When you die in HoPiKo, you don't just have to replay the level you died on, you also have to take on the entire batch of levels that came before it again, too. At first, it's a decision that seems like a mistake: mobile games have long got used to the idea that players are short on time and want to dip in and out at their leisure. The idea of taking on levels they've previously played again and again just because they've come a cropper later on seems positively archaic.
It soon becomes clear, however, that this is an intentional handicap by Laser Dog. It's an effort to separate the wheat from the chaff amongst its fans, if you will. Like an arcade classic of old, HoPiKo is a game that takes no prisoners. Luckily for us, so immediate is the gameplay, so damn addictive, that going back over old ground again and again feels like a fitting punishment for failure, and one that makes success when it comes seem all the sweeter.
It also helps that the basic premise behind HoPiKo has been intentionally designed to appeal to the kind of 'hardcore' arcade gamers that will lap up the game's short and sharp action. Your job is to set about eradicating a computer virus that's taken hold of your favourite games console – a machine that looks suspiciously like an old NES unit during the game's opening cut-scene. Doing so, at least initially, is a question of jumping between platforms set at all manner of angles before rescuing the good guys, trapped in a sort of red, blocky and typically digital forcefield.
The big catch, however, is that you have just a few seconds to make each jump. Leave it too long and your little guy will explode into a million pieces, sending you right back to square one. Likewise, get your angles wrong and fire off in an odd direction and you'll suffer the exact same fate, making each and every level one packed full of instant judgements and on-a-knife-edge reflexes.
It's lucky, then, that the controls are especially simple to grasp. Holding your finger down anywhere on the screen will charge your HoPiKo up. In the few short seconds you have, it's your job to slide your finger in the direction you wish him to fire, with the game drawing out a small arrow to let you know which way he'll head at any given time. Then all you have to do is let go of the screen and hope for the best. With several platforms making up each stage, success in HoPiKo is a multiple case of rinse and repeat, with every move carried out at lightning speed.
There are other distractions along the way, however. Along with different kinds of moves that are later filtered into play, new songs in the game's (frankly brilliant chip-tune) soundtrack are actually unlocked not as you progress to new batches of levels, but within the levels themselves. Little MP3 players pop up every now and again that are designed to take you slightly off course, but when captured bring with them a brand new tune, each one just as catchy as the last.
It's an inventive way of doing something very simple that most developers would overlook, yet it serves as the perfect symbol of what HoPiKo looks to do from the start: a game that, on the surface, could have come out 20 or 30 years ago, but one that adds the odd fresh touch here and there to bring play into the 21st century. It's this link back to games of old, however, particularly when it comes to HoPiKo's difficulty level, that really stands out. The decision to make the game utterly unforgiving of failure will, no doubt, alienate large amounts of mobile gamers, many of which will close down and uninstall HoPiKo after a few failed attempts.
Indeed, it could easily be argued that the game's one weakness is that it doesn't explain itself especially well in its opening few levels. Success in HoPiKo requires perseverance, even when, unlike leagues of other mobile games, every indicator is telling you you're a bit rubbish. It's that old school approach to gaming – get better or die trying – that makes HoPiKo really stand out.
When every other game on earth rewards you for no reason whatsoever, handing out trinkets aplenty for winning a tutorial contest, or simply sticking with it, having a title that only honours talent and ability is refreshing. Just be warned, if you want to come out on top in HoPiKo, you'll need to have that talent and ability in spades.
Verdict
Utterly old school in all the right ways, HoPiKo's punishing set up may alienate more casual gamers, but it's a glorious celebration of reaction-based arcade play of old, with a superb soundtrack adding to a game with an unashamedly retro ethic.
Here are the best 2048 cheats/tips/tricks/hints to get better at the game.
2048 is definitely an incredible game that has a lot of fans in the entire world. All you have to do is to combine the matching tiles in order to create other tiles that have a bigger number.
It may seem easy but actually it is a very complicated game. If you want to reach the 2048 tile then you must have a special strategy and to think every move in advance.
Read the following four tips and you will be able to find out some interesting things that could help you improve your game.
1. Large tiles shouldn’t be your main goal
You may feel the temptation to chase larger numbered tiles and to combine them. This is actually something that you should avoid doing if you want to be sure that you are going to reach the 2048 tile.
Focus on smaller ones and do not worry at all for a specific set of tiles. In the end they are going to meet or you will create a new tile that ends up right next to it.
2. The corners are your best friends
If you stay in the corner then you will have more of the main game board for new tiles that can be brought. Keep your tiles grouped in the corners and bring the new tiles into the middle area when you can. Then you can combine them with other tiles in the corners.
You can start in the upper left hand corner and you can even make larger combos only by moving the entire board to diagonal or to the bottom left.
3. Take some time to think
Finding the best move each time is almost impossible. If you don’t choose the right move in a certain moment then you should not despair. You have a lot of chances to recover from a bad move if you manage to keep enough empty spaces on the board.
If you want to be sure that you will choose a suitable move then you shouldn’t hurry and you should analyze all the tiles properly.
4. Make moves where multiple tiles merge first
If you get the chance to merge multiple stacks of cards in the same move then do it. Your main goal should be to keep multiple empty spaces on the board. This offers you certain flexibility.
If you make a single move then you are basically replacing a card with another one.
On the other hand if you combine multiple cards then you are actually creating some new empty spaces and this is always a good thing.
Pokemon Go has been out for over a month now, and still the Niantic Labs-developed app continues to impact not just the mobile gaming market but the culture at large. The game's first few weeks of release have led to boosted sales performances for some businesses, the accidental discovery of multiple dead bodies, and a continued search for how and when legendary Pokemon will actually appear in the game.
And though Niantic's updates to the app, removing some features while promising the return of others, as well as the alleged appearance of previously unseen Pokemon like Articuno have dominated the conversation around the game this week, the app has had continued effects outside of the game itself. (And for more on all things Pokemon, check out the latest episode of IGN's new Pokemon show, Secret Base.)
Here are some of the craziest Pokemon Go stories from the last week.
1. Olympic Gymnast Generates $5,000 Phone Bill Playing Pokemon Go
Gymnast Kohei Uchimura from Japan is in Brazil for the 2016 Olympic Games, and he's been playing Pokemon Go while abroad to pass the time. Unfortunately, in the process he amassed a $4,954, or about 500,000 yen, phone bill thanks to roaming charges. After explaining the situation to his phone company, Uchimura convinced them to waive the extra costs and charge him a flat $30 per day fee.
