iOS review: The Croods by Rovio

I gave The Croods by Rovio a full 7 days for this review because it has some really nice and unique twists on the current appointment style games.  This game is built around managing an economy of resources – it’s like Tiny Village on steroids.   Unfortunately, it has one fatal flaw which made it practically unplayable around day 3 when it became impossible to micro-task.  The fun part of managing these economy based games is to max out your production, which is too heavily limited with having a low berry output (the first resource) even with this upgraded twice (costing approximately $5 which they give you enough for free) it is not nearly enough to fill up your first level creatures if you follow the quests required to level.  Completing quests is also the only viable way to progress (level up) in the game because of the low experience earned from all other actions.  However, there are some great features including

iOS Review: Tekken Card Tournament

I have a real love/hate relationship with this game. I want to spend money but it would be like throwing a penny down a well.

Breaking the top 10 for iPad free last week in the United States and number 1 in dozens of other countries, Tekken Card Tournament has entered the card collecting arena. (Appannie) Following in the footsteps of games such as Rage of Bahamut, it combines simple Rock, Paper, Scissors strategy game with addictive (and expensive) card collecting mechanics.  It leverages the strong IP and brand recognition of 8 classic Tekken Characters which encourage players to buy in and promises a real world tie into physical cards in summer 2013 on its iTunes page.  The graphics are 3D and would make a great stepping stone along the way to creating an actual Tekken fighting game, which many consumers are eagerly awaiting.  There are strong monetization features in this game such as multi-day events, 190 cards to collect (at as much as $6 for 5 random cards) and energy refills at $0.25 per match.