Mobile Games Roundup
MaXplosion! Bunnies! Mice! Puzzle! Scarlett!
Do you think price should come into it when we're reviewing mobile and download games, or do you think a game should always be judged on its own merits solely? It's an issue that never goes away, and few people ever seem to agree one way or the other.
When we were covering Android games alongside iOS games, it was a fairly simple equation, because the pricing models are more or less the same, but with the arrival of Windows Phone 7 games, it's no longer that easy. Quite often we're judging games on Microsoft's platform that are three or four times the price of comparable titles, and it's tempting to growl on about the fact.
Then again, since when did £2.49 become 'expensive'? Is £5.49 really an unreasonable price to pay for something that we'd happily shell out £20 for on the DS? Of course not, but we've been spoiled rotten this past couple of years and occasionally we lose perspective. On that note, here's the latest crop of ludicrously cheap games for your delectation.
MaXplosion
- iPhone - £0.59
Pro tip: if you don't want people to know about someone's blatant rip-off of your game, it's probably best not to moan about it on Twitter. The result, obviously, is that the press picks up on the rant, and everyone immediately goes out and buys said game to see what the fuss is about – and then finds out that it's not bad at all.
Contrary to what Twisted Pixel thinks about Capcom Mobile's carbon copy of 'Splosion Man, MaXplosion actually does it rather well. The cartoon style looks great, it's ludicrously cheap, and, more to the point, it's simple, dumb fun.
Exactly like the 2009 XBLA release, you blam an explosive dude (named Max, obviously) around 20 side-scrolling platform environments, trying to locate a level exit. Along the way, you'll try to collect as much random tat as possible, blast into patrolling sentries, and avoid a plethora of hazards.
The movement system is basically identical, in that you have the ability to blast yourself three times in a row before you run out of pep. Once you touch the ground again, you'll refuel and can bounce around, triple-tapping up wall passages and trying not to get soaked in water or squished by spikes.
MaXplosion might lack some of the depth of its rival, but given that it's less than a tenth of the price, it's entitled to. Buy both with the money you're not spending on beer tonight. Make everyone happy.
8/10