folding as much as you can take, at least until your cash reserves run dry.

One of the major downsides to Texas Poker is that no aspect of it can be played while offline, this might seem trivial to people that are used to competitive poker games, you are expected to play with other people after all, but being an iOS game there are bound to be times when potential players simply can’t be connected to the internet, especially of they’re using an iPad to play the game. So if you’re on a WiFi only iPad, and you want a game of poker on your way to work, you better start looking for another game because Texas Poker certainly doesn’t have what you’re looking for.

The controls aren’t the easiest thing in the world to use either, a lot of the buttons that you’ll be asked to press are tiny and only a poker player with the world’s smallest hands will be able to press them with 100% accuracy. If you were planning on giving this game to your card sharp grandfather you should probably think again. Another aspect of the controls which can be a little awkward are the tap gestures. There is so much happening at any one time that complex finger gestures are required to get to some screens, gestures that are extremely easy to forget and once you do you’ll either be tapping the screen in a vain attempt at trial and error, or digging through the ‘Help’ section to try and remember the exact sequence of taps and swipes needed to get to where you want to be.

Texas Poker may be a title you’ve been looking for if you’re a fan of competitive poker tournaments, and the gameplay itself works rather well, as you’ll never having to wait long for a table to get playing on. If you’re the type of person who enjoys a friendly poker game every now and then however, there are plenty of other choices out there, many of them more suited to the average poker player than Texas Poker. Competitive poker players eat your heart out, us casual players will just sit this one out. Fold.

TROUBLE IN TIN TOWN:

Tactical strategy games aren’t really my forte, I want to love them but for one reason or another they never seem to reciprocate the feelings of affection. Nevertheless I can appreciate what makes a strategy game good and what’s missing when a strategy game turns out to be utterly dismal. Trouble in Tin Town is a tactical turn based strategy game developed by Jovian Minds, but which side of the scale does it lean towards?

The main gameplay revolves around taking control of an army of toys, based around real historical figures such as William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln and Davy Crockett, along with other toys such as dinosaurs and aliens, and destroying the oncoming army; destroying their base in the process. The action is totally turn based and every character can make a maximum of two moves, a moving action and an attacking action (providing they are in range of an enemy unit). Some of the characters are ranged attackers, such as William Shakespeare, and can attack from quite a distance away, whereas Davy Crockett and Abraham Lincoln can only attack from a single square away. All of these rules means that you’re going to have to employ all of your tactical knowledge in order to defeat your opponent, but when you do, it’ll feel like a true accomplishment.

When you first start the game you’ll be able to choose which type of game you’re in the mood for. You can play just a single skirmish, if you’ve only got enough time to play a single battle, or if you’ve got the time to get a little bit more involved, you could jump into the Campaign mode. There are plenty of levels to keep you busy in Campaign mode, more than a lot of people would expect from such a low profile game, but if turn based tactical games are your thing you’ll be engrossed in Trouble in Tin Town for quite some time.

The controls in Trouble in Tin Town feel fine, almost all of the actions that you would expect from this genre of game have been catered for in the touch mechanic. You can’t do some of the more complex actions that you may be used to in the more popular games of this ilk, but the whole title is a simplified version of the games of the genre so you don’t really feel like you’re missing anything. The only downside to the controls are when moving and selecting characters. The squares where the characters are located are quite small so you may find yourself tapping on the wrong square a few times, at least to begin with. Once you’re used to the system however, it’s usually fine.

If you’re a fan of turn based tactical strategy games then Trouble in Tin Town should be at the top of your list of games to download, it’s a humorous, well thought out and beautiful example of the genre while still being simple enough to allow people not used to this style of game to jump on board. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, nothing ever is, but those people that enjoy it are going to really enjoy it.