Just ahead of the Olympic Games, Niantic announced that Pokemon Go is now available in Brazil.
2. Battery Pack Sales Double Thanks to Pokemon Go
Niantic recently removed the battery saver option for iOS players from the game, promising it would return within "several days." But whether you're playing on an Android or iOS device, the game can still be a hefty drain on your battery. So it's no surprise players have started investing in extra battery packs. The demand has been so high, though, according to The NPD Group, that sales of battery packs for mobile devices grew by 101 percent between July 10 and July 23. If only the game came with its own personal Magnemite.
3. Iranian Authorities Ban Pokemon Go Over "Security Concerns"
The High Council of Virtual Spaces in Iran has banned Pokemon Go in the country, according to the BBC, citing unspecified security worries. The BBC notes, however, that social media posts in the country suggest players have ignored the ban and continue to play the game. While Iran is the first country to ban the game, The BBC also detailed that other countries have put some limits on play of the game, such as Indonesia, where police officers are forbidden from playing the game while on duty.
4. Niantic, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company Sued Over Pokemon Go Players Trespassing
A lawsuit has been filed against the companies behind Pokemon Go, seeking class action status. The plaintiff is contesting that Niantic Labs set Pokestops and Pokemon Gyms on his property in Wesr Orange, New Jersey without his consent, and as a result players are hampering his quality of life. The suit was filed on July 29, giving Niantic Labs, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company several weeks to respond to the suit.
IGN also took a look this week about whether Pokemon Go and the game's function of placing virtual goods on private property is even legal.
5. Man Falls Off Pier While Playing Pokemon Go
We wouldn't have believed it either, but IGN's own Andrew Goldfarb came into work with the injuries to prove it. Hear the details of his harrowing journey below.
As fun as Pokemon GO can be, it can become a grind as players begin to gain levels slower. Here’s every known method of earning XP to help plan and speed up trainer growth.
Pokemon GO may be a game built entirely around the premise of journeying out into the real world and fulfilling many peoples’ dreams of becoming a Pokemon trainer, but it’s easy to forget that in the world of Pocket Monsters, being a trainer is a full-time job. Pokemon GO starts out holding players’ hands and guiding them gently through the alternate reality game’s simple set-up, but sooner rather than later leveling up in Pokemon GO becomes a much more difficult task. Pokeballs become scarce, more frequent trips to Pokestops have to be made, and Pokemon begin to put up more of a fight when trainers attempt to catch them.
These elements haven’t stopped Pokemon GO from making Nintendo worth more than Sony for the first time in years, and they likely won’t stop many fans from continuing down the path to becoming a Pokemon master. People have already found a work around for Pokemon GO‘s broken tracking system, and luckily for those who are experiencing grind fatigue after the game’s easier earlier leveling, the solution for XP is much easier.
All trainers need to do is plan a little and maximize their chances and returns on the actions that generate XP. Here at Game Rant, we’ve assembled a list of every way gamers can earn XP in Niantic and Nintendo’s smash hit – and with careful, deliberate planning, most fans won’t even have to quit their jobs for Pokemon GO in order to rack up copious amounts of experience points.
0-50 XP Awarded
Train at a Gym – this XP amount varies based upon how strong the trainer’s selected Pokemon is. If the Pokemon is significantly overpowered, the trainer will earn less XP than using a Pokemon that is closer in strength to the others at the Gym.
10 XP Awarded
Curveball Bonus – awarded to players for spinning their Pokeball by rotating their finger very fast on the screen, which will then cause the Pokeball throw to have a distinct curve on it and require a different trajectory than normal.
Nice! Throw Bonus – awarded for players who simply get the Pokeball to land within the outer white circle when succeeding to capture the Pokemon on that throw.
50 XP Awarded
Great! Throw Bonus – awarded for players who get the Pokeball to land inside the inner circle when it is exactly half of its biggest size.
Pokestop Interaction
100 XP Awarded
Successful Pokemon Capture
Excellent! Throw Bonus – awarded for players who get the Pokeball to land inside the direct middle of the outer circle when the inner one is at its absolute smallest.
200 XP Awarded
Hatch an Egg (2km)
500 XP Awarded
Hatch an Egg (5km)
Add New Pokemon to Pokedex
Evolve a Pokemon
1000 XP Awarded
Hatch an Egg (10km)
Of course, all of this information is helpful, but it’s pretty clear that in a game with this many XP options, some methods will be better than others. In that regard, there is a clear winner – the Lucky Egg method that many gamers have been using to significantly decrease the amount of grind time in between levels.
The Lucky Egg method works as a result of some long-term planning. First, players need to save up a high amount of Pokemon who are cheap to evolve, since the evolve bonus is the same regardless of how much candy has been spent evolving the evolved Pokemon – Rattata, Pidgey, Caterpie, and Weedle are excellent choices for this method. Next, trainers should use the Lucky Egg item, which doubles the amount of XP a player earns for the next half hour. Next, it’s just a simple matter of evolving as many Pokemon as possible within that half hour to earn 1000 XP per evolution!
It might not be the glamorous life many people thought being a Pokemon Trainer might entail, but the power leveling Lucky Egg method works, and it works well. Just remember – as with any gameplay involving Pokemon GO, be safe, and if nothing else, make sure not to crash a car into a police officer’s vehicle while playing Pokemon GO.
Capturing Pokemon with AR on is part of the fun, especially when the pocket monsters pop up in inappropriate places, but it's way easier to capture Pokemon without worrying about aiming your phone camera. And strangers, for the most part, don't like having phones pointed at them. Why not turn off AR and relieve them of social anxiety? You can do that by tapping the AR toggle when you're capturing wild Pokemon. Pokemon will then sit perfectly still on a grassy field, though they will occasionally hop or gyrate to make capturing difficult. But at least this way you can focus on just the Pokemon, and not worry about reorienting the camera or suffering the death stares of real-life NPCs.
Summon Nearby Pokemon
After weeks of bug-squashing and feature-tweaking, the Pokemon locator tab is completely different. Now, instead of footsteps that indicate how close or far a certain Pokemon is, you'll just see a a Sightings section, with a graphic of the wild critter next to a tuft of grass and…that's it. No more footprints, no way of knowing if they're within spitting distance. Just if they're in the general area. At least it's better than playing blind.
