BEN 10 OMNIGAMES [IOS] – REVIEW (76%)

Ben 10 OmniGames is a mini-game pack released by Turner EMEA.

“Grab your Omnitrix and prepare for battle in Ben 10 OmniGames! Play as Wildmutt, XLR8 and Fourarms in three explosive games. Test your alien abilities as you battle vicious bats, gruesome slugs and electrifying drones!”

This game is a basically a mini game pack of Ben 10 themed games, the three games currently available are as follows:

• Call of the Wildmutt – A reasonable run and jump game (like canabalt) with Ben leaping over holes in the ground, powering up at times into Wildmutt. 75%
• Fourarms Smash – Tap the screen punching aways oncoming bats that are trying to bite you – Extremely repeative survival game – 55%
• XLR8 to the rescue – A dodge and smash game as you switch to the top, middle or bottom lane of a highway, smashing drones and dodging cars. – 63%

There is a fourth game promised with stink fly, but this is currently locked.

Gameplay wise the mini games are fun to play in small doses and are best for casual gamer. For me the run and jump “Call of the Wildmutt” saves the mini-game set. The games do feel a lot like flash games, and in fact my son informed me that the XLR8 was the same the first level of “Ben to the Rescue” off the CartoonNetwork website, and was not as good.

The graphics and sounds are both good, with all the sounds and visuals that a fan of Ben 10 would be looking for.

On the upside:

• Fun gameplay.
• Universal App.

On the downside:

• The mini-games are pretty basic.
• Feel like converted flash games.
• Currently only three mini games available, with one additional promised.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and playable game. It is a little disappointing at the lack of aliens forms available. I wish that the mini games available did not feel so much like flash games converted to iOS. If you are a fan of Ben 10 this app is worth checking out, but I cannot see you getting your full money worth out of it. If you are not a Ben 10 fan, then look elsewhere, there are some much better mini-game packs available at a lower price.

Rating: 76%

Size: 15.1 MB

Price (at time of review): £1.99

Link: Ben 10 OmniGames – Turner EMEA

 

PEPPA PIG’S PARTY TIME [IPAD] – REVIEW (84%)

Peppa Pig’s Party Time is a selection of linked mini games released by P2 Games Limited.

This application contains a group of linked mini games in which you plan and then run Peppa Pig’s birthday party. The games are linked as you can get photographs of the six mini games and place them into a photo album of the event.

The game offers three profiles when you load the game up, so each child should be able to create their own unique party, without another coming along and wiping it.

Each game has a little bit of animation to tie the sections of the mini games together. You can play any game you wish or you can play them in order. Each game can be quit at any time by pressing the door icon in the bottom right.

The mini games are as follow:

• Invitations – single player, select a card, place wording and images, then post them : 70%
• Making Party Bags – single player, select a bag, decorate with stickers and fill with goodies : 65%
• Let’s Make a Cake – single player, bake and design your cake with icing and decorations: 78%
• Musical Chairs – a four player game, tap to keep your character moving until the music stops. : 68%
• Pass the Parcel – a four player game, tap your character to move the parcel along : 65%
• Pinata – a four player game, take it is turns to break, and then a made dash to collect the coins : 70%

The photo book is a nice addition to the game, but seems to lack any real control over the content, some of the images seem like “stock photos” and do not change, but you will be able to see the invites, bags and cakes you made. It would be nice to have the option to take a photo to add a moment you wanted to into the available photos.

The games are well design and explain to the user what to do next. My daughter learnt all the games without having to asked how things worked.

The graphics and sound are very good. Fans of the Peppa Pigs cartoons will be happy that the visuals and sounds match those of the cartoon.

On the upside:

• Good use of the Peppa Pig license
• Very nice mini games for younger children to play.
• Multiplayer for the party is a nice touch.

On the downside:

• It is a shame that the party games do not have a number of the players selectable, as my daughter liked playing the game on her own as well.
• Would be nice if you could select when the photos for the album are taken.

Overall, I liked this game, it is nicely designed and makes good use of mixing the games, story and animation together. My children really enjoyed it, and I did not get the iPad back for almost two hours. It is certainly aimed more at the 3 to 9 age range. The voice and graphics are all well done and as my daughter is a big fan of Peppa Pigs she was very happy with the application.

Rating: 84%

Size: 19.3 MB

Price (at time of review): £2.99

Link: Peppa Pig’s Party Time – P2 Games Limited

 

LITTLE PRINCESS [IOS] – REVIEW (72%)

Little Princess is a selection of mini games released by Jick Jack Ltd.

Help Little Princess with some of her favourite activities around the castle.

This application contains a group of mini games, these are as follow:

• Dress Up – Explore Little Princess’s wardrobe and play dress up with her : 71%
• Bath Time – Help Little Princess clean Puss and Scruff : 60%
• Bunny Bop – Those naughty bunnies are messing around with Puss and Scruff! : 69%
• Pairs – All of Little Princess’s friends are hiding behind the cards : 65%  

The mini games all play well and have their own merits, however, I really would have liked to have seen some options or difficulty levels on the Bunny Bop and Pairs mini games.

