Baseball Superstars 2013 is a sports game with an RPG mentality. It’s become quite the norm for Gamevil to put in extensive character progression within their games, and this is no different with Baseball Superstars 2013. Although the game is perhaps not as action-orientated as other baseball games currently on the market, Baseball Superstars 13’ still has a great mixture of gameplay mechanics to keep things from getting too dull and ordinary.

Main menu and team picker

On the menu you can access standard settings such as sound options and background music, as well as purchase in-game coins to be spent within the game, and view your gameplay stats and progress.

Gamevil have put in a lot of behind-the-scenes information, and a fair amount of this can be seen on the records tab. Things such as achievements, skill titles, and total playtime can be found here. Most of the details are there only for show, but it’s nice to evaluate your game progress from time to time.

You can also edit each team and change the name of each player in each team, as well as change the colors of the clothes they wear. Once again, nothing game changing here, but it’s nice to have the ability to change your team to give it its own personality.

Batter Mode

Superstars Baseball is split into two separate game modes, the first being batter mode, which as the name suggests, lets you play as the batter.

Success with the batter is very much down to the players’ timing, and missing or hitting that ball really does change the outcome of the match.

When playing as the batter, the pitcher will throw the ball towards your character, and you must swing the bat at the right time to land a hit on the ball. The ball usually centers towards a grid of nine squares placed in the batters swing reach. It’s difficult to predict the outcome of the pitcher’s throw, but after a while of playing, you’ll be able to pick up on the pitcher’s animations, which hint at how the ball will reach your character.

For those with little experience with baseball games, Superstars Baseball won’t be great, and there aren’t really any solid tutorials teaching the player on when to swing the bat. However, practice makes perfect, and luckily losing a game isn’t as detrimental as it would be in other sports games.

When batting, you’ll also be able to move left and right slightly which helps in reaching balls that have curled in a direction otherwise unreachable.

Pitcher Mode

Your pitcher will play in a completely separate campaign to that of your batter, meaning you’ll have to start fresh with a new team and no extra character stats or abilities. This can be quite frustrating when you want to play between both modes frequently and would rather have the option to keep stats throughout both modes.

However, pitcher mode does add an extra layer of gameplay to Baseball Superstars, so it’s nice that we have it there at all.

When pitching, you can choose between a few different types of pitch, and then position your aim within the 9-square grid mentioned before. After that, pressing the throw button will then make your pitcher throw the ball. A small circle will start to close in on the aiming reticle, and pressing for a second time will make your batter release the ball. I’ve noticed that releasing the ball as soon as possible makes the ball reach the grid in a place unpredicted by the batter, and for the most part, playing against AI seems a little too easy when using this tactic.

Leveling up, extra goals, and items

Although the main game revolves around the gameplay within each match, a lot of work goes before and after these matches. There are a group of buildings accessible from the main hub before playing a game. Each building has its own use and visiting each place often will help your gameplay greatly.

After completing a match, you’ll get gold coins and stars. These can be spent on items within the store. The items in the store range from extra helmets and bats, to crazy and hilarious costumes. There’s a whole lot to purchase within the store, and there’s enough there to make your character look unique.

All of the items in the store also add buffs to your stats, giving you better performance within the game.

A cheaper alternative to boosting your stats is to visit the upgrade building where you can spend your stars to improve your character’s stats. You’ll also be able to improve the rest of your team, giving you an edge over your opponents. Stat boosts here are usually cheaper than those at the store, but won’t give you any cosmetic changes in your character.

You’ll also be able to play against other players in PVP mode. If you don’t want to spend any money, you’ll only be able to play five games a day, however it’s nice to be able to test your skills against other players, and there are plenty of rewards and challenges to complete within PVP mode.

If you’re getting bored of playing through matches, the challenge area will give you more opportunities to earn stars and gold coins by completing certain criteria set out. They’ll also be surprise challenges to complete within each match which will help to improve your standing within the league.

Summary

Pros:

• Lots of RPG elements to the game
• Plenty of customization options
• Pitcher and Batter game modes to mix things up
• PvP mode available

Cons:

• Gameplay isn’t as action-packed as some baseball games
• Pitcher and Batter modes progression not connected
• Only 5 free PvP matches per day
• Hard to earn stars without spending cash

Download Baseball Superstars 2013 for Android here.

The post Baseball Superstars 2013 Review appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

GAMEPLAY AND CONTROLS

The basis of Kingdom Royale is to build resources by creating buildings and units, and then upgrade these buildings and units to make your kingdom stronger. After creating enough units with gathered resources, you can then attack outlying kingdoms for more resources. Some of these lands are even held by real players.

