Gaming on the Cheap: Android Roundup

Written by Craig Will (puffkix) Saturday, 17 September 2011 11:00

The nice thing about using the Android and iOS platforms for gaming is the price point. Sure, many of the games aren't full-fledged or super innovative, but that isn't required when all you're looking for are pocket-sized doses of fun throughout the day. Here are two of the Android games that have been holding my attention lately.

Pocket Frogs

iOS users may already be familiar with the obsessive collect-athon that is Pocket Frogs, but Android users not familiar with it should definitely check it out. Did you at one point in your life enjoy Pokemon? Maybe you still do or maybe you "grew up" and now only play when nobody else is looking. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. The formula for Pokemon that really hooked me was never about the battle system. Sure, I liked leveling up my pokemon so that they could evolve but the real drag of the games came from the grind that is battling. The draw of the game has always been collecting all the little pocket monsters. The big ones too. And when breeding was introduced to the series I remember being excited to see what new kinds of pokemon could be created. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed when breeding was just a glorified babysitting concept and nothing like, say, Jade Cocoon's deep catch and create system or even Monster Rancher's CD hunt (man, there are some good PS1 games).

Why am I talking about Pokemon when the header clearly says "Pocket Frogs"? Because Frogs taps into that addicting collect 'em all mindset that Pokemon instilled in all of us without the drudgery of a battle system. That doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do here to keep your attention but it does mean that you won't be wasting your time fighting when you could be collecting. Frogs are stored in habitats that can be bought as players level up. Selecting a frog brings up a multitude of options. Frogs can be taken out to the pond where you guide them from lilly pad to lilly pad trying to catch flies to eat, which raises happiness and is required to tame untamed frogs, and looking for presents and other frogs to breed with. Finding frogs and presents in the wild is fun but is not where the bulk of the game happens. Breeding is what frogs is all about.

There is a plethora of frog species, each with 23 base (body) colors and 16 secondary (pattern) colors for a total of 15,088 unique frogs to collect. Breeding brings back memories of 6th grade Biology class and learning about Punnett Squares... After selecting the breed option for a frog all the other frogs in the same habitat are listed and selecting one will display all the possible results (similar to a Punnett Square, see I'm not crazy). From there it's just a matter of trying to breed every possible combination of color body and pattern for each species of frog. A bit of advice: tamed frogs can be catalogued and repurchased for cheaper than cloning them but you only have 50 catalogue spots. Fill them up with each body color for the species you're working on. Each habitat holds up to 8 frogs. Keep two habitats full with each pattern color for the species you're working on. To maximize the chance of getting the frogs you need, breed frogs of the same species (this limits the outcome to only 4 possibilities). Sell the high-level valuable frogs that you recieve as gifts or buy for cheap in the frog store. Odds are it will be a while before you start on that species and the money comes in really handy. Just catalogue them first so you can get them back later if you need to.

Of course, it wouldn't be fair to recommend a game without pointing out the flaws. Issues with the game itself are really just minor annoyances, such as the fact that the possibilities of frog offspring aren't highlighted for the ones that you have or need. Instead, it's necessary to check the Froggydex before each breeding to determine what is needed. The real issues come from the provider of the game, Mobage. Mobage is similar to the iPhones GameCenter but apparently a bit shoddier (for now). There are slowdowns frequently while playing the game and there is a known issue where certain frogs aren't recognized as being collected in the Froggydex. A service rep told me that they are working on fixing it but that a performance overhaul is priority at the moment.
Problems aside, Pocket Frogs will satisfy the OCD collector in each of you.

Lock 'n' Roll (Pro)(Deluxe)

Lock 'n' Roll Deluxe was free on the Amazon Appstore a while ago and I snagged it but wasn't able to play it until about a week later. I'd like to apologize for that because it is a great game that everybody should have picked up for free when it was offered. There is a free version (my wife is addicted to it on the iPhone) and I'm not quite sure what the difference is but the Pro version is probably better, right? Anyway, the point of the game is to place 4 dice of random colors (red, green, yellow, or red) and values (1 through 4) in a 4x4 grid in such patterns that they are removed. It's like a mix between Sudoku, Tetris, and Yahtzee!

There are several ways to clear dice off the board: each different color of the same number, each different color of each different number, each different number in the same color, or the same number and color in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row, a square, or in the corners will net you big points and remove those die from the board. Score enough points and you will be rewarded with a "joker" die. A joker die can be put in an empty space or on top of another die and it takes on the color and value of whatever the best die could be in that position. That means that it actually holds several different values depending on what's best for the vertical line, the horizontal line, the square, the corners, and the diagonal. Basically, you want jokers and you don't want to waste them. Something I've only been able to do a couple of times is clear the board (after filling it most of the way up) and thereby cause the grid to be populated with random die that can be moved into any position and don't get locked down until you're ready to lock them. A rather simple game premise that calls for just the right amount of strategy and thought without feeling too big for itself. Go grab the free version and plop down the dollar for the pro if you want it, or a little bit more for the Deluxe version.