However, the recent update also rolled out a more useful change, but only for a few users. If you're one of the lucky few, you can view the Pokemon that are wandering around nearby Pokestops. You'll see a series of real-world overlays of the Pokestops (for example, a picture of Madison Square Garden or the Liberty Bell), which you can then tap to view an overhead view, showing you where you should head towards. The Pokemon should be within a block or two of that particular landmark. But developer Niantic has been trigger-happy about pulling features, so tread carefully. This feature could change yet again in the near future…
CP Explained
CP simply means Combat Power, and it's the number above each wild Pokemon. It indicates their battle prowess, and as you gain more experience points (or XP) and level up as a Trainer, the CP of the Pokemon you find will become higher.
We're still learning about Combat Power, but here's what we know so far. In an individual Pokemon's stat screen, you'll see a semi-circle at the top. The part that's bold with a dot at the end indicates that Pokemon's current maximum Combat Point potential. Some Pokemon have higher maximum CP than others. For example, an intimidating, spiky Pinsir will likely be stronger than a tiny, wormy Caterpie. But, if you find a 50 CP Pikachu, that doesn't mean it's stronger than a 20 CP one. For efficiency's sake, though, you'll probably want to Power Up the 50 CP Pikachu with Candies.
Whether you Power Up or Evolve a Pokemon first is up to you. Some believe powering up a 'Mon before evolving it results in even higher CP, but there's no confirmation of that yet. But, your Pokemon's max CP rises along with your Trainer level, so don't neglect those curve balls (more on that shortly) and be sure to visit Pokestops whenever you can! Get dat XP!
Extra Note: It looks like your Pokemon's weight/size (XL or XS) could affect their stats, like CP, HP, and dodge speed. Again, there's a lot of rumor mongering and unconfirmed info out there at the moment, so that could be a bunch of Bouffalant hockey.
Check the Moves
You might catch a few different Staryus that are all around the same CP, but take a look at the two moves each Pokemon has when you catch it, and the power level of each move. If you catch a 98CP Staryu and a 105 CP Staryu, and the slightly weaker one has Water Gun and Psybeam, while the stronger one only knows how to Tackle and Body Slam, go for the better move set.
Next to each move you'll also see how much damage it does, along with a blue power meter for the second (more powerful) move, which indicates when your Pokemon's power move is ready to rock in a battle. Better moves, more power, better Pokemon. You can always make up some CP points later.
Can I Optimize Egg Hatching? And What's a Kilometer?!
While visiting Pokestops, you'll probably pick up some eggs, from which Pokemon hatch. But first, you need to incubate them, and then walk around. To do that, go to your Pokemon collection, and in the upper-right you'll see an Eggs tab. Tap that, choose an egg, then an incubator. Then you walk around and wait for the hatch.
Here's some advice: Don't waste your time incubating the 2K (kilometer) eggs unless you really want more low-level Pokemon (though that isn't a bad way to get a starter you missed or snag yourself a Pikachu). The 5K eggs can net you some decent ones like Cubone, Porygon, Machops, or Sandshrew. The 10K eggs get you more powerful, uncommon ones like Snorlax. Take a look at this handy infographic for a more in-depth egg breakdown, courtesy of Reddit.
Could You, Would You On a Train?
You can even hatch eggs if you're on a bicycle, bus, or train. The app just registers that you're moving; it won't actually care that you're not walking. So, you can hop on your bike and keep the app open to not only get some exercise, but hatch some sweet Snorlax bros as well. Another great way to incubate and hatch eggs is to go for a run!
To pick up more incubators, you can either buy them outright in the real-money Shop or by getting lucky at Pokestops, though they are rare. You also gain more incubators and other more rare items as you level up. And remember: Pokestops replenish every 10 to 15 minutes, which is remarkably fast for a free-to-play mobile game!
By the way, 5 kilometers is about equal to 3.1 miles. Pokemon Go, not only does it bring us together, it educates.
Pokeball 101
When capturing wild Pokemon, you can throw a curveball to gain more XP. All you have to do is jiggle the ball! Jiggle it good! Basically, you tap the ball, hold it, and spin it around clock- or counterclockwise until it sparkles. Once it's shining up, toss it and boom! If you capture the critter you'll get a curveball XP bonus.
But wait, there's more: Where you throw the curveball depends on how you throw after the spin. Apparently, it helps to throw the ball in the opposite direction of the initial spin. So, if you're spinning it clockwise, you'll want to toss the ball to the left. How the ball moves after a spin seems pretty random to me, though.
Supposedly, if you botch a toss you can tap the Pokeball when it bounces or rolls away in order to retrieve it. But I've been tapping away and trying this out for a while, with no real indication that it works. But some people online have say it works for them. Huge, if true.
The Razz Berries Taste Like Razz Berries!
We explained in our primer that razz berries are items you can feed a Pokemon to slow it down before you capture it. More importantly, you can use razz berries in tandem with a stronger Pokeball (especially once you start leveling up and unlocking Great Balls and Ultra Balls) to catch particularly feisty or extremely rare Pokemon that cross your path.
One of the aspiring trainers right here in the PCMag Labs caught themselves a Dragonair doing just that. Feed the Pokemon a razz berry, take out a Great Ball, give it some good arc on your throw, and catching just got a whole lot easier.
Gain More XP! Faster!!
The best way to grind XP is to capture multiple low-level Pokemon, pay attention to the number of candy they require to evolve, and wait until you have enough Candy for multiple evolutions at the same time. By capturing the same type of Pokémon over and over you gain more Stardust and Candy. So, don't think ill of all those Doduos, Caterpies, and Weedles! They're potentially useful because you can transfer duplicates, which will earn you 1 candy of that Pokemon type. Then, use a Lucky Egg and evolve all of the Pokemon at the same time to gain double the amount of XP. Pidgeys are especially pretty good for this.
Some words of wisdom on Stardust and Candy, though: think carefully about what Pokemon you want to power up now, and which ones you want to save for after you evolve. The more you power up a Pokemon you eventually plan on evolving, the longer it'll take you to collect the 25, 50, or 100 candies you need to evolve that little guy and see the Pokemon's CP skyrocket anyway. Pro tip: evolve the Pokemon first, then power it up. Better to use your stardust on Pokemon that are finished evolving or only have one form to optimize your battle lineup, with a bunch of even stronger Pokemon waiting in the wings, piling up candies to take your squad to the next level once they evolve.
But, Wait! What the Heck Is a Lucky Egg?!
