Mechanics Touch App Review
28.03.2010 - no comments

Mechanics Touch Android app is a great puzzle game that lets you strategize how you are going to get your mechanics across the board. It is very similar to the Lemmings game in that you don’t want your mechanics to get killed along the way. You have to be witty and have fast fingers in order to get them all safely across. There are many different obstacles to try get past including rocks, pits, enemies, land patches, spikes and more. You will find yourself jumping on trampolines, removing all kinds of barriers and furiously working to clear land patches for all of your little mechanics to walk across.

This app also sports cartoon like graphics that are fun and more impressive than most Android apps. The gameplay is also very easy to get used to and is fun to control. The only part of this game that can be frustrating is having to tap multiple obstacles, destroy enemies, make mechanics jump, and move different objects in order to complete a level. But the challenges are half the fun, and you will find yourself mastering it in no time.

The Mechanics Touch app has four different large worlds that have 15 levels each. This gives you 60 different levels to test your strategic mind on. As you get better at multitasking and prioritize your moves, you can save all of the mechanics and beat the game! Get online and see where you rank among other Mechanics Touch players. Try and get the highest score and get some respect!

Features:
There are 15 different levels to run your mechanics through in each world
There are 4 different worlds that have fifteen levels a piece
Interactive touch screen controls to help you multitask
Colorful 2D Cartoon Graphics
There are some fun sound effects and some exciting background music
Check online scores to see who is the top of the leaderboards
A variety of different obstacles to get past including rocks, spikes, land patches, and trampolines
You even have to get past enemies at some points in the game

Conclusion:
This is one of the better puzzle apps out there on the Android. It brings together graphics, gameplay, unique setting, and controls to be one of the best Android Apps of 2010. This is definitely worth trying out and purchasing the updated app.

Rating: Voted 4.2 out of 5 stars by iPhone app users and currently has a free download available.

Source: Best Android Apps

DynamoKid receive Silver award at PocketGamer
26.03.2010 - no comments

As brilliant as so-called interactive TV is, it doesn’t go far enough.

It’s all very well being able to press the red button on your remote to view extended coverage of a sporting event, but what I really want is for my thrown remote control to genuinely connect with Martin Keown’s head as he spouts yet another meaningless football cliché.

But no – monkey boy continues to witter on, and I have a crack running the length of my beloved Panasonic. As the man himself might say, “he won’t be happy with that result, Alan”.

Wound up and ready to go

Dynamo Kid is something like wish fulfilment in that regard. No, it doesn’t allow you to cause physical harm to bland TV pundits (alas), but it does let you go a little more hands on with an otherwise fairly traditional game environment.

Our little hero runs from left to right in a typically cutesy platform environment. Any interactivity with the world around is handled the direct route – by touching the appropriate section of the screen.

Prodding DK makes him jump, allowing you to traverse gaps and collect stars. When an enemy scoots onto the screen, a direct touch will send them sprawling.

On your travels, you’ll notice that some platforms are simple outlines, blending in to the sketch-book backgrounds. True to form, a brush of your finger across each section will ‘draw’ the platform into existence, allowing you to continue your relentless journey Eastward.

A touch of class

As with all OrangePixel games, the game leans entirely on its core premise. You simply keep running, touching and collecting until your inevitable death, with the impetus coming from the desire to score highly on an online leaderboard.

This is compromised slightly by some rather sticky controls – DK didn’t always jump reliably for me when prodded, and nor did the outlined platforms fill in consistently. Perhaps this is an isolated handset issue (I used an old G1), but it was annoying enough and common enough to bear mentioning.

Regardless of this, I kept coming back for more. The sheer variety of tasks you must juggle simultaneously, along with OrangePixel’s ever-excellent presentational work, makes Dynamo Kid the best of the developer’s Android output to date.

“A charming platformer that makes good use of your Android phone’s touch screen. It can be a little frustrating, but that won’t stop you returning for another go.”

Rating: 8/10

Source: Pocketgamer

Interview about Mini Plane
25.03.2010 - no comments

Android App Review Source:

What was your inspiration for developing this app?

OrangePixel:

After a couple of bigger games, we wanted to design a game that had very simple game mechanics but that we could easily add new features and updates to. So we took a simple well known Flash-game idea, and turned it into something fun and full of features. So Mini Plane was born, and we have already added a big update with a new second world (unlockable by collecting three super stars) and have many different updates plannend in the coming months. Players can also send us their update ideas on twitter @orangepixel and we will take the best ideas and possibly add them to the future updates!

Android App Review Source:

What’s your personal favorite Android App that you did not develop?

OrangePixel:

Twigee, a Twitter client that never really gets much attention inbetween the bigger names, but it really is a fast, small and great working Twitter client that basically does all I need from such an App. It needs more attention as it easily beats the more well known names out there!

Read full interview:  Androidappreviewsource.com

Mini Plane on Android App Review
24.03.2010 - no comments

The Mini Plane Android App by OrangePixel is a game for the Android platform with great graphics and two challenging objectives. The first object of the game is to maneuver your plane through the air while avoiding other planes, tall buildings, and several other obstacles. The second object of the game is to collect several different items and even rescue people while maneuvering your plane. Don’t forget to watch your fuel levels and replenish your supply by collecting the green cans with the parachutes.

