Tag Archives: Free to Play

Fire Emblem Heroes Review

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It’s time for a new App game! Since I got to Level 40 in Pokemon Go I figured it would be fine to finally check out another free game. This one got a lot of hype back in the day, but I think I got on the gravy train before it completely passed me by. After playing it for a few days I can definitely see why everyone loves it so much. The game is incredibly polished for a free game and it has helped make me a much bigger Fire Emblem fan than I was before. There’s so much to do here that if I took it seriously I would be here a while. It’s going to be more of a side project as new levels come in I’ll complete them and all but I won’t bother going for the more competitive goals.

The game actually has a plot which is already cool. Terry (Your original character protagonist) is summoned into the World of Fire Emblem. The realm is under attack by an evil sorceress with immeasurable power. She has enslaved whole worlds and almost the whole cast is under her power. Terry can tip the balance because he can summon heroes of his own to combat her and he is immune to mind control. You have to team up with the ones who summoned you to stop this foe and rescue everyone who has been enslaved. It’ll be tough though as you’ll have to defeat tough combatants like Lucina, Roy, Ike, and many others. Also, there are so many worlds that as soon as you leave one, the sorceress goes back to reclaim it.

It seems like new levels are added every once in a while, but I don’t expect the game plans to end the campaign anytime soon. The most recent level did end with a big plot twist though. It was one that was certainly expected, but it still counts as progression. There are 12 Story chapters I believe and 10 Protologues, with 2 Xenologues. It’s a pretty good amount of content. I beat the story part of the game in about 2 days, but there is a lot of other content to explore. There are online Arena Battles where you fight other players, Training Stadiums to level up and collect gems, Special Battles where you can fight new matches every day to get more characters and items, Voting Gauntlets, and several other modes.

This game is not lacking in content in the slightest and I probably didn’t even get to try all of the modes for about a week or so. It’s actually very overwhelming at first, but you gradually get used to it as you play more and more. Too much content is never a bad thing after all. If I don’t want to play a mode, then nothing is forcing me to do so. The main currency in the game are Orbs. You get around 5-8 every day for logging in. You can use 20 to purchase a full set of 5 characters. You can also use 1 to replenish your energy each time you run out and you can use 1 during a fight to restore all of your characters and they all get an extra turn. You don’t want to be too frivolous with the Orbs when you start because they get more scarce as you go on.

I mentioned the energy earlier and that determined what you can do every day. Each action costs energy and when you run out you have to use an orb or just stop playing for the day. That’s how they get you as you can purchase extra orbs. I know quite a few people online who’ve spent hundreds on orbs so they could get their favorite character. I definitely won’t be spending any money on this game though. In part it’s because Pokemon Go was my only exception to that rule and also because the game is quite generous with the orbs. I have never been in a spot where I was out of orbs and needed energy or even been in a situation where I was close to that. You would also need to play quite a lot in a single day to approach that limit. It should be a non factor for most players.

Once you’ve beaten the available story chapters in the game, I’d say that the main focus is now to collect all of the Fire Emblem characters. There are currently 168 and I have about 60. The ultimate final goal would be to get all of them to Grade 5 and max them out to Level 40. Of course that increases your time exponentially as doing that is really a long term goal. As such I won’t really be gunning for that. At most I’ll log in every day for my new fighter and eventually maybe I’ll have them all. Even if they’re grade 2 or 3 that’s fine. To improve their grade you have to level back to Level 1 with that character and spend 20,000 Feathers and 20 Shields which are not easy to come by. It can take weeks to obtain that and I personally can’t say it’s worth it unless you’re super competitive in the game.

The gameplay is extremely smooth and highly customizable. It’s classic Fire Emblem gameplay as you position your pieces on the map and attack. All of the characters have special abilities and there are 3 types, Green, Blue, and Red. Each type is good against another one and week to another. There’s also a blank class, but I’m not sure where they fit into all of this. Different characters have different styles of attack like close range or long which you need to take into account. If you want to fight and know that you’ll win anyway, you can set the game to auto fight and let the computer handle the fight while you get a bite to eat or something. I admit that I started doing this quite a lot after I beat the game to save time. You can also turn off the animations for each attack which saves a bunch of time and I wish more games did that. It would be very useful.