It's an egg that's lucky! Really, it's filled with happiness and most importantly, grants you double the amount of experience points you can gain for 30 minutes at a time. You can only buy these in the Shop, with Coins. If you've got a couple Pokemon you're almost ready to evolve, save up those candies until you've got a Lucky Egg, then evolve them all one after another while the Lucky Egg's dank XP aura is in the air to double down on that extra CP and XP.
How Do I Transfer?!
Tap a Pokemon in the menu, scroll down below its bio, and tap Transfer. You get 1 candy per transfer. But you better be sure you want that Pokemon transferred to Professor Willow, because once you do, that Pokemon goes bye-bye.
How Much XP You Get for Each Action
Capture a Pokemon: 100 XP
Capture Bonuses:
Nice: 10 XP
Great: 100 XP
Excellent: 100 XP
Curveball: 10 XP
Hatch a Pokemon:
2K: 200 XP
5K: 500 XP
10K: 1000 XP
Evolve a Pokemon: 500 XP
Register a new Pokemon in your Pokedex: 500 XP
Check a Pokestop: 50 XP or 100 XP (if six or more items)
Training at a Gym: Depends on success
Battle Pokemon at a Gym: Depends on success
So far it looks like the maximum level you can reach in Pokemon Go is 100. You gain numerous rewards for each level gain, including Potions, Incense, Revives, Egg Incubators, and, eventually, Super Potions, Razz Berries, Hyper Potions, Great Balls, and Ultra Balls. The elusive Master Ball has yet to be glimpsed, but if you fulfill your destiny of finding and beating the Elite 4, maybe you can be the chosen one who's granted the ultimate Pokemon power and enters Cerulean Cave to find your Mewtwo.
Used Incense?! Then You Gotta Move!
Wily Reddit users found a way into the game's code to figure out how Incense works. In case you need a reminder, Incense covers your Trainer in a pink, fluffy fragrance that attracts wild Pokemon to your location for 30 minutes. But you can't just be complacent and sit there waiting for Pokemon. If you stay still, you'll only see one Pokemon every five minutes, which isn't a great way to spend your time. Instead, take a walk and you'll lure one Pokemon every 200 meters.
Location Matters
Just like in the core, handheld Pokemon games (or real-life animals) certain Pokemon types only dwell in certain locations. Do you want to collect a lot of Magikarps to evolve one of them into a fearsome Gyrados? Or fetch yourself a Squirtle? Then head down to the river, lake, or reservoir, because that's where Water-type Pokemon will appear! Want to catch Beedrill, Bulbasaur, or other Bug- and Plant-type critters? Take a stroll through the woods. And big-city dwellers may wonder why there are so many Electric-type Pokemon like Magnemite and Voltorb around. That's because they like to hang around electric billboards (maybe).
Evolve That Eevee! Rename It!
If you remember the original Pokemon cartoon, you may recall the three Eevee Brothers, who each owned one of Eevee's evolutions: a Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon. If you nickname your Eevee one of the brothers' punny names, then it will evolve into your desired evolution! Want a Flareon? Then name it Pyro. Want a Jolteon? Name it Sparky! Jonesing for a Vaporeon? Then call it Rainer. This may not work all the time, however; it's an almost-guaranteed way to evolve one of your Eevees, but this weird method may not work 100 percent of the time.
Who's That Pokemon? It's Pikachu!
If you're already a Level 30 trainer, then you may not care about this tip. But if you're just starting out and you're about to select your starter Pokemon (Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle), don't! Like Lord Humongous says: "Just walk away!" Instead, walk away from the starters, and keep ignoring them, and eventually, the plump electric mouse himself will appear for you to recruit. Finally, you, too, can be just like Ash Ketchum.
More Pokemon Scanning! Track Them With Your Compass!
Remember that tab in the lower-right corner with the footsteps? Well, after you select a Pokemon you want to track, you can turn on your compass (the icon in the upper right), then slowly turn yourself around in a circle. The lower-right tab will begin to pulse green when you're facing the direction of the Pokemon you're tracking. Not only that, the pulse will quicken as you near your target.
Lighten Your Load, Throw Away Potions!
If you're anything like me, you shoot from the hip and let Pokeballs fly where they may. And, if you're anything like me, eventually, you're going to run out of Pokeballs that way. And if you stroll by a Pokestop, chances are your bag will be full and you will be unable to collect more Pokeballs! Well, don't let that stop you. Just open your inventory and chuck some potions. Chances are you don't need 99 of every Potion type, so get rid of some and you'll get your Pokeballs back in no time…so long as you stroll by more Pokestops, or wait around for them to refresh.
Have Patience, Kricketot! You Can Capture All Pokemon!
You don't have to evolve everything you come across. With patience, you could potentially find a Blastoise, or even a Charizard, out in the wild. Maybe even a Gyarados. Just don't expect Mew or any of the legendary birds, however—although their existence has been found in the game's code. They're locked away for now, but one day, we'll get 'em.
It's Over 1,000!!!
That's right. This is some advanced stuff. Just like in the core games, there are hidden stats called Individual Values, or IVs, that affect a Pokemon's strength. Wild Pokemon IVs are randomly determined, so that Pikachu with high CP and HP that you caught may actually—ultimately!—evolve into a weaker Raichu than a Pikachu with lower CP and HP, but higher IVs. That's why it's important to catch as many Pokemon as you can, so you can whittle them down to the best of the best.
If this all sounds confusing, don't worry about it. Just plug in your Pokemon's CP, HP, and the Stardust needed to evolve it into this IV Calculator. With that, you can figure out exactly which of your Pokemon to evolve. This is especially helpful if you have multiple candidates to evolve but a limited amount of Candy. It's like the Eugenics Wars of the 1990s, but with Snorlax!
Want the Best of the Best? Pay Attention to IVs!
Having a tough time battling gyms? Well, Reddit user Kyurun figured out how to guarantee your evolved Pokemon will have over 1,000 CP. Turns out, your unevolved 'Mon needs to have a minimum amount of CP before it can evolve. Refer to the handy chart above to find what those numbers are! It's not exact, however. You may evolve a Raichu with a CP number outside of the predicted range. For more accurate results, you'll have to pay attention to your Pokemon's IVs…
Team Time: Long Live Valor!
If you're just starting out, you may notice gyms that are blue, red, or yellow. And you've probably figured out that you can't do anything with gyms yet! That's because you need to be at Level 5. Once you are, visit a gym and join one of three teams: Team Mystic (blue), Team Valor (red), or Team Instinct (yellow). Each team has a leader: Blanche for blue, Candela for red, and Spark for yellow. Not only that, each team represents one of the three Legendary Birds: Articuno for blue, Moltres for red, and Zapdos for yellow.