Once you get the hang of the controls this is a great game and quite a challenge. A few suggestions to make this game even better than it already is would be to add some challenge modes.

Overall, this is a great, challenging game for the Android platform. At the time of this review the Mini Plane Android App is €1.99 which is approximately $2.72. Thumbs Up.

Source: Androidappreviewsource.com

Mechanics Touch Free Android App a Day
16.03.2010 - Comments Off

Our Mechanics Touch Lite version had become the Free Android App of the Day on a newly launched site

“This Lemmings style game puzzle game features 4 challenging worlds with 15 levels each. Help lead the mechanics to the end of each level by moving the blocks to create pathways.”

Read more: FreeAndroidAppADay

Orangepixel talks about “iPhone” Development
13.03.2010 - Comments Off

We are busy with making our games availble on iPhone. We have choosen Mini Plane to start with and the others will follow soon. The development is a lot diffrent from the Android games. We have to learn a new language, and have tot start working on a different pc.

The dutch site Iphoneclub.nl has taken an interest in our first article and has asked us to write on their site on a weekly basis. So for all our Dutch readers you can find the first episode here: http://www.iphoneclub.nl/63893/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-1-dagboek

Update:
Second episode:  http://www.iphoneclub.nl/64313/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-2-dagboek

Third episode: http://www.iphoneclub.nl/64954/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-3-dagboek

Fourth episode: http://www.iphoneclub.nl/65607/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-4-dagboek

Fifth episode: http://www.iphoneclub.nl/66042/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-5-dagboek

Sixth episode: http://www.iphoneclub.nl/66601/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-6-dagboek

Seventh episode: http://www.iphoneclub.nl/68172/mini-plane-het-ontwikkelen-van-een-iphone-game-deel-7-dagboek

MeandmyAndroid reviews Mini Plane
12.03.2010 - Comments Off

As for today’s game… Mini Plane takes the old SFCave and slaps some pretty graphics, power ups, and a fuel tank on it along with a price tag. I like this style of game if only for the reason that it fits a touch screen device perfectly with its simplicity of control… touch to go up, release to go down, and tap at a constant pace to stay level (which can be pretty hard to do). In the original there were some basic obstacles to avoid. Mini Plane has buildings and other planes / helicopters you can collide with. Interestingly enough the very top of the screen is a safe haven so you can just hold down on the screen and so long as no enemies occupy the top row you’re safe… until you run out of fuel. Fuel is the interesting twist in this variant… you are forced to surface for air now and again and pick up a fuel package. Otherwise, you die!

The game’s parallax scrolling is pretty… certainly far, far superior to the bland graphics in SFCave. The game’s audio is nothing to write home about (as can be experienced in the video below). And, as has become standard, the game has online leader boards so that I can feel embarrassed by the guy that has scored almost 90 times more points than I have.

At 2 euros (about $2.80 US) I have to question whether this game is worth a purchase with similar, yet inferior, offerings in the Android Market like the original SFCave and Throttle Copter. Once again it depends on how much you are into this type of game. If you’re a big fan then you won’t be disappointed, but if you’re more or less indifferent then you’ll probably be just as satisfied with either of the two, free aforementioned titles.

Rating: As for the game itself I give it 4/5 stars.

Source: MeandmyAndroid

Dutch Gamesite Mobile Cowboys reviews Drill Panic!
11.03.2010 - Comments Off

Deze, en de komende twee Android Reviews, gaan over games van Nederlandse bodem en wel van de studio OrangePixel. OrangePixel bestaat inmiddels al vijf jaar en voor een studio waar slechts twee personen werken is dat zeer indrukwekkend. Sterker nog, OrangePixel zit achter het Rumblex platform en dat was één van de eerste social gaming platformen voor mobiele games (een omgeving zoals Xbox Live).

In deze eerste review kijken we naar de game Drill Panic. In Drill Panic speel je een mol en is het de bedoeling om zo snel mogelijk, zo diep mogelijk onder de grond te komen. De reden hiervoor is dat er een gigantische boor achter je aan zit.

De besturing van de game gaat door het toestel naar links of naar rechts te laten kantelen. Simpel maar effectief. Gedurende je val krijg je de mogelijkheid om diamanten (voor punten) en speciale objecten op te pikken. Zo kan je een wekker pakken om de tijd stil te zetten of een helm die je als een ‘tweede leven’ kan zien. Bij het bereiken van speciale items e.d. kan je achievements unlocken in Rumblex. Ook is er de mogelijkheid deze op Twitter te posten.

De gameplay is simpel, maar door de vaart in het spel is dat zeker geen probleem. De graphics zijn een echt voorbeeld van pixelart zoals ik zelf al jaren van ze gewend ben. Wat tegenvalt is het gebruik van muziek en effecten. De boor klinkt wat eentonig en andere geluiden klinken als horloge piepjes. Gelukkig start het spel met het geluid uit.