Fire Emblem Heroes really shines when it comes to the graphics. They are exceptionally good and easily the best that I’ve ever seen in a mobile game. It spared no expense with the character portraits and attacks. It’s one of the things that really drew me to the game when I first started. It’ll be really cool if they can grab more animated cutscenes by the end of the game, but even if they don’t I’m still pretty satisfied. The soundtrack is also solid. The themes are limited, but memorable. All in all I’m sure a very large amount of money was put into this game and I’m sure that it has made it all back quite easily.

It’s time to go back and rank all of the mobile games. In 1st is clearly Pokemon Go. The game’s amazing and I’ve put in over 1000 hours by now. You just can’t overestimate just how influential the title is. Truly a legend. 2nd is Fire Emblem Warriors. The immense amount of content and reasons to keep playing speaks for itself. I also like the generous log in bonuses as you really feel like it’s worth it to keep showing up. 3rd is Marvel’s Contest of Champions. It was a fun game, but a big step down from the first two as the gameplay was very repetitive. It also had a very long story mode but it was considerably lower budget and you never felt like you were making any progress. Honestly it’s a very similar style to Fire Emblem Heroes but think of the difference being like Mario Galaxy vs Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures. 4th is Ingress. It’s basically just like Pokemon only without the Pokemon and the Gyms. It may go up as some point, but my whole area is owned by the opposing team and I need to reach Level 6-8 in order to actually do anything about it. I dunno, it’s fun enough but I always can’t help but think of how many Pokemon I’d be catching if I had Go open. Finally in 5th is 1010!. It barely counts when placed with the others since it has no plot and it more of a very simple game app. Still, I did play through it so counting it is fair. It’s a lot of fun at first, but actually gets less so the higher your score gets. After all, who wants to spend 30 minutes trying to top your score only to come out short in the end? Definitely not me! That’s 6 App games that I’ve tried out now. It could be a while before another one so we’ll see how that does in the end.

Overall, App games are very addicting. It’s easy to see how this one got so far. For every great title like this one there are probably 100 low budget mobile games that are pretty bad, but I’ve done a good job of avoiding those so far. I hope Nintendo comes out with a Super Smash app at some point as you just know that would be really awesome. I finally got Roy, Ike, and Lucina in this game so I’m definitely very satisfied with my turnout. I’d like to get Marth at some point, but I suppose it could be a while. If you’re interested in the game, I recommend downloading it as soon as possible. Even if you don’t want to play it yet, download the game just so you can start receiving your daily rewards by logging in. That way you’ll be extra prepared with a bunch of extra items and characters by the time you really do start. There are still a bunch of features that I don’t fully understand or have barely scratched the surface of and we’ll see if I ever do. At least it’s nice knowing that they’re there if I ever need them. It may be time to get a real Fire Emblem game, but I’ve heard mixed things on the newer ones and the old ones are so expensive. It’s definitely a tough call.

Overall 8/10

Pokemon Go Update

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I have finally reached Level 40! In a sense, I feel like I’ve finally completed the game. Getting to this point was always my biggest goal. Now that it’s completed my priority is completing the Pokedex. I’m just missing 2 (Not counting regional exclusives) which are Miltank and Unknown. After I get those two, the final main goal is to catch a Top caliber (81%LV or higher) of each Pokemon evolution route. This game has definitely been intense and soon I’ll finally have my own Blaziken! He is officially going to be my Buddy Pokemon for ages and I’m gonna take him to all the gyms

Pokemon Go Update

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I am now Level 37! Feels good! So apparently I’m about halfway to level 40 now. That’s not half bad and the current estimate says that I’ll beat the game in a little under a year. That’ll definitely be a huge accomplishment!