Nothing's been confirmed yet, but this could mean that a future quest would reward each team member with a chance to catch their respective legendary bird. And there's some credence to that theory...
Articuno or Articunot?
...Articuno has already been found in the game! Sort of. (Developer Niantic has already taken it away.) And no, the person who caught it was not cheating, as you can read on our sister siteGeek.com. So, if you come across Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Mew, Mewtwo, or any of the other legendary Pokemon, keep in mind that they are NOT officially part of Pokemon Go (at least not of the time of this writing). Chances are, any lucky run-ins are mistakes on Niantic's part.
What's in a Nickname? Change It!
A new feature that was added with an Aug. 8 patch: Changing names! It's easy-peasy. Just tap the Pokeball on the main screen at the bottom > Settings > tap Change Nickname. You'll get a warning that you can only change your nickname once, so choose wisely, and make it count! And make sure it's at least PG-rated because other Trainers are going to see it.
PCMag Talks Pokemon Go
In a Special Edition of our daily news show, Random Access, PCMag analysts Matthew Buzzi, Ajay Kumar, Rob Marvin, and Timothy Torres chat all about Pokemon Go. The foursome dole out tips, debunk some rumors, discuss business, and talk about how Niantic and Nintendo's phenomenon has the world going crazy trying to catch them all.
This is EA's second mixed martial arts title, after the appropriately titled EA Sports MMA, which debuted as now-defunct publisher THQ released yearly installments of its own UFC series. With the death of THQ, UFC and EA made a new deal. EA Sports UFC is the result.
Players who enjoyed EA's Fight Night series may find much familiar about UFC's physics-based combat and teeth-rattling emphasis on realistically rendered damage to the human body. But where Fight Night and even THQ's UFC titles found varied success, with controls that were accessible to normal human beings, this new UFC's intense physicality is often overshadowed by a complicated, impenetrably opaque input scheme.
UFC'S PHYSICALITY IS OVERSHADOWED BY AN OPAQUE CONTROL SCHEME
On its surface, EA Sports UFC seeks to be the total UFC package. It has a roster of dozens of real-world UFC competitors in a number of weight classes ready to beat the crap out of each other online or locally, each with their own collection of specialties and techniques. But UFC also offers a career mode taken straight from EA's boxing series Fight Night, albeit with a UFC-oriented twist.
After creating a custom character — which, disappointingly, is limited to male fighters despite the inclusion of the UFC's women fighters elsewhere in the game — you'll take them through The Ultimate Fighter reality show as you seek to make it to the big show and, ultimately, a title in your weight class.
EA Sports UFC takes the brutal, in-your-face violence and detail of the Fight Night games and ratchets up both. There's an intense sense of physicality on display — punches and kicks crash against bodies that often seem all too human, despite a strangely inconsistent whole. Fighters in UFChave slack zombie faces and dead eyes, but their bodies take cringe-inducingly realistic damage. More than once, my immediate reaction to a knockout was "that person is dead now."
Note: I'm usually all about body shots in UFC, but the game goes out of its way to explain how dangerous Hendricks is with one-hit knockouts. So my strategy was to open him up to the same thing, and keep my distance from his left hand. And then I killed him, it looks like.
This is the best thing EA Sports UFC has going for it. Instead of static life bars, fighters have stamina that depletes with every action and regenerates based on their activity. Damage is done to specific areas of the body, and you can see how well you're whaling on someone via a diagram of their body in either corner of the screen. As an area gets weak, it turns red, signaling its increased vulnerability.
Or, you know, you could just keep kicking them in the ribs where the giant, swelling mass of bruises is forming. Or hit them in the face until blood is (literally) splashing out. UFC is not for the faint of heart, which I also suppose is the ultimate true-to-its-source compliment — though, thankfully, I have yet to see any compound fractures in EA's digital Octagon.
The problem, though, is getting to that point. While there's a significant and tangible sense of payoff and progress in EA Sports UFC's career mode, as well as every individual fight that I've had in the game, it's an uphill climb through the most maddeningly complicated control scheme I've ever encountered in a game.
"MORE THAN ONCE, MY IMMEDIATE REACTION TO A KNOCKOUT WAS 'THAT PERSON IS DEAD NOW.'"
The controls aren't just complex; they're overwhelming. On my feet, it was often as much as I could do keep up with my expanding repertoire. Every button on the controller is used, but more, they're often used in tandem with other buttons. If I wanted to do a roundhouse kick to the midsection — my bread and butter for my UFC career — I had to hold the left trigger and back on the left stick, and hit the A button.
This isn't even a complicated move, by EA Sports UFC standards. That's left to more over-the-top and, in my experience, less useful moves, the capoeira kicks, the flying roundhouses. For flashier moves, UFC demands commensurate finger gymnastics, requiring you to hold at least one trigger, a bumper, be pushing the stick in a direction — or no direction at all! — and then hitting the appropriate face button.
I mostly stuck to the simpler moves. It was the only the way to keep my sanity amid what UFC was offering me, though the game did little to explain why any of it might be necessary or useful — more on that later.
That sanity was casually flung aside whenever I was drawn into a clinch (where the two fighters grapple with one another standing), or, in a recurring nightmare of profanity and frustration, taken to the mat for EA Sports UFC's infuriating ground-game mechanics.
Getting to the ground requires a string of right stick shoves, half-circles and, I'm convinced, dark ritual magic if you want to consistently find success. Computer opponents have much less trouble getting you on your back, and once there, regaining your footing requires ... well, I'm not actually sure. I think that clicking the left stick and holding it in a direction is what makes it happen, but UFCis content to merely gesture in the vicinity of instruction here.
I'll reiterate this, because it's easily the biggest failing of EA Sports UFC's inaugural outing. It has the single most complicated control scheme of any game I've ever played, and addresses one of the most sophisticated one-on-one competitive sports in existence. But EA Sports UFC does an absolutely abysmal job of: one) teaching you how any of its moves work or what the logic behind its control scheme is beyond low, mid and high attacks, and two) explaining why you should be doing any of the things you can do.
EA Sports UFC allows you to use every limb, elbows and knees, even your shoulders to do harm; to target either leg, the midsection, the head. And it doesn't seem to give a shit if you get any of it, or learn anything about its systems. My solution playing through career mode was to get taken down to the mat as infrequently as possible, and to furiously push in the left stick when I was down, praying to get back to my feet.
