One More Line

One More Line is a free mobile game that has slowly taken over my life.  It is one of those apps that is perfect for passing the time.  Playing a round takes less than one minute.  If you aren't very good at it, like me, it will take about 5 seconds.

The goal is to travel the furthest possible distance down a straight lane.  There are small orbs scattered around that you must use to slingshot yourself forward.  You die if you hit the walls; you die if you hit an orb.  The replayability is akin to Flappy Bird.  No story, just a single objective to keep trying.

What makes this game so much better than others like it is the amazing soundtrack.  It's one song looped, but surprisingly doesn't get old.  It probably becomes annoying for those not playing, but who cares about those jerks ?  I once heard someone call the sound "futuristic space disco" and that is a fairly apt description.

The other great feature is the ability to take pictures of your run right in the app without having to take a screen shot.  It will then save the picture or instantly post it to social media if you want.  Why don't more games have this ?

Since it's free, just download it and save it for when you need to pass the time but might not have the attention for something difficult or story driven. 

Check out some game play here.

Draw Something

Remember a couple months ago when everyone was playing Words with Friends?  And remember about a year ago when everyone was playing Angry Birds?  Welcome to the new mobile gaming fad, Draw Something.

Available for both iOS and Android devices, Draw Something is the latest craze in person to person gaming on the go.  While other games put you up against someone else, Draw Something has you working somewhat cooperatively in an attempt to guess what each other is drawing.  One person has their choice of three words to draw.  They draw it out as best they can and then the image goes to Player Two.  Player Two watches the drawing appear on their screen, matching stroke for stroke almost like watching a short movie.  There are twelve letters along the bottom of the picture to help Player Two guess the word.  Think of it like a cross between Pictionary and a word jumble.

There are several really unique elements at play with this game.  First, the choice of words range from car to Paul D, yoga to knockout.  There are constantly new words added, but I will tell you right now that I have drawn the word "lava" more than once.  Second, there is the option to use in-game currency to buy more colors.  The more colors you have, the easier it is to draw.  You can also use that same currency to purchase bombs that give you new words to draw or remove some of the unnecessary letters to make guessing easier.

This is what I drew for Madonna.  I also drew it for chef, pirate, and the color orange.

Not everyone is fun to play with.  While it would seem like lacking drawing skills would be super detrimental, its actually not that bad.  Its less fun when people draw only the easiest words in the list.  I know you can draw a house, but I would rather see you draw LeBron James without writing his name.  The worst is when players flat out write the word, since no one really wins, this seems kind of pointless.  But every once in awhile, you come across a player that is blow your mind amazing.

I was going to guess Madonna for this one too.

The best part of this game is that it is available absolutely free.  There is a paid version of the game which removes the ads that pop up in between turns.  But I found those ads completely manageable and easy to ignore if you really don't want to fork out the two dollars.  I definitely recommend downloading Draw Something.  No matter you artistic level, there is fun to be had.

TapDefense

Owning and outfitting an iDevice can be expensive.  Luckily, the creative team at TapJoy have offered up their latest title for free.  Build and upgrade towers to destroy roving enemies as they storm out of the gates of hell and attempt to infiltrate heaven.  This is TapDefense.

I downloaded this classic tower defense for my iPhone.  TapDefense does nothing to reinvent the genre, but they have executed the basics of the game type to make it very satisfying.  There are some towers that cause an earthquake when you shake the phone, but its really just easier to use the standard towers.  Players can choose different maps, game modes, and level packs. 

The touch controls are easy to understand and responsive.  The menus are simple to access and the ability to pause game play in order to research and build helps to remove the sense of panic when starting to lose control.  I found that I had to keep constantly touching the screen.  While watching a trail of enemies attack, the screen would begin to dim and then go to sleep.  Constantly unlocking the phone and restarting the level gets annoying really fast.

I recommend this game if for no other reason than the fact that its completely free.  Its not the best tower defense game I've ever come across, but it works well and is a great way to pass the time.

Fruit Ninja At Home and On The Go

While I'm not a huge fan of ninjas, I do enjoy a well sliced piece of fruit.  The mobile app game and Kinect downloadable Fruit Ninja gives you the maximum amount of the healthy snack with minimum interaction from the ninja.

I would typically begin this type of review with a background of the story, but this game doesn't really have one.  This arcade style game depends solely on your desire to reach that coveted spot of "Highest Score".  Fruit is tossed up onto the screen and its the player's job to cut it in half all while avoiding bombs that either reduce points or flat out make you lose.  Classic mode can go on forever, but you are given a three strike policy for missing fruit and the added danger of slashing a bomb which ends the game.  Arcade mode challenges you to get the highest score inside of 60 seconds, encouraging you to string together as many combos as possible while avoiding bombs that lower your score.  Hitting special, super charged bananas will help you by increasing the amount of fruit, allowing for temporary double points, or making things move ultra slow.  Zen mode increases the times to 90 seconds and gives you nothing but fruit.  Combos are the only way to boost your score so Zen relies pretty heavily on timing. 

Luckily there is not one but two different ways to get your hands on the game.  First, it is available for Android and iOS for a measly 99 cents.  Seriously, it is well worth that miniscule price.  An even better upgrade is available for download in the Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 800 points.  This game allows you to utilize the Kinect and actually hack your way through fruit like a real ninja obviously would.  The Kinect version takes it one step further and has DLC packs that include new backgrounds and fancy blades as well as a co-op mode so you can murder fruit with that special someone.

When comparing the two games side by side, its hard to say which is more fun.  Even though they are nearly identical, the Xbox version allows for some pretty hilarious arm flailing, which may be more fun for those around you.  But after about an hour of this, I started to feel the burn.  Unfortunately, I am awful at listening to my body and played for another hour.  Not until the next morning did I realize what a bad idea that was.  The lesson here is that this game is so fun that it is easy to miss out on how tired your body is.  One thing that is lacking on the Xbox version, and understandably so, is the precision.  Fruit Ninja's mobile app is really precise and responsive to finger controls, while the Xbox would periodically slice a bomb on accident while I was shifting my weight.  In all fairness, I am a very hippy girl so I forgive my Xbox for thinking I had another limb.  The mobile app clearly doesn't have the whole "tired arms" problem; it can easily be enjoyed for hours on end.

Imagine doing this while standing.  In your living room.  While looking at fruit.

So with all that said, I recommend that you buy both versions of Fruit Ninja.  It is really fun and entertaining for a group or to play by yourself while waiting in the car.  Lets face it, those flying fruits deserve what's coming to them.