Drill Panic verdient misschien niet de schoonheidsprijs, maar het is zeker een erg leuke game voor tussendoor. Het idee dat de game ook nog van eigen bodem komt maakt het de € 1,50 die het kost zeker waard. We hebben de game getest op een HTC Hero.

Source: Mobile Cowboys

Mini Plane receive Bronze award at PocketGamer
08.03.2010 - Comments Off

If there’s one thing that simultaneously illustrates humankind’s ingenuity and its stupidity it’s heavier-than-air flight. Actually, a better example would be war, but that’s a bit heavy for Sunday morning on a mobile gaming site.

Heavier-than-air flight, then. Brilliant idea and all, but who in their right mind would strap themselves into a metal tube and launch themselves thousands of feet into the air? We all would, of course – and we drag out kids along for the ride.

Lunacy aside, though, the mechanics of flight make for great gaming material. Take Mini Plane, for example, which is concerned with the simple climb and dive physics of a wee jet plane.

Plane simple

And when I say simple, I mean simple. There’s only one virtual control to worry about in Mini Plane, and it can be activated by pressing anywhere on your Android device’s screen.

Your buzzy little plane makes its way from left to right in a charmingly hand drawn, 2D scrolling world. Left unattended, its natural inclination – as with all airborne objects – is to hurtle towards the ground. Touching the screen reverses this effect, causing your plane to climb.

You’ll need to do plenty of climbing and diving in order to collect the many pick-ups that are littered around the screen, including point-yielding stars, fuel (which floats down on parachutes) and the larger superstars that combine to unlock the next level. If you’re feeling particularly daring you can even swoop in close to a building or rock and rescue a stranded member of public or two.

Not all plane sailing

Contact with these solid structures, or any of the air traffic clogging up the busy skies, will cause you to crash instantly, bringing about an instant state of game over. It’s a little harsh, particularly as the collision detection – like another OrangePixel release, Gulp – is a little too exacting. On a number of occasions you’ll swear blind you managed to narrowly avoid nicking a building, only to be sent hurtling to the ground.

The way your plane reacts to collisions, too, is rather unsatisfying, gracefully arcing downwards (even through solid objects) rather than bouncing off at an angle or coming to a sudden and destructive halt. The two factors sit at odds with the otherwise graceful physics implementation, and combine to take away some of the game’s lustre.

Only some of it, mind. Regardless of these frustrations, Mini Plane will continue to pull you back in for another go at besting your high-score – which is instantly uploaded to an online high score table – or to complete the list of achievements on offer.

Ultimately, it’s just plane good fun. (Sorry.)

“Though spoiled slightly by some dodgy collision physics, Mini Plane is an instantly compelling casual experience that will have you returning repeatedly to climb that high-score table”.

Rating: 7/10

Source: Pocketgamer

Pocketgamer reviews Gulp!
04.03.2010 - Comments Off

Of all the so called seven deadly sins, none gets more of a workout in video games than gluttony.

Well, okay, maybe wrath gets a look in. But otherwise, frantically shoving foodstuffs down your character’s neck is a surprisingly common digital pastime.

OrangePixel’s latest Android gameGulp! is a case in point. Taking command of a cute little birdy fella, your sole aim is to gobble up as many enemies as you can using your incredibly long tongue.

Light bite

This is very simple to achieve. Holding your Android phone normally, you send birdy left and right by tilting the handset accordingly. As various baddies drop from the sky, you can shoot out your tongue diagonally to gobble them up by touching the screen on the appropriate side of your character.

A brief tap will send your tongue out a short way, with a prolonged hold extending it further. If you miss any of the baddies, they’ll take out a section of the floor, making things a little more precarious from that point on.

The ultimate aim is to collect enough coins from gobbled enemies to buy passage to the next level. There’s also the incentive of boosting your score by stringing together successful gobble combos.

Unfortunately, stringing multiple gobbles together can be tough thanks to a quirk in the controls. The ‘press and hold’ technique for extending your tongue seems a little twitchy, and I often found myself (initially, at least) sending a second tongue-lashing out inadvertently after the intended one, resulting in the end of my combo.

A touch of indigestion

That’s not the only unpalatable element, either, as the collision detection on birdy is a little harsh. Direct contact with an enemy means game over – fair enough – but it felt as if we were snuffing it a fraction too early, just prior to actual contact.

There’s also the lingering feeling that such a simple game would have benefited from a slightly more involved chaining system – perhaps rewarding more points according to the distance of the target, or for grabbing multiple targets in one go.

Still, there aren’t many 0.99 Euro games on the Android Market that can claim to offer as polished an experience as Gulp!, with achievements and global high-score tables – not to mention OrangePixel’s usual excellent presentation – lending the game a distinctly premium feel.

Gulp!‘s rough edges and extreme simplicity mean that it’s not going to fill you up for long. If you fancy a sweet gaming snack in between meals, though, you could swallow a lot worse.

“Gulp! is well presented and enjoyable in small doses, though one or two undercooked elements might spoil your appetite for more”.

Rating: 6/10

Source: Pocketgamer