There's lip service paid to understanding these mechanics via mandatory training in the career mode and a series of challenges. But these are with little exception opponents that do not fight back, where there's no resistance whatsoever to the harm you intend to do them. In practice, in actual matches, the bumper holding and right stick quarter circles worked rarely, and I could never tell if I was doing them wrong, or if my character just wasn't powerful enough to make transitions in a clinch happen.
All of this is so infuriating because somewhere, beneath the labyrinthine bowels of UFC's ground game and clinch mechanics, there's an almost uncomfortably visceral fighting game on display.
When I landed punches and kicks in EA Sports UFC, I felt it the way I do when watching boxing or MMA. The physics and collision-driven movement and attacks feel natural and intuitive, when they work. And the crazy, jump-off-your-couch unpredictability is threaded throughout the game, especially in multiplayer. One match with a friend ended with the second punch, a body blow that must have hit a kidney, sending their fighter to their knees, clutching their midsection as the ref called the fight. We couldn't stop talking about it; it provided as good a water cooler moment as any pay-per-view.
But there are other water-cooler moments EA Sports UFC might wish were less prominent. EA Sports UFC is awash in technical problems: The sluggish UI seems to introduce minor freezes and stutters during gameplay in addition to providing a laughably poor user experience. Then there are the often-hilarious physics and collision bugs that result in Cronenbergian body distortion.
Worse, the game often crashes entirely, and this issue is occasionally repeatable at the worst possible times. In my career mode playthrough, EA Sports UFC froze and crashed every time I won my third title defense, no matter how many rounds I dragged the fight on or how I ended my opponent's challenge. The only way to force the game forward was to lose the fight. Coincidentally, I also lost any interest in continuing my UFC career after that.
EA SPORTS UFC'S AWESOME UNPREDICTABILITY IS BURIED UNDER A MOUNTAIN OF PROBLEMS
EA Sports UFC feels barely held together, a collection of parts that are often as frustrating as they are poorly explained. Somewhere, in all of the complication and opacity, is a game unlike anything else out there, that finds the unpredictability and wildness that set MMA apart from other combat sports. But there's an awful lot of bad to dig through to find it. More new free games
When Ubisoft first dangled Assassin's Creed in front of us almost a decade ago, the French publisher billed it as a slice 'em and dice 'em stealth game. The world Assassin's Creed Identity enters in 2016, however, is one where the IP has shifted into an all action, sandbox-style adventure. From the way Identity presents itself – the cities to explore, the haystacks to hide in, the walls to climb and the people to take out – you'd imagine it stands as a rather good fit.
In practice, however, Identity plays like every Assassin's Creed fan's nightmare; almost all of the aforementioned features are botched, painful, and implemented in an entirely half hearted measure. In short, if you ever needed evidence that Assassin's Creed just isn't a game for mobile, this is it.
Things start in a promising fashion. Traversing the game's array of Italian cities has been simplified compared to the console releases, with climbing walls just a case of running up to them, hopping over barriers pulled off in a similar manner and combat locked off to specific battles rather than part of a free-flowing populous. It's an approach that gives the feel of Assassin's Creed without getting bogged down in the intricacies of the console counterparts. Even the missions are broken down into short and sharp memories with set missions to accomplish – there's little room given to check out the game's sights and sounds along the way.
The upgrade system has been similarly altered for mobile. Rather than spending money in the shops on the city's streets, upgrades are made in a (needlessly complex and often headache-inducing) menu system, when credit accumulated from successful missions can be used to bulk up everything from abilities to weaponry. It's a process that borrows heavily from mobile's free-to-play elite (despite this being a paid release), though in truth it isn't all too demanding of your time if all you want to do is get to the action.
It's the action itself, however, where things start to go wrong. Mission's tend to revolve around taking out targets or saving an ally from attack, though Assassin's Creed Identity dictates how you do it. An early level tasks you with taking out a thief. Problem is, the game is particularly picky about just when you can kill him; even if you manage to catch up with him fairly early on as he attempts to slip from your presence, Identity won't actually let you take the crook down. Rather, you have to track him to the other side of the city in order to slice complete the kill in a set location, for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
At the same time, should you encounter any guards along your travels, you'll be forced into combat with them – often a particularly taxing exercise, given that a side goal to some of the missions is to avoid taking any other lives. Attempting to skip these encounters is tricky; guards simply lock onto you and the game prevents you from moving on until a gauge enabling you to dash has filled up.
The controls don't help, either. A virtual thumbstick on the left side of the screen handles movement, with swiping your finger on the right turning the view. Controlling both is an especially fiddly encounter, especially when attempting to do so whilst chasing a target streaking away from you. At points, it's impossible to keep your view in check, meaning running into walls or down dead ends is as common as your progress is inelegant. For a game where tracking assailants at pace is a fairly common exercise, to have the controls and the game itself (which jerks even on an iPhone 6S or iPad Air, as tested) combine to undermine the experience is unacceptable.
The end result is, while Ubisoft has seemingly realised that Assassin's Creed needs a break on console to retool, Identity is evidence a similar rest is needed on mobile. Ironically, this is one franchise that could do with hiding away in the shadows for a bit. More new free games
Asphalt 8: Airborne is a very successful racing game, perilously tied to a frustrating business model. The sheer sensation of speed and momentum, natural controls, and wealth of content make it highly recommendable, but it has a tendency to put up unnecessary roadblocks with constant reminders that you can purchase your way around them. Game review
This is the eighth game in the series, so it shouldn’t be surprising that Gameloft has locked down the basic mechanics. The silky smooth tilt controls for steering feel intuitive, and since the cars auto-accelerate, the two halves of the screen function as gigantic buttons to trigger brakes and nitro boosts. Those three basic building blocks are all that’s needed to offer really precise handling across the nine well-differentiated environments, which run the gamut from a neon-soaked Tokyo rife with sharp turns to the ramp-laden streets of London.
Asphalt 8’s addition to the series, the air stunts, are a nice twist that offer nitro boosts as rewards, which gives them a risk-reward dynamic. Taking to the air is often slower than sticking to the streets, so making split-second decisions about whether I could spare that time to make it up with the boost I’d earn helps add tension to races. The physics occasionally behave erratically, leading to a jump or spin not behaving like you’d expect and flubbing the trick. It’s rare, but it can be a bother.
