SuperStar SMTown is a f2p rhythm game based on SM Entertainment’s (one of the big 3 music labels in Korea) musical artists. It’s only available in Korea (translated into English) but I was able to get a copy of the APK elsewhere on the Internet. It’s decent as a rhythm game, although a bit difficult – Easy is more like Normal, and Normal is Hard (can’t get anywhere on the first level of Hard…). There’s also an interesting card collecting/upgrading concept (which is one reason why the game is difficult) to increase replay value and to drive IAP sales. But what makes or breaks a rhythm game is the song selection and that’s where it gets interesting. All the songs are free and are the top hits from various SM artists. I started playing the game due to the SNSD-related songs, but the game has exposed me to a lot of hits from other artists (spoiler: most songs suck). This is actually a really clever strategy to gain more fans for some less popular groups, as they made the rules in the game such that you have to play all the songs (and songs from different artists) to succeed.

I download 80 Days as part of an Amazon freebie event and it has languished on my phone for several months. I finally got around to trying it and was pleasantly surprised with it. The premise is that you must travel around the world in 80 days (like the Jules Verne book) using technologies from (I suppose) the late 19^th century, although there is mythology in the world so it’s not exactly history. There is no action in the game, but it plays out like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book. You spend most of your time reading, but the gameplay is somewhat randomized (and there’s obviously many ways to circumnavigate the globe) so it’s actually quite captivating. The art and direction is also refreshing, so this is quite a good and interesting game to play.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: android, games, korea