Other games for children like this normally have some type of prizes for playing the games to extend longevity like giving stickers or virtual gifts. The Little Princess does not give anything like this, only a best time/score to beat.

The games are easy to be controlled by simply tapping on the game you require and then selecting any of the options for the game, such as difficulty or timed.

The graphics and sound are very good. Fans of the Little Princess cartoon will be happy that the visuals and sounds match those of the cartoon.

On the upside:

• Good use of the Little Princess license
• Very nice mini games for younger children to play

On the downside:

• Lack of Longevity.
• No “gifts” or difficulty levels.

Overall, I found this to be a nice and entertaining game for my children. My daughter likes Little Princess a lot, but even she bored after a few goes at the mini games. There is nothing outstanding any of the mini games and with the lack of unlocks there is nothing to keep you coming back. I hope that the developers can add something to the game to give it extra life. 

Rating: 72%

Size: 18.1 MB

Price (at time of review): £1.99

Link: Little Princess – I want to Play! – Jick Jack Ltd

 

HUMF [IPHONE] – REVIEW (76%)

Humf is a selection of mini games based on the Humf cartoon and is released by P2 Games Limited.

This application contains a group of mini games based on the Nick Jr. popular cartoon series. For those who do not know Humf is a furry creature who is three years old and is discovering the world around him.

There are nine mini games and these are as follows:

• Furry Thing – Combine body parts to make characters from the cartoon : 68%
• Painting – Very basic painting / filling game : 55%
• Tidy Up – Matching game, coloured toys to the same coloured boxes : 70%
• Shadows – Match the shadows with the character : 62%
• Ballons – Blow up ballons to the right size and then pop them : 68%
• Dot-To-Dot – Basic, but nice dot-to-dot game : 65%
• Music – Select characters and the instruments that they will play, fun for a while : 59%
• Bath Time – Shoot the ducks and other bath-time toys with a water pistol : 64%
• Racing – Move the car up and down to collect the toys and avoid the blocks : 61%

The games are easy to be controlled by simply tapping on the game you require and then selecting any of the options for the game, such as difficulty or timed.

The graphics and sound are very good. Fans of the Humf cartoons will be happy that the visuals and sounds match those of the cartoon.

On the upside:

• Good use of the Humf license
• Large amount of mini games

On the downside:

• Would have been nice if universal, as my daughter perfers using the iPad.
• Some of the mini games are fairly dull and repetitive.

Overall, the Humf application is purely a selection of mini games designed for pre-school children. My son would is almost eight found several dull, but my daughter who is just over three did enjoy most of the games. If you child like Humf or your young child likes playing with the iPad or iPhone, then this is a nice game to get for them. None of the mini-games are bad and your child will enjoy each for a while and will soon find a few favorites.

Rating: 76%

Size: 21.1 MB

Price (at time of review): £1.79

Link: Humf – P2 Games Limited

 

PEPPA PIG – HAPPY MRS CHICKEN [IPHONE] – REVIEW (72%)

Peppa Pig – Happy Mrs Chicken is a selection of mini games released by P2 Games Limited.

This application contains a group of mini games in which you are able to earn stickers, which can then be used in a sticker book that is also within the game.

The mini games are as follow:

• Happy Mrs Chicken – Tap Mrs Chicken to get her to lay eggs : 64%
• Maze – Fairly dull maze game (also cannot get rid of misplaced seeds) : 55%
• Chicken Coup – Matching colours with locations: 72%
• Muddy Puddles – race to splash in the puzzles before the computer opponent: 67%  

The sticker book as six backgrounds, and you can drag and drop your earnt stickers, as well as four you get for free onto the background. It is a shame that there is no save button for the pictures, I had to do a screen shot when my daughter wanted the picture to be outside the application, like some of her other games.

The games are easy to be controlled by simply tapping on the game you require and then selecting any of the options for the game, such as difficulty or timed.

The graphics and sound are very good. Fans of the Peppa Pigs cartoons will be happy that the visuals and sounds match those of the cartoon.

On the upside:

• Good use of the Peppa Pig license
• My son liked Chicken Coup, playing it well until the timers was about to run out and then putting the wrong coloured chicks into a coup to make all the chicks escape filling the screen.

On the downside:

• My daughter was a little upset all the stickers were not available immediately.
• Lack of save image button on the sticker book.
• Would have been nice if universal, as my daughter perfers using the iPad.
• Stickers are slow to unlock in some of the mini games.

Overall, like the Polly Parrot game this is also a good Peppa Pig game, but just feels a little lacking against the Polly Parrot title, it suffers from the same minor drawbacks, and the mini games selection is not a good. An additional mini game in an update would certainly improve the application. If you want a Peppa Pig game, then I would try the Polly Parrot title first. 

Rating: 72%

Size: 14.3 MB

Price (at time of review): £1.79

Link: Peppa Pig – Happy Mrs Chicken – P2 Games Limited