When you attack a land, you enter a battle phase where you choose which class of unit you want to battle with; you have a choice of magic, melee or ranged. Each class has strengths and weaknesses versus other classes, so choose wisely.

Before you enter battle you can choose to have friends help you by using the Gamevil Online system. This can make the fight much easier. When you encounter a land controlled by a player, also known as a rival, you can invade the land and deploy units and build to protect it from other players.

Kingdom Royale is controlled by simply tapping the screen. Even in battle, you only need to tap the unit you want to attack with, and then tap the opponent you want to attack.

Everything takes time in the game, the higher the level your buildings and units become, the longer it takes for production of these to complete. If any of your units die in battle, it also takes three hours before they are resurrected. This is where “freemium” comes in. You can purchase “crowns” to instantly resurrect units, instantly build buildings and units and purchase special combat items.

GRAPHICS AND AUDIO

The audio in Kingdom Royale is very good quality. The music changes depending on whether you are in battle or if you are in your kingdom. The graphics of the game are consistent with Japanese RPGs (think Final Fantasy style mages and knights), but the graphics look particularly stunning in high resolution on the iPhone.

PROS

• Stunning anime-style graphics
• Freemium game that you do not feel required to pay

CONS

• Consistent “Unstable Connection” message upon opening the game even though I am in an established connection
• Long wait times the higher level your units and buildings get, but that is the price to pay for a micro-transaction based, free game.

Overall, the gameplay of Kingdom Royale is great, and never once have I felt pressured to buy any “crowns.” The “crowns” obviously help speed up the game, but if you are willing to wait and keep checking on your kingdom throughout the day you can easily play the game fully without using any real money.

Download Kingdom Royale and try it for yourself here.

The post Game Review: Kingdom Royale for iPhone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Zenonia 2: The Lost Memories

The gaming market on the iPhone and iPod touch started out with some casual puzzle titles and others that were meant to hold your attention for a couple minutes at a time, say in a doctor’s office or other waiting room. Soon after, however, we were introduced to fuller games that were comparable to their console counterparts. But what about the RPG genre?

There isn’t much to be found in terms of role-playing games on the platform, but it looks like a pretty good option is coming up in Zenonia 2: The Lost Memories for the iPhone and iPod touch. The successor to the first Zenonia will be submitted for App Store approval this week, so it should be showing up soon.

In short, it’s an adventure-based RPG where you can choose between four character classes: magician, paladin, shooter, and warrior. The actual gameplay offers a top-down perspective that will be mildly reminiscent of the classic Zelda game on the NES.  There are individual costume combinations, customizable items, and more. There is online multiplayer too. Gamevil has worked to improve the user interface, letting the virtual buttons appear and disappear at will, for instance.

In preparation of the game’s release, Gamevil is launching a Zenonia Quests event of some kind. You’ll need to follow them on Twitter and be “confronted” with the quest after the retweet. You can win a t-shirt or a money clip.

The post Play out your fantasies with Zenonia 2: The Lost Memories for iPhone appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Zenonia, from Gamevil, is a very popular app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that is regarded as one of the best RPG games on the iPhone. It has won numerous awards since its release over a year ago and is still a highly downloaded app. However is this an app that lives up to its reputation, or is it a relic of the early days of apps?

Zenonia is an RPG which is one giant homage to classic console RPGs of the late 80’s and early 90’s. The plot is rather generic, playing as a special young man who’s destiny determines the fate of the world. The plot may be generic but it’s presented in a brilliant way. The text dialogue is incredibly humorous with numerous breakings of the fourth wall. It is vulgar in concept but all of the questionable words are censored.

The graphics of Zenonia are colorful and really creates a sense of nostalgia to the days of the SNES and Sega Genesis. The graphics are also not in 3D which is prone to shaving off a few hours on your iPhone’s battery life. Sounds are generic and nothing special and the main character’s grunts when attacking can be rather annoying.

The controls are simple. There is a D-Pad and an action button which powers the entire game. I would have liked the game to have been more touch controlled, but it didn’t take away from the brilliance.

As far as actual gameplay is concerned, Zenonia is incredibly fun if you are a Zelda fan. It is action based so there is no turn based combat which slows everything down. A class system, moral alignment, magic, and lots of items add depth to the game in a nod to the Final Fantasy series.

Zenonia in short, is a great game. It provides simple and addicting gameplay with a decent story and funny dialogue. It is currently on sale on iTunes for $3 and is well worth the download. It exceeds expectations and may be the best game on the iPhone. There is talk of a sequel in development so play the original now before the sequel comes out.

Zenonia Screenshot Gallery

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