Madden NFL 13 Social: A Terrible First Impression

Logo for Madden NFL 13 SocialMadden NFL 13 Social is a freemium title for iOS and Facebook that is some combination of the offensive side of the Madden NFL series and a collectible card game. But to be honest, I never really got far enough into the game to find out because of how ridiculous it begins.

Being a Madden game from EA that is free, there’s a certain expectation that advertisements and in-app-purchases will be plentiful, which is definitely true. True story, here’s the first thing that greeted me when I opened Madden NFL 13 Social for the very first time:

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When Asynchronous Multiplayer Makes Sense

Asynchronous (or online turn-based) multiplayer games let gamers play at their own pace. Maybe the classic example of this is Words With Friends – you play a word, send it to your friend, and wait for their response. These games take advantage of mobile users’ ability to play anywhere, for filling in those tiny slices of time that might otherwise be wasted. Not to mention, a group of people can play together despite never being in the same room or even the same time zone.

That said, this isn’t a new concept. The International Correspondence Chess Federation reports that correspondence chess may have been played way back in the 12th century. Chess is a perfect example of when asynchronous multiplayer games make sense – in chess, each move is hugely important, and there is a ton of thought that goes into each one. In mobile games though, asynchronous multiplayer doesn’t always fit the game.

When should a game implement asynchronous multiplayer? Let’s discuss.

Super Stickman Golf: Accidentally Quitting Mid-Round

Main menu of Super Stickman Golf 2The original Super Stickman Golf by Noodlecake Studios is one of my favorite mobile games (links to stores available here). It’s a simple yet challenging way to pass a few minutes of time. Everybody likes mini-golf, right? Super Stickman Golf 2 picks up right where the first left off, adding a few new features and a bunch of new in-app purchase options.

Merits of the upgrade aside, there’s one particular issue with the game that hasn’t changed between the two versions, and it has caused me a tiny amount of grief a few times now. When playing a single player round, backing out to the main menu doesn’t save the player’s progress, and the game doesn’t do anything to warn them of this either. Just like Microsoft Word prompts users before leaving changes unsaved, games always should tell the player before they lose progress.

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Lost Cities: The Right Way to Build a Mobile Game Tutorial

Title screen for Lost Cities for iOSTutorials for mobile games have a difficult problem to solve. With console games, it’s likely that gamers will be in front of a TV, can hear the game’s audio, and be generally attentive. But mobile games could be played nearly anywhere, while the device is muted, maybe for just 60 seconds at a time, and maybe only occupying 50% of the users’ attention span.

So, tutorials in mobile games must be as flexible as mobile phones are. While games like Quento are simple enough to barely need a tutorial, not all games can get away with that. Lost Cities for iOS (iTunes link) offers the most flexible tutorial I’ve ever seen in a mobile game – there are no less than four different ways for players to get the rules of this game when they fire it up for the first time.

Ready to find out how amazing this tutorial is? Read on!

Dungeon Raid: We Need Invisible Fingers

Title logo to the game Dungeon Raid LiteAfter my article on 10000000 for iOS, I got a recommendation to check out a similar iOS title, Dungeon Raid (iTunes link). It’s a tile-matching game that has slightly different gameplay, but a common RPG element put on top. If you ask me, anytime you can solve puzzles and upgrade your weapons, it’s bound to be a good time.

And it is a good time. However…there’s one problem, while not unique to this game, that I’ve found particularly irritating here. The big benefit to touchscreens, of course, is removing that disconnect between you and your content that’s caused by a mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, not only is your finger significantly bigger than a mouse pointer, it’s also attached to your hand. So when tapping items on the screen, your finger has a nasty habit of covering exactly what you want to look at.

Read on for exactly how this happens in Dungeon Raid.