*This photo was taken from Google. I didn’t get to grab my own photo and there was no normal default level 37 pic like the other levels. I guess this is where a lot of people dropped off!*

Marvel Contest of Champions Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Level 6
Gold 8635
Silver 125

Characters
Groot 322
Juggernaut 158
Wolverine 141
Vision 139
Spider-Man 135
Captain America 135
Vision (Classic) 115
Colossus 104
Black Panther 104
Scarlet Witch 103

Marvel Contest of Champions Review

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Just looking at that cover should remind you just how changed Marvel is from the good ole days. We have a lot of heroes trying to replace the classic ones and most of the old ones have had drastic makeovers. No worries though, this game manages to include an enormous amount of characters so the classics are still here as well. With new characters constantly being added to the game, I don’t see Contest of Champions ending anytime soon. It’s simply too expansive at this point and I’m glad to see it doing well. The amount of content can be intimidating, but it also shows that you can do quite a lot even when under the free to play format. Someone should have told Super Mario Run about that.

There’s actually a plot this time. The Collector is having another game and has decided to pit the Marvel heroes against you. You are the chosen one and your opponent is Kang. Both of you collect Marvel heroes and duke it out until there is only one fighter still standing. The plot will probably have some wrinkles along the way though because there are dozens and dozens of levels. I only played about 10% of Act 1, which was already fairly long. Since they keep on adding new chapters and acts for special events, I can easily see this reaching an RPG’s length by the end. The story isn’t all that engaging so you’ll be playing it for the gameplay. Console games are still my priority though, which is why I didn’t play the game for too long. I played it enough to see what it was all about and then it was time to delete the app.

The gameplay is fairly straight forward. Tap the screen for standard attacks. Swipe forward to dash or back to dodge. You can also use charge attacks and special moves. Each battle will play out in pretty much the same way and the various special abilities will all blend together after a while. This is still a game with a reasonably small budget so you can’t go in expecting Marvel vs Capcom. Still, the graphics are very impressive considering. All of the character models are on point and it’s pretty surreal to see Marvel’s large array of characters all show up. The soundtrack is rather bland, but decent.

One issue is that the gameplay can get a little repetitive. I suppose that can be said about most mobile games, but other titles like 1010 and Pokemon Go are super fun anyway. You may be doing the same thing hundreds of times over, but it never gets old. Contest of Champions will get old after a while so you shouldn’t play it for too long at a time. If you play it seriously for collecting all of the heroes though, then this may not be a factor. I also have to give the game some props for not making the pay to win element too prevalent. You can still play for a while each day before hitting your limit and that’s a good thing. Madden Mobile got annoying for how quickly you hit the daily limit along with Pokemon Shuffle.

The main menu is a little cluttered and complicated, but at least it shows that there is a lot to do here. There are all kinds of modes to explore and crystals to earn. It just never stops and you can be lost in the menus for a good 20 minutes before deciding what to do. The replay value here is endless and that’s what we’ve come to expect from these apps. With this one gone, it’s going to be back to Pokemon Go for me. That’s really the only long term app game that I need. These other titles are good, but ultimately can’t compete.

Overall, Marvel’s Contest of Champions is a fun enough game. The graphics are sound and assembling your team of heroes can be addicting. Eventually you’ll either start to get frustrated by obtaining duplicate heroes even though you only have 5 or 6, or you will be completely into the game by then and just hooked on all of the future updates. If you’re a big mobile player, then I recommend adding it to your roster. If not, then this one can probably be passed. It’s good, but you could always just buy Marvel vs Capcom instead for the superior fighter. I know that DC also got a very similar fighting game on the app store, but I don’t plan on trying it out anytime soon.

Overall 7/10

Pokemon Go Stats and Records

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Stats time! I’m going to use this to keep track of all my Pokemon. My ultimate goal to completing Pokemon Go is to have one of every Pokemon family maxed out.

Play Time: Off the Charts
Team: Valor
Level 50
Total XP 87,495,012
Pokestops Visited 119,024
Distance Walked 11,774.9km
Pokemon Caught 121,443
Pokedex Caught 761 Seen 770
Unique Pokemon maxed out:
Item Space 3100
Pokemon Space 6150
Pokemon Evolved 7882
Eggs Hatched 2139
Battles Won 8589
Times Trained 1480
Berries Fed 27517
Hours Defending Gums 4238
Field Tasks Completed 2513
Times Best Friend status was achieved 27
Legendary Raids Completed 797
Normal Raids Completed 188
Master League Battles won 140
Unown caught 6
Distance traded 3701
Trades 43
Great League Battles Won 24
Ultra Battles Won 29
Surprise Encounters 3
Platinum Medals 43
Gold Medals 24
Silver Medals 6
Bronze Medals 3
Non Medals 1

