App Review No. 29 Moto Heroz

Strong Points:

Great graphics

Variety of levels

Good amount of level packs/cars (11 in total)

Nice physics

Unique level design

Leaderboards are all right and don't seem completely out of reach

Weak Points:

Hard to get coins except for just completing levels

Massive difficulty spikes

Power ups are difficult to control sometimes

Upgrades are unoriginal

In-depth Review:

Release Dates:

World Wide: March 15, 2012

Controls:

Touch Buttons on screen to either lean/move forwards/backwards/use power up

This game was originally released for WiiWare then iOS and Android a few years after. It is published through Ubisoft and is a great little app for a bus journey. The graphics look brilliant and are great for a smartphone. This app looks like real effort has gone into making it unlike some others of this genre.

The game is a 2D racer with a twist... You can go forwards AND BACKWARDS! Now while this isn't really a massive breakthrough in terms of gaming it does add an air of originality for this genre as it allows you to double back in levels to reach hidden places.

The controls for the normal car are simple and easy to control with the sensitivity being good. However, the power ups are slightly confusing to control with some being unresponsive or lagging in the climax of the race. Also, if you are used to controlling a car with a gyroscope then it is slightly frustrating having to revert back to buttons.

The variety of different levels is astounding. I couldn't find one level which was challenging (sometimes frustratingly so) and all the cars are not just ascetically different but have their own characteristics which suits the level packs they are on. However, the difficulty spikes on some of the levels are just too much with the 3rd star (and sometimes the second) pretty much impossible to get without a fully upgraded car and even then, it is difficult.

This brings me on to my final concern. To upgrade you need coins from levels. To complete levels to get coins you need upgrades otherwise you won't complete it fast enough. It is the vicious circle of coin and frustrates me immensely. While you might be lucky and complete the level first time, most of the time you will have to spend a good half hour going through one level slowly cutting off milliseconds of time to try and win. This was good for the WiiWare version but not the app as it loses the pick up and play nature. 

Conclusion: overall this is a good app with lots of charm but falls short of being one of the classics by just being frustating.

Rating: 78%

Thanks for reading, Satamer.