Tap Titans (free) is a tapper with RPG elements. All the main gameplay consists of is tapping repeatedly on the screen to make our hero (the guy with the scarf and sword) swing away at whatever beast he faces. It's a simple premise, and yet it's done with such finesse and attention to detail that you almost forget you're not playing an actual RPG. For one, the game boasts impressive levels of depth for a tapper. There are 10 monsters to defeat in each stage, with the 10th being either a boss or a mini boss. The more monsters you slay, the more gold you get. When you have a certain amount of gold, you can recruit other wandering heroes to fight by your side. These heroes passively attack every few seconds. Different heroes you recruit attack at different speeds and with increasing amounts of power. Both you and your companions unlock special attacks and abilities the more you level them up, and you can even equip your main hero with different stat-boosting equipment that's unlocked as you progress. You can tap at whatever speed you want to kill the first nine beasts, but each boss/mini boss encounter requires you to deplete its health bar in 30 seconds. It's a great change of pace that forces the player to focus and level everyone consistently. It's here that the game presents an actual challenge; there've been several times when I struggled against bosses at first, spent a good deal of time grinding against weaker enemies and earning gold to level my heroes up, and eventually overcame said boss in a fit of glory. Though the core gameplay is nothing more than tapping, Tap Titans is designed to entice the player with nearly unfathomable goals to encourage constant progression. For perspective: I'm currently at Stage 68 and Level 414. At Level 600 your character achieves Prestige and starts again from Level 1, but this time with powerful Relics that you can use to more swiftly defeat monsters. The game has plenty of other content to reward long-term players, too; in fact, there are items that you can only unlock at 200 Prestige! Slightly less daunting, though not by much, you can also level all of your supporting heroes up to Lv. 1,000, where they also achieve Prestige and come back in more powerful incarnations. The game is massive with a whopping total of 3,000 stages to complete, or 30,000 monsters if you don't do any grinding (which, of course, you will). The constant feeling of progression via new environments, new party members and new skills achievable at certain levels all make it feel as though you're moving towards a goal, and because all you have to do it tap, it's an easily accessible time-waster. That's really the purpose this game serves; it's not meant to be a traditional, fleshed-out gaming experience, and it's not supposed to be one that you can sit down and finish in 20 or 30 hours. This is a long-term, when-you-have-a-few-spare-minutes type of game--think Pokemon Rumble World, or even Animal Crossing: New Leaf. And the game progression easier on you via passive gold collection that your party accumulates even when you're not playing. As a free experience (you can buy Diamonds with real money, or you can earn them by reaching certain milestones or via random drops) Tap Titans proves that not all great gaming experiences have to be expensive--or cost anything at all.
That's all for this post guys. If you want to know right when the next one goes up, follow me on Twitter @CreamBasics (or just check back every weekday). See you all Monday!
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While some people have slowly started to come around to mobile gaming, there's still an ambiguous stigma attached to the format. It doesn't necessarily seem that people hate all mobile games, but a wide net of doubt and distrust is nonetheless cast over the entire category due to the reputations and practices of the most popular ones. I was never personally interested in mobile gaming until I got an iPad a couple years ago (the first time I'd ever had an Apple device, and my first exposure to the App Store). Ever since then I've really been exposed to the breadth of experiences available on mobile for nothing or next to nothing. Despite the elitism of "hardcore gamers," there really are some great and intense experiences to be had on iOS and Android. Here are some of my favorites. Incoboto (Puzzle Platformer) This is one that completely came out of left field. The game centers around a small boy named Inco as he traverses various planetary systems in search of life following a mysterious cataclysmic event. He's accompanied by a baby sun named Helios that serves as your only companion and source of power. This is really an experiential game; everything from the subtle, ambient score to the uniquely sleek/cartoonish art style pulls you in, and you really feel like you're the tiny Inco wandering hopelessly through space. The atmosphere of the game exudes loneliness, and the farther you get the happier you are to have Helios hovering over you all the time. The story is told through bits of text when you reach certain systems, by taping on the skeletons of past explorers (when you do, you'll be able to read their final thoughts), and by hilariously dismissive and belittling signs left by the governing entity simply called "The Corporation." The skeletons are also used as a great vehicle for delivering clues about nearby puzzles; more than once I was stuck and frustrated before I paused, thought over what a skeleton had said, and discovered the solution right away. The puzzles range from finding ways to have multiple timed switches on all at once to using the power of Helios' sunlight to access otherwise unreachable areas, and you can't access the next planetary system before you complete all of them. The mechanics are simple, but it's far from a casual game. Before long you'll find yourself trying to wrap your head around some pretty challenging and multi-layered problem-solving tasks--like any good puzzle game should have you doing. The one-hand touch controls feel good and work well enough that I could never really blame anyone but myself for having to attempt the same puzzle a dozen times. There's a lot of content here, and with the added challenge of collecting 50 Star Map pieces, completionists will have their work cut out for them (trust me, some of those are downright punishing to reach).
Incoboto is a real treat to play, and was a pleasant surprise for me when I started it. This was one of the first games that showed me that a quality gaming experience didn't have to come from a traditional gaming platform. I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in puzzle platformers, or anyone just looking for a good, meaty puzzle experience on mobile. But that's just me. Have any of you played it? What did you think? Let me know on Twitter (@CreamBasics)! And don't forget to come back often! I'll have a new post every single weekday, and maybe even spontaneously over the weekend sometimes too. Until next time, have a beautiful day! |
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