Pokemon left to max

Kanto 0
Johto 0
Hoenn 6
Sinnoh 2
Unova 8
Kalos 5
Aloha 21
Galar 3
Hisui 1
Paldea 4
Total Left 54

Pokemon Powered list by # (Used to include CP but with the various rebalancing it doesn’t make much sense to keep having to change it. Instead I just put the Stardust requirements/LV. If a Pokemon is in bold then it is maxed out to Level 40

Kanto All Pokemon Complete!

Venusaur 91
Charizard 91
Blastoise 97
Butterfree 93
Beedrill 100
Pidgeot 91
Raticate 91
Fearow 91
Arbok 91
Raichu 96
Sandslash 93
Nidoqueen 91
Nidoking 96
Clefable 93
Ninetails 96
Wigglytuff 96
Vileploom 93
Parasect 84
Venomoth 89
Dugtrio 96
Persian 87
Golduck 89
Arcanine 89
Poliwrath 87
Alakazam 91
Machamp 93
Victreebel 91
Tentacruel 87
Golem 94
Rapidash 93
Slowbro 91
Farfetchd 100
Dodrio 96
Dewgong 93
Muk 88
Cloyster 91
Gengar 100
Hypno 84
Kingler 93
Electrode 93
Exeggutor 89
Marowak 84
Hitmonlee 89
Hitmonchan 93
Weezing 97
Rhydon 82
Kangaskhan
Seaking 89
Starmie 93
Mr. Mime
Jynx 91
Pinsir 91
Tauros 89
Gyrados 84
Lapras 82
Ditto 89
Vaporeon 82
Jolteon 91
Flareon 89
Omanyte 93
Kabutops 98
Aerodactyl 84
Snorlax 89
Articuno 93
Zapdos 91
Moltres 100
Dragonite 98
Mewtwo 73
Mew 77

Johto All Completed

Meganium 93
Typhlosion 91
Feraligatr 84
Furret 84
Noctowl 91
Ledian 93
Ariados 89
Crobat 91
Lanturn 82
Xatu 91
Ampharos 93
Bellossom
Azumarill 93
Sudowoodo 91
Politoad
Jumppluff 91
Sunflora 98
Quagmire 82
Espeon 84
Umbreon 82
Slowking
Unknown
Wobbuffet 93
Girafarig 100
Foretress 89
Dunsparce 87
Steelix 83
Granbull 82
Quillfish 84
Scizor 91
Shuckle 84
Heracross
Ursaring 93
Magcargo 88
Corsola
Octillery 83
Delibird 96
Mantine 82
Skarmory 87
Houndoom 97
Kingdra
Donphan 84
Smeargle
Hitmontop 95
Miltank
Raikou 100
Entei 98
Suicune 98
Tyranitar
Lugia
Ho-Oh 96
Celebi

Hoenn 2 Left

Sceptile 93
Blaziken 93
Swampert 93
Mightyena 91
Linoone 89
Beautifly 95
Dustox 91
Ludicolo 91
Shiftry 93
Swellow 98
Pelliper
Gardevoir 87
Masquerain 87
Breloom 86
Slaking 91
Ninjask
Loudred 93
Hariyama 96
Delcatty 91
Sableye 84
Mawile 89
Aggron 84
Medicham 89
Manectric 91
Plusle 93
Minun 91
Volbeat
Illumise
Swalot 93
Sharpedo
Wailord 96
Camerupt 93
Grumpig 84
Spinda
Flygon 93
Cacturne 89
Altaria 93
Zangoose
Seviper 87
Lunatone
Solrock 89
Whiscash 91
Crawdaunt 96
Kecleon
Claydoll 93
Cradily
Armaldo 89
Milotic 91
Castform 88
Banette 93
Chimecho 93
Absol 84
Glalie
Frosslass
Walrein 98
Huntail
Gorebyss 4000
Luvdisc 84
Salamance 96
Metagross 93
Regirock
Regice 96
Registeel 90
Latias 96
Latios 93
Kyogre 93
Groudon 98
Rayquaza 96
Deoxys
Jirachi