Asphalt is lengthy, offering eight seasons of increasing speed classes and 180 races in all, plus a full-fledged online mode with all the maps and race types available. Most of the races are standard multi-car or one-on-one matches. The longevity is a double-edged sword to some extent, since the large number of events means each of those maps get repeated several times. Sure, it’s fun speeding down the streets of Barcelona in a faster car, but after a dozen or so times I knew the turns so well that I’d either win easily, or be hopelessly outmatched by better cars. Skill was no longer the deciding factor; it all came down to purchasing better vehicles.
A few modes do offer more inventive race types. Infection became a quick favorite of mine – it gives all the “infected” racers unlimited boosts, but with the constant threat of burning out once the infection passes if you fail to add time by spreading it. Another mode, Knockdown, deemphasizes the race aspect and instead has you attempt to cause more crashes than your opponent.
To keep these events spread out, the pacing is dictated by collecting stars to unlock new seasons of races. They’re granted by winning races, or fulfilling special conditions like a certain number of drifts or takedowns. Within the seasons, certain events require a particular car that can be purchased with in-game currency. By the time I reached the mid-point, the hodgepodge of car requirements felt like an unworkable maze. I constantly needed more stars, but by that point progression required me to spend a large wad of cash on a car that might only be useful for one event. I would begrudgingly buy it, earn the five stars available in that event, and then go looking for another that could slowly inch me towards the next season.
Of course, Asphalt is more than happy to remind you that you can simply purchase some cars or in-game currency to speed up the process. The packs of cars are either a sampling of a particular speed class, or a variety pack of middling vehicles, so neither is a workable long-term solution. Packs of currency are even less helpful. They may be enough to field some purchases in the early game, but not later when stars are in short supply and expensive cars are more desperately needed. In short, no single purchase would see you through the campaign, and some of them are extremely pricey.
At 99 cents, Asphalt 8: Airborne is a highly polished racer with loads of content, but its pacing is slowed by aggressive gating that pushes too hard toward its in-app purchases. The later season requirements are too intrusive and the grind starts to wear thin after a while, but until that feeling sets in, Asphalt 8 is quite a ride. At the very least, it’s worth playing for a while, even if exhaustion is likely to set in before you make it to the last lap.
The Verdict
Asphalt 8: Airborne is an intuitive racer with a large variety of race modes and cars to take for a spin. It provides plenty of content for its price at first, but the business model forces grinding or heavy purchases in the late-game. More new free games on mobile
You have to wonder whether, during the depths of Chelsea's catastrophic season this year, Jose Mourinho worried around his Top Eleven contract with Nordeus. Top Eleven 2016, like all recent versions of the game, comes emblazoned with Jose's face and is littered with pictures of the 'Special One' throughout, but all at a time when the man himself is out of a job. Suffice to say, Mourinho's lack of employment serves as more of an embarrassment for Top Eleven than the great man himself.
Luckily, Top Eleven has always had very little to do with Mourinho beyond the superficial, meaning that its approach to football management – which intentionally strays from the 'traditional' Championship Manager model – remains entirely intact. In fact, as fans of the franchise are well aware, developer Nordeus simply updates the existing Top Eleven app on iOS and Android each year rather than pushing out a new version.
It's an admirable decision which means that, from the world go, the Top Eleven universe is populated with millions of players to take on, and chances are a fair few of your Facebook contacts will already be on its books.
That's important because Top Eleven, both now and before, is built around multiplayer. Setting up a fictitious club based in the country and city of your choosing, career matches are scheduled in for set times of the day, taking place with or without your involvement.
Indeed, your main job in Top Eleven – aside from choosing a formation and just which players will take to the field – is training your squad and making sure they're in the best shape possible for the match ahead.
Training is crucial in Top Eleven, with each run adding ability both to your players and helping you level up as a coach, the latter unlocking new abilities you can then put into force with your players. There's no real limit to just how much you train your players (and, indeed, if you want to be fully prepared for your next match, you'll need to squeeze in a good few), but overdoing it will tire them out – a gauge you'll need to use in-game credit to fill back up.
This is the heartbeat of Top Eleven; the entire game is governed by a collection of different in-game currencies that need to be topped up, either by paying, waiting for time to tick over, or watching adverts, in order to be successful.
Let your players take on a match untrained, for instance, or on the flip side so knackered from your last set of training sessions that they haven't had a chance to recover, then the likelihood is they'll lose.
There is a certain simplicity to this approach that appeals to casual football fans, however. Though it's important you set up your team with a formation and an approach to the game when in and out of possession, Nordeus' continued decision to set this in a fictitious football world means Top Eleven isn't about signing real up-and-coming players you've seen in some obscure Korean league no one but the most dedicated football aficionado has heard of, but keeping to a daily routine of training your players and then fully resting them before each scheduled match.
The longer you play and the more you engage, the better your team will get and the more matches you'll end up winning. Like all the best free-to-play games, Top Eleven asks that you play little and often, keeping your team ticking over in between the matches, but never requiring you to devote any more than a few minutes to the cause. It's this contemporary approach that means that, for hardcore football fans, Top Eleven will remain as unappealing a prospect as it ever was.
For anyone who wants to dip their toe into the world of football management without getting all too wrapped up in the statistics, Nordeus continues to offer them their best port of call, delivering a take on the beautiful game that manages to be welcoming to the more casual fans amongst us without being a complete pushover. Ironically for Mr. Mourinho, chances are you'll be taking it on for considerably longer than he stays in his next job.
VERDICT
As casual as ever, Nordeus continues to stand Top Eleven apart from the competition by fully embracing the free-to-play world and delivering a game you can take on in small nuggets. Not one for dedicated football aficionados, then, but a route in for anyone else who wants a hand in the beautiful game.
Top Eleven 2016 is a free game and you can get new free games in this.
Infinity Blade II is the perfect video game sequel. The visceral and cinematic melee combat has been expanded from a glorified quicktime event into a proper, fleshed-out fighting system. IB1's thin storyline has been replaced with a voice-acted narrative full of twists and turns. And players now have an entire castle to explore, full of branching paths and secrets, in place of the original's short and linear path to the God-King. Chair successfully accomplished all this while also setting a new standard for mobile game visuals.
Infinity Blade II picks up right where the original left off. Our hero (retroactively named Siris) needs help from The Worker of Secrets - the titular blade's creator. The catch? The Worker has been imprisoned and can only be released if three "Deathless" are defeated. Each resides in the Vault of Tears, at the end of a lengthy gauntlet of enemies. Along the way players learn much more about Siris' true nature, and why he is seemingly doomed to repeat a never-ending cycle of violence.
