We are certain that our Kindle-toting brothers and sisters are sometimes neglected, and in need of some extra game review love. To remedy this, Hardcore Droid has engaged the Kindle Featured Apps, especially the Free App of the Day. Our resident Kindle expert par excellence, Jen Schiller, is downloading the free feature every day as well as at least one game from among the Featured games. Jen will train a hardcore gamer’s eye on each and every one of them and report back to you with which of their number are worth your time. For the Kindle owners whose e-Reader sees more games than books, this will be the bi-weekly roundup not to be missed.
~ed.
As most Kindle owners know, every day Amazon’s Kindle store features a handful of apps including a highlighted app for free download. To meet the challenge of assessing each and every one and report back to HD readers as to which ones were worthy of their time, I checked in every day, downloaded the free game, and then chose another featured app or two to try. At the end of two weeks, the best games were determined by which I hadn’t deleted yet (pretty simple qualification). I determined which ones to keep based on a few different criteria, which were decided on after I played each of the games for multiple hours and through most of their “main” game modes. The first of the criteria is simple: none of the games require in-app purchases at any time. Moreover, the games had to have some unique element to their gameplay, a variety in their levels, and excellent replay value at the very least. See our last Kindle Review here.
Author’s Note: For some reason the Kindle games these last two weeks have been largely incompatible with my device. Between that and featured apps that are calculators or notepads (Stop, Kindle Store.), The pickings have been uncharacteristically slim. I bring to you LITERALLY the only games left installed on my kindle from the last two weeks.
Best Game of the Moment
Ninja Hero Cats: This game EARNED its top spot on the roundup. I downloaded Ninja Hero Cats and then didn’t stop playing it until my fingers started hurting. I wish that was an exaggeration. You play as a group of little ninja cats fighting off a variety of enemies with fireballs, lighting, and trample attacks–and that’s just the first four levels! At the top of each “world” there’s a boss with a different attack style from anything you’ve fought before. However there are hints given by standing on platforms, and treasure chests that provide you with extra life points or revive ninja cats that have been lost in battle. You can fight from a distance, or melee up close; each style has its benefits and its drawbacks but considering the variety of enemies you’re guaranteed to need both. The free version has some ads, but no elements of the game require the upgrade to a full version. In short, download Ninja Hero Cats.
Best Featured Game
GetWater! (normally $1.99): When games add an element of education, they tend to find a warm cozy place in my heart. GetWater! is not only education, but the characters are non-white, and non-male. Representation FTW! Now. Educational games can sometimes be tedious or annoying to play, with long cut-scenes or walls of text you are required to scroll through before moving forward in the game itself. However, GetWater! has managed to integrate the educational elements without interrupting or stalling the gameplay itself. The main character, Maya, runs through her village collecting water droplets. You create ramps for her to either collect droplets that are higher up, or avoid obstacles that are in her way. She also has to fight off peacocks, avoid turtles, and manage to keep the water clean by evading dirt droplets. Each level you pass unlocks a new powerup and a new set of achievements to earn. Once you successfully fill a bucket (your droplets accumulate after each run-through, even though you have to play the level over again), a new cut-scene is unlocked with information about water accessibility around the world. GetWater! makes learning about your environment easy and fun.
The Game I Was Willing to Pay For
Muffin Knight ($0.99): I hesitated to put this game on the list, because any game where one hit kills you starts to get tiresome quickly. HOWEVER, Muffin Knight is also a lot of fun to play when you’re NOT dying. And that fun made me want to prove to the game that I was better than it. I kept coming back for more abuse. Of course, the more I played the better I got at surviving, and the more strategically I could use the points I got for upgrading. You start off as a knight and as you collect muffins you upgrade to more efficient fighters. Farm animals fall from the sky and you must defeat them by shooting at them. If they take the muffins off the map, you downgrade back to the knight and have to start the upgrading cycle all over again. I wish that that was also what happened if you got hit by the animals, which would make it easier to stay alive longer. Muffin Knights is fun, and with a few little tweaks it could be even better.
Best Free Offering:
Gelato Mania (Normally $1.99): Remember when computers started running full color video games with more than 16bits in the graphics? Remember all those fun sorting and puzzle games your mom bought you that were supposed to keep your brain sharp, and maybe they did but really they were just fun to play? Gelato Mania is pretty much a mini version of one of those games. However, it isn’t very refined. The game begins with a scoop of plain vanilla gelato, and you have to make it match the fancy gelato on the left hand side of the screen. There is definitely plenty of variety, but a little trouble with precision and in a game that relies on speed for your score, that can get annoying. However, the lack of finesse never gets in the way enough to make the game impossible, and if you don’t care that much about your score then ultimately this game will keep you company for hours.
Most Recent Let Down:
Devil’s Attorney ($2.99): I would love to tell you that this game is worth the $2.99. I would love to tell you it’s got a hilarious storyline and some great graphics. I would love to endorse The Devil’s Attorney with five stars and encourage you to stop reading and go download it. But I’ve been waiting for my copy to download for a week now. Every time I got to the end, I was told my device was low on storage and that I needed to clear more for the game to load properly. Now here’s the thing: I download a LOT of games every week. I have always been able to clean enough space off my Kindle while keeping the basics. But here we are, a week in to my review, and I still haven’t been able to install Devil’s Attorney. Therefore, I have to give my let down of the week to this game that I spent $3.00 on and still haven’t actually played.