Sinnoh 0 Left

Torterra
Infernape
Empoleon
Staraptor
Chatot
Bibarel
Kricketune
Luxray
Rampardos
Roseralia
Bastiodon
Wormadam
Mothim
Combee
Floatzel
Cherrim
Aipominator
Drifblim
Lopunny
Mismagius
Honchrow
Purugly
Skuntank
Bronzing
Spiritomb
Garchomp
Lucario
Hippowdon
Drapion
Toxicroak
Carnivine
Lumineon
Abomasnow
Gastrodon
Weavile
Magnezone
Pachirisu
Rhyperior
Tangrowth
Electivire
Magmortar
Togekiss
Yanmega
Linnea
Glaceon
Gligar
Mamoswine
Porygon Z
Gallade 7000
Probopass
Dusknoir
Frosslass
Rotom 1900
Uxie 1900
Mesprit 1900
Azelf
Dialga
Palkia
Heatran
Regigigas
Giratina
Cresselia
Darkrai
Shaymin 2500
Victini

Unova 3 Left

Serperior
Emboar
Samurott
Watchdog
Stoutland
Liepard
Simipour
Simisage 1900
Simisear 1900
Musharna
Unfezant
Zebstrika
Gigalith
Swoobat
Excadrill
Audino
Conkeldurr
Seismitoad
Throh
Sawk
Leavanny
Scolipede
Whimsicott
Lilligant
Basculin
Krookodile
Darmanitan
Maractus 2500
Crustle
Scrafty
Cofagrigus
Tirtouga
Archeops
Garbodor
Zoroark
Cinccino
Gothitelle
Reuniclus
Swanna
Vanilluxe
Sawsbuck
Emolga
Escavalier
Amoonguss
Jellicent
Alomomola
Galvantula
Ferrothorn
Klinklang 6000
Eelektross
Beheeyem
Chandelure
FHaxorus
Beartic
Cryogonal
Accelgor
Stunfisk
Mienfoo
Druddigon 4000
Golurk 6000
Bisharp
Alomomola
Bouffalant
Braviary
Mandibuzz
Heatmor
Durant
Hydreigon
Volcarona 2500
Cobalion
Terrakion
Virizion
Tornadus
Thundurus
Reshiram
Zekrom
Landorus
Kyurem
Meleotta 1900
Genesect

Kalos 5 left

Chesnaught
Delphox
Greninja
Diggersby
Talonflame
Vivillon
Pyroar
Florges
Pangoro
Furfrou
Meowstic 6000
Aromatisse
Slurpuff
Malamar
Barbaracle
Dragalge
Clawitzer
Heliolisk
Tyrantrum
Aurorus
Sylveon
Hawlucha 2500
Dedenne
Goodra
Klefki 4000
Phantrump
Gourgeist
Avalugg
Noivern
Xerneas
Yveltal
Zygarde 1900
Hoopa 6000
Carbink

Aloha 14 Left

Decidueye
Incineroar
Primarina
Toucannon
Gumshoos
Vikavolt
Crabominable
Oricorio
Ribombee
Lycanroc
Toxpex
Araquanid
Lurantis
Shiinotic
Salandit 4500
Bewear
Tsareena
Comfey 800
Oranguru
Golisopod
Palossand
Komala
Turtonator
Passimian
Togedemaru
Bruxish
Drampa 4000
Kommo-o
Tapu Koko 2500
Tapu Lele 2500
Tapu Bulu 4000
Tapu Fini 2500
Lunala
Solgaleo 1900
Nihilego
Buzzwole
Pheromosa 2500
Xurkitree 2500
Celesteela 2500
Kartana 4000
Guzzlord 4000
Drampa 4000
Blacephalon 10000
Stakataka 4000
Poipole

Galar 3 Left

Rillaboom
Cinderace
Inteleon
Greedent
Dubwool
Obstagoon
Perrserker
Sirfetch’d
Mr. Rime 1900
Runerigus
Falinks
Dreepy 2500
Zacian
Zamazenta 4000
Zarude 1900
Regieleki
Regidrago

