aa - 4.5 Stars

What is it?

Aa is a game of skill and timing. During game play you are presented with a large circle in the centre of the screen with the level number in the middle. At the bottom of the screen are smaller circles that you tap to release. The aim is land the dot on the central circle (attached by a line) without hitting another dot, which happens because the circle rotates so that it looks like a big Ferris wheel. Sounds easy right? Wrong! The levels start easy and then get more complex and introduce different challenges. The speed increases and decreases between and then within levels. A timer is added to some that makes you panic and make silly mistakes. The direction of the rotation changes and this can also happen in levels. The worst thing I have experienced are the dots that expand and contract because you think you’ve landed it brilliantly and then boom, it expands into another dot. Another killer is the timed appearance of additional dots by the game, and if one appears where you have already landed a dot you lose.

The game design in extremely basic and simple, using off white background and black circles. I am currently on level 181 and have stopped playing in a child-like tantrum as I have now been stuck for about three hours. This game is highly addictive and I really like it.

The main annoyance with the game is the adverts. They appear every five times you play as full screen invasions. I did discover that video adverts are displayed if you are on wifi and not 4G, hence I have switched my wifi off. You can pay for the adverts to be removed but I have resisted this so far. 

The game is on the GameCentre and some users have exceeded 700 levels, which is a little depressing  but when I start to play I struggled to get past 50, but the more you play the better you get.

I like this game and I can’t see me deleting it any time soon. As there are levels to the game it grasps my interest more than the tap t play games. The developer has released  a lot of games each with two letter names. I have also downloaded ‘ff’ where you have to land the circles on the rotating lines, but it hasn’t captured my attention as much as ‘aa’. 

If you like tap skill games and have a lot of patience I recommend this.

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 5

The game is pretty basic to play, tap to release the dot. The game does require skill and patience and is addictively frustrating!

Price - 5

The app is free. You can pay to remove the adverts but I haven't done this...yet!

Adverts - 1
The adverts are very annoying and as mentioned in the review if you are on wifi they get extremely frustrating. Don't be surprised when you download that you get to watch lots of videos and full screen invasions. 

Overall Rating - 4.5

I like this game and I can’t see me deleting it any time soon. As there are levels to the game it grasps my interest more than the tap t play games. The developer has released  a lot of games each with two letter names. I have also downloaded ‘ff’ where you have to land the circles on the rotating lines, but it hasn’t captured my attention as much as ‘aa’. 

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

Where to find it: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aa/id905852173?mt=8 

Trivia from Mad Men - Free Edition - 1 Star

What is it?

Simply put, this game is a quiz to test your knowledge on Mad Men, the brilliant 60’s based drama about ad men in the 60s/70s. You begin the game by pressing the ‘play’ option, and then you are plunged straight into answering questions. You start on Level 1, and you level up based on your success with the questions posed. You are given the question with a choice of four possible answers below it. Get the question right and you are awarded with points in the form of dollars, get the question wrong and you lose points. The annoying part of the points feature is that you don’t actually know your score until you complete all of the questions. If you have detail OCD, you will hate the frequent spelling mistakes and the wrong surnames or forenames. Some of the questions repeat which is disappointing as, over the seven series’ of the show, there are plenty of questions that could be created!

There are a set number of questions and there hasn’t been an update to increase the questions.

Arguably the most frustrating thing about this game is the ads. The game is incessant with them, for instance when you press ‘Play’ to begin the game, the first thing that comes up is an ad, which did make me feel VERY frustrated. Whatever you do don’t get a question wrong as you get a series of screen invading adverts and pop ups, with the highest number I counted being five in a row. 

If you haven’t watched Mad Men then do not download, you won’t get a single question right and the in app features alone will annoy you! If you hate adverts, then also avoid this app

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 3

The game is pretty basic to play, tap the answer that you think is right. What makes the game difficult is the inaccuracies in the questions and the adverts that you have to dodge to actual play it.

Price - 5

The app is free. 

Adverts - 1
Adverts are terrible, undoubtedly some of the worst I have seen within an app and completely destroys what could be an excellent app for Mad Men fans.

Overall Rating - 1

This app is literally about to be deleted as I publish the review, and I can’t wait to press that button. I have completed the game and felt no sense of achievement in doing so. The developers had a great topic and concept but ruined with sloppiness and awful adverts. Such a shame!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Delete

Where to find it: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/trivia-from-mad-men-free-edition/id670849980?mt=8

Skwirl Please - 1.5 Stars

What is it?

