Neocrisis: Here are new screenshots for Katamari amore coming to iPhone and iPad.
Hardcore Gamer: Even with a bottomless reserve of charm, Katamari has reached a roadblock, one that appeared not through fan or critical reception, but by its own fundamental design. Katamari has hit a wall that it cannot roll over.
Jon Mundy:
There's little in the mobile games industry as depressing or infuriating as a bad console spin-off. It's an insult on so many levels.
For one thing, a sloppily executed spin-off exploits the good faith of fans of the original IP, who are looking to continue their positive experience while on the move.
On another level, a lazy spin-off often comes across as a slap in the face to fans of mobile gaming. Being fobbed off with a second-rate cash-in tells you exactly what the publisher thinks of your chosen pastime. It thinks you're an undiscerning second-class gaming citizen.
Before we get too hot and bothered about mobile-unfriendly game makers, though, we're going to vent in the general direction of five slabs of smartphone gaming mediocrity operating under the cover of a highly esteemed name.
Inevitably, most things become boring. This fact is one of the reasons Avault's Matthew Booth likes iOS games. If he spends a dollar on an app and plays it for an hour, he feels little remorse when he moves on to a different game. Whereas with console/PC games, when he spends between twenty and sixty dollars, if he hasn’t invested 5-10 hours (hopefully more) in the game, he’ll typically wait to purchase another title. This week’s collection of apps are all great titles and with the exception of <em>Squids</em>, they’re all titles that are thoroughly enjoyable but don’t require a lot of attention. Essentially, they’re ideal mobile games. He singled out <em>Squids</em> because, as you will soon read, it has an interesting story and mechanics that deserve a little more devotion. Enjoy!