Hisui 0 Left

Kleavor
Ursuluna
Overqwil
Wyrdeer
Enamorus 4000

Paldea 3 Left

Gholdengo
Oinkologne
Quaquaval
Meowscarada
Arboliva
Skeledirge
Bombirdier 1900
Pawmot
Lokix
Baxcalibur 2500
Arboliva
Greavard
Bellibolt
Cetitan
Annihilape
Revavroom 2500
Clodsire
Wiglett 3000

Unknown All Maxed

Melmetal

Pokemon Go Review

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It’s time to finally review the big app sensation of the last few months. I played it quite a lot and got all the way to Level 32. The game’s starting to die down now with the cold weather stopping many players so now felt like a good time to review it. I’ll still be sticking with it but my pace has slowed quite a bit so if anything, I’ll just add updates whenever I reach a new level. I can certainly say that it has lived up to the hype although I’ll admit that it was a rough road at first with all of the bugs. The game isn’t 100% smooth yet, but we are getting there and the game continues to add updates. As this is an App game, the review likely won’t be all that long, but still longer than most similar titles.

You are given some Pokeballs to start the game with. You catch Pokemon and every time you do this you get 100 stardust and 3 candies for that Pokemon. You can use stardust to power up your Pokemon and you can use the candy to evolve them into stronger forms. You can transfer duplicates that you don’t want to the Professor. As you level up in the game, you’ll get more items like Great and Ultra Balls as well as access to stronger levels for your Pokemon. The end goal for players is usually one of two options. The first is to simply complete the Pokedex. That’s my end goal although it is certainly a very tough one. I don’t count Regional Exclusives, but even so you have to get lucky to catch some of the rare ones like Snorlax and Lapras. The other goal is to get to Level 40, which is quite the achievement as well since the EXP needed for each level grows tremendously as you go through the game. I’m at Level 32 and I believe that means that I am just barely over half way or maybe not even there yet.

The game itself is very simple. You’ll understand how to play it in a matter of minutes. What made it a sensation is the fact that you find Pokemon out in the wild and you can activate the camera so you can see the real world at the same time. I never use that feature because the battery drain is already quite high without considering that. It’s fun because it loosely tracks the distance that you walk and it’s a way to keep you active and about. You may walk more while playing the game because you want to catch Pokemon and get some more EXP. It’s a game that you can’t play quite as well indoors as outdoors.

If the game had been handled smoothly, I think it still could have been a big sensation right now. Unfortunately, the game has a tendency of shutting off, heating up your phone, glitching your gym battles and locking you out, and a whole plethora of issues. I’m not even going to go into them because you’re probably well aware of them thanks to the internet and how popular the title was. The only bug that really bothers me now is the Gym one. Whenever I try to take over a Gym, I’m blocked out because of a random glitch. It’s gotten to the point where I haven’t taken over a gym in a very long time. That’s tough on coin earning since it’s the only way to earn coins. I have a survey app which has helped quite a lot with that, but it’s still not a very fun issue to have.

I don’t want this review to give off a negative vibe though. As you can tell, I’ve played the game for a very long time. It’s a highly addictive title much like Mario or Pac Man and it’s a game that can last you for well over a year. They may raise the level cap when they add in future generations which could be fun or frustrating depending on how you look at it. That’s not til the summer though and I have my doubts on whether I’ll be playing that far into the future, but you never know. I don’t plan to delete the app even when I’m playing rarely so I can always go back and look at it. Ultimately, it is an app and those are great for passing the time. The game will likely be even smoother and more polished by that point.

The graphics for the game look pretty good. Considering that it’s a mobile title, everything is clear. The soundtrack is limited as it only has one or two actual themes. The main theme isn’t very good, but the other one is all right. I’d love the ability to add in your own musical tracks, but I play on mute 99% of the time so I suppose it wouldn’t actually make a huge difference to me in the end.