Impossible and frustrating! This game involves navigating a squirrel on a bike under falling tree trunks dropping from the top of the screen at various speeds. The squirrel automatically starts travelling but you can speed it forward by tapping and holding the right of the screen and reverse it by tapping and holding the left side of the screen. The screen moves with the game so can push you into the falling tree trunks and you must be ninja style quick to get under some of the logs. 

The graphics are very bright, not pixilated, but very basic. The main character is a moving picture and is not animated to cycle the bike the developer has chosen to place it on. When the character is crushed by a falling tree truck it simply turns grey and you can reattempt the game. 

This game is very difficult and quickly lost my attention. My partner, who loves to beat me at any game, was a bit better but also got very frustrated and refused to play it again. This is the type of game that could, if taken too seriously, result in a broken iPhone in fit of frustration.

There is an impossible level which I didn't even attempt based on the fact the normal ones were beyond my capabilities. 

This game is one of those games that you must have ninja reactions to play, which sadly I do not possess! I didn't take to the game but I wish the developers luck and hopefully some quick reaction players will enjoy it!

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 2

The instructions are provided in the opening screen and in theory are easy to use. The actual ease of play isn't great, the obstacles move far too quickly and don't give the user enough time to adapt to the game play before they introduce seemingly impossible sequences. Maybe I am just too slow but I didn't find this an easy game to take to. 

Price - 5

The app is free.

Adverts - 4
There are header adverts in the app, which aren't invasive and don't interrupt game play. I didn't experience full screen or video ads but they could be hidden away after a certain number of obstacles which I was never going to achieve.

Overall Rating - 1.5

I did not like this app, it was immediately too difficult to play and after several attempts I just wanted it off my phone. The developer should consider making the first few obstacles easier for the user to get familiar with and how the game is played. Looking at the GameCentre scores, I wasn't the only person struggling to get past a couple before giving up!

Keep, jury is out or delete - Delete

This is a delete for me, its already been removed from my phone upon publishing the review!

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/skwirl-please/id962048531?mt=8

The Kitten - 4 Stars

What is it?

The Kitten is a platform game with a cute kitten as the main character. The aim of the game is to get as far as you can without killing the kitten. The kitten bounds across the screen under your control by power of the tap. As the kitten runs, there are items to collect to increase your score whilst avoiding road obstacles, swooping birds of prey and gaps in the road. There are special features that can be collected that slow down and speed up play making you concentrate more on keeping the kitten alive. One special feature makes the kitten roll into a ball and zoom through game play, which is challenging as its easier to fall through the road gaps.

Like an old school arcade game you are given three lives that allow you two collisions, but don't worry there are tokens to top this up as you play. In addition, when you are on fast mode you don't lose lives but will die if you fall through any gaps. 

Something the app doesn't tell you, and I learnt in a panic to avoid a gap, is that you can double tap the cat to make it jump higher, which is great to avoid silly falls!

I instantly liked this app, and not just because I like cats! This is a well designed and animated game, and you can tell the developers have spent time on creating and producing it. The game is a refreshing change from the current pixel games flooding the market.

One frustration with this game is that it isn't on the GameCentre so I can't see how well I am doing against other users. There is a High Score section but mine doesn't work and just stays on the loading screen which is a shame. 

I have let a few people have a go on this app while I was reviewing it, and it was an instant hit with the younger player. Interestingly they asked if they could change the appearance of the cat, as you are given a black cat as the sole character. I couldn't find this feature but maybe something to consider for the next version ;)

Now for some ratings.....

Ease of use - 5

This is a simple tap game and very easy to play. I think this app is good for kids too, it's playful theme and easy functionality makes it very appealing!

Price - 5

This is a free app with no in app purchases. 

Adverts - 3.5
I had to go back into the app to check for adverts as I didn't remember any! There are header and footer adverts in the screen but they aren't invasive. Unfortunately in doing this I came across an advert that has a swear word in it, which is such a shame :( I am tweeting this to the developers as this could really put parents off allowing children to the use the app. This does, however, go to show that letting ads on your app isn't only frustrating to the user but can also tarnish a developers hard work!

Overall Rating - 4

I really like this app, it is a fun quick game to play and is good for all ages, especially if you like platform games. As the high score function doesn't work and considering the issue with the advert, I, with regret, have dropped this rating to a 4. 

Keep, jury is out or delete - Keep

Where to find it:

Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/the-kitten/id907630296 

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.gameever.thekitten&hl

Twitter: @GameEverStudio