Cue dozens upon dozens of enemy encounters, as Siris explores the Vault's varied branching paths. After every battle gamers earn a helping of XP and Gold, allowing players to increase Siris' stats and purchase new weapons and equipment.
Did we like it?
Infinity Blade's touch-powered sword-slashing combat has always been a blast, but the sequel infuses it with much more depth. Each and every enemy encounter felt fresh and fun for the duration of the 5-6 hours it took me to reach & defeat the final boss.
I especially appreciated the two new combat styles at my disposal. Players can still use the IB1-standard sword and shield, but it's tough to go back after experiencing the sequel's devastating heavy weapon and explosive dual wielding systems. Heavy weapons allow for powerful critical hits by swiping in specific directions, and dual wielding enables massive combos while dropping the ability to block. Any time I got tired of one combat system, I simply bought a new weapon and switched.
Little (and not-so-little) tweaks are abound in Infinity Blade 2, making every aspect of the game more enjoyable than its already-polished predecessor. Enemy patterns seem more dynamic. Far more bags of gold litter the environment. Enemies can now cast magic. Players can slot gems into weapons and armor for special bonuses. The entire menu UI has been re-worked, sorted by equipment slot. It's clear a lot of care and attention went into virtually every aspect of this sequel.
The branching paths that make up The Vault of Tears represent the next evolution of the "looping" game structure pioneered in the original Infinity Blade. Players still have to travel through the Vault several times to complete the game, but I was still finding new rooms and connections between areas of the castle several hours in, reducing the grindy feeling of these loops. Chair is seemingly one step ahead of other mobile game makers – just as other studios are beginning to ape the original's repetitive loops, Infinity Blade 2 reinvents its own formula.
Of course, it certainly helps that Infinity Blade 2 is absolutely gorgeous. The game is incredibly impressive on a technical level, with realtime shadows, improved particle effects, and other abstruse bells & whistles. But more importantly, the game represents a maturation in Chair's ability to create memorable set pieces and enemies. The game's entire aesthetic is a clear cut above what anyone else is even attempting on iOS.
Should you buy it?
Infinity Blade 2 is a perfect representation of what iOS games are capable of. Chair has created a near-flawless combination of best-of-breed visuals and touch-controlled gameplay.
Best of all, the entire package is a bigger and better value than the original in virtually every way. Four times the number of combat locations. Nearly triple the volume of equipment. Double the number of unique enemy types. And once you complete it all, a robust and challenging New Game+ awaits. Chair is also promising aggressive post-launch support, including cooperative multiplayer "Clash Mobs."
Hey You, Pikachu! for the Nintendo 64 is a game that will likely be overlooked by people who consider themselves to be hard-core game players. The game pairs this year's hottest franchise, Pokémon, with the even greater fad of voice recognition, and its playpen-oriented features and minimalist difficulty focus the game squarely at younger audiences - a niche often under-appreciated in today's consumer marketplace. Factor in its suggested $80 retail price, and it is easy to see why many people will fail to take Hey You, Pikachu! seriously. It's a shame, too, because once you give it a closer look, Hey You, Pikachu! is a highly addictive game that both children and adults can enjoy.
The first thing you'll notice after prying open the box is the voice recognition pod and microphone. The voice recognition pod plugs into the fourth controller port on the system, while the microphone attaches to the top of the control pad. Once you power on Hey You, Pikachu! and choose a save file, a brief tutorial will acclimate you or your child to the controls. To interact, the analog stick moves the pointer and your focus around the screen, while a push of the Z button records a voice bubble that you launch at Pikachu. If he understands, he'll do as you ask. If not, your mileage may vary. It's also advisable to ignore your initial buyer's remorse when you see the game's minimally rendered visuals and apparent lack of interaction - it takes approximately 32 game days (roughly 100 real-world minutes) to gain access to all the features. Once you've unlocked everything, though, 20 different minigames and a diverse friendship simulation await.
From your bedroom, each day begins by rousting Pikachu out of bed with an uproarious "Good morning!" Once he's awake, you can wander around the room and observe objects you've acquired, converse with Pikachu, play Pokémon trivia on the television, or head outside for some wild Pokémon antics. A sliding patio door leads into one section of the game, Pikachu's Discovery Days, while the front door yields Pikachu's Play Days and Pikachu's Daring Days. Each of these sections contains five separate activities, such as gathering food, fishing, baby-sitting Caterpie, or hunting for treasure. There are also hidden places to discover, such as Abra's Shop and the campground. The goal of each minigame is to use the onscreen pointer and microphone to aid Pikachu in accomplishing each area's tasks. When you're baby-sitting Caterpie, you'll gather rosebuds from the tops of trees. If you're gathering ingredients for Bulbasaur's picnic, you and Pikachu must wander the forest in search of the proper food items. Success in these activities will strengthen the friendship between you and Pikachu, as well as reward you with a stash of goodies to keep around the house. Since Hey You, Pikachu! just keeps going and going, you really can't fail, which makes the game an excellent choice for kids who are eight and under, for those who are easily frustrated, and for those with low attention spans.
Although Hey You, Pikachu! Is not a visual powerhouse, its crisp lines and colorful atmosphere do an excellent job of portraying the world of Pokémon. Each area, be it Viridian Forest or Ochre Woods, is rendered in such a way that fans of the TV series will easily recognize popular landmarks. Where Hey You, Pikachu! really excels, though, is in the area of sound. Interacting with Pikachu and telling him what to do is fun, and the responses thrown back by him and his Pokémon cohort are hilariously uplifting. Pikachu's understanding of the English vocabulary is limited to approximately 200 words and phrases, but the game's voice recognition is fairly solid - it even allows for the sloppy speech patterns of younger children and toddlers. Hey You, Pikachu! has intermittent issues with background noise, but nothing that backing away from the television wouldn't cure.
Despite the positive nature of this review, a huge flag of caution must be waved in the direction of the adolescents and adults out there: This game is not a powerhouse of voice recognition, nor is it a bastion of deep gameplay. If you're not a fan of the series or not into solving puzzles, your needs will be better met elsewhere. However, if you're a dyed-in-the-wool Pokéfan or if you happen to care for young children, then Hey You, Pikachu! is right up your alley. Its price tag may be steep, but there is limitless replay value to be found in the hands of the right audience.
Pikachu is a free puzzle game and you can get new free games and read game review about it.