Overall, Pokemon Go was a sensation and I’m glad to have been apart of it. It’s definitely the kind of thing that you’ll have fun telling people about many years down the road. This is the company’s second project of this kind so I wonder if they’ll ever do another franchise. I doubt it would get quite as much traction since nothing is quite as big as Pokemon when it comes to catching them all, but it is a very successful formula. At Level 32 with 137/150 Pokemon caught, I’d definitely say that I’ve come far. If you haven’t played the game yet, then I recommend giving it a whirl. It’s not the same as when it first came out of course, but there are still a lot of lures around to attract Pokemon with and it’s better to start now than later. More players is always a good thing for the game since it means that the gyms will stay active and you’ll have actual competition. Just remember that Team Valor is the way to go!

Overall 9/10

1010! Review

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It’s been a while since I reviewed an App game. I technically don’t play a whole lot of them. The first one that I ever dove into was Madden Mobile, which I played for a few months last year. After that, I picked up Pokemon Go this year, which I still play quite actively. I’ll probably review that one once I’m done with the game. I’m planning to stop once I’m level 30 or once I’ve filled up the Pokedex and then I’ll probably just let it rest until Johto. 1010! is a game that I only downloaded because I was challenged by someone who claimed that I could never beat her score. I chuckled and realized that she didn’t know who she was talking too. I am the master of all games and never back down from a challenge! I downloaded the game, and quickly sighed. This was going to be too easy!

The gameplay is fairly simple to pick up and play. You have a classic board of squares that are all empty at first. You are given 3 blocks on the bottom that you have to add to the field. Their shapes will vary based on a limited number of possible shapes. You must fit them all in and then you are given another trio of blocks to add. You don’t have to worry about color coordination as it is purely based on filling rows and columns. Once you fill a row, the row becomes empty and likewise for columns. Completing multiple rows and columns at once will give you bonus points. You keep on going until you are no longer able to add blocks onto the field. When that happens, you have been defeated.

It’ll take you maybe 2-3 minutes tops to understand the rules, but you will get better at making decisions as you play. Soon you’ll be able to eye ball the field and instantly know where you should place the pieces. That being said, no matter how good you get at the game, you can’t get away from the fact that a large portion of the game is completely based on luck. If the game gives you the wrong blocks at a critical time, it’s game over. You always have to gamble based on which block you think will show up. I am not trying to downplay the skill involved though. Some people consistently get scores in the 10000s which is no coincidence. Luck is involved quite a lot, but so is skill. You simply have to play the game enough to really figure out what style works for you.

In the end, I got up to a score of 2919. I deleted the app after a while, but it was a fun run through. I didn’t manage to pass the person who had over 9000, but I helped my Mom get into the game and she shattered the score by about 3000 so I’d call that a win. I did beat the challengee’s friend though so that counts as another mild victory. In the end, you can do just about anything if you put your mind to it! That was my motto as I got into this. The gameplay is certainly a lot of fun and it is easy to just play this for hours and lose track of time. I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again, mobile games can be great because of how addicting they are and how easy they are to subtly play. It’s hard to take out a 3DS or PSP in public because it might get snatched, but playing something on your phone? That’s no problem!

There’s not much to say about the graphics since there isn’t much to look at here. Everything looks clear so I’ll give it a thumbs up in that category. You can slightly change how the game looks with one or two free options, but the default look ends up being the best way to play. I don’t recall any actual soundtrack, but I usually played with the volume off anyway. The one problem that I have with the game is that its time consuming. After a while, you’ll find yourself less incentivized to play as your high score gets higher and higher. It simply takes too long to get a score that high so you’re better off not even trying. I can’t imagine how people with scores over 10000 keep on playing. Just getting near that number will take a really long period of time. There’s not much of a way to fix that though unless the game added a timer. It’s still a lot of fun so it’s a mild thing that I think could boost the game to the next level.

Overall, 1010! is a fun app. You may not want to play it forever and ever as you’ll find your time vanishing, but it’s fun to play once in a while. It’s certainly good for passing time on the train. I’m the kind of guy who never looks back when it comes to Apps though so don’t expect to see me playing the game again. I do recommend it of course, but Pokemon Go is the only App that I’ve had time for lately. I do intend to play the Pac Man one at some point though. Who knows, if someone challenges me to another App, you may see another review sooner rather than later! Nobody can stop my mad gaming skills!!

Overall 7/10