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Athenion might not have the pedigree of some other deck-building card games available for mobile, but that shouldn't put you off. This is a game that's packed full of bright ideas, fresh new gameplay modes and enough content that you can lose hours of your life to.

Battles take place on a 4×4 grid, and see you taking it in turns with your opponent to lay down cards. You draw up to five cards from your deck of forty at the start of every turn.

These are the units you're playing in the fight, and they range from hulking monsters to flighty fairies, from magical trees to fearsome undead dragons.

Your cards have arrows on them that you show you which direction they can attack. You'll also notice a bunch of other numbers on the cards. These let you know the hit points a card has, how powerful its attack is and how many soul points it grants you.

Those soul points let you attack your opponent and they're the key to victory. The first player to lose all of their own hit points is the loser.

There's a lot more going on than that though. For one thing you need to pick from one of six different factions before you even get to the fights.

These factions have different strengths and weaknesses and figuring out which of them best suits the way you want to play is the first step of a pretty long journey.

Different factions have different special moves as well. Some let you link together cards to make them more powerful, others are all about sacrificing weaker units to create pockets of dark magical energy. One lets you build giant rock walls that you can use to protect some of your units or power up others.

There are single-player challenges, regular events and much, much more as well. You're never short of something to do in Athenion, and the pace of the matches lets you get a lot of them in in a single setting.

The Good

There's a staggering amount of depth to Athenion. It's going to take you a good while to get to grips with the basics and once you've done that there are layers and layers to peel back. Every time you win you'll figure out a new strategy and every time you lose you'll be trying to find a way to right that wrong.

The game looks amazing too. The cards all sport a brilliant anime art-style and you'll want to collect all of them just so you can check them out. The speed of the fights is a massive plus too – they deliver huge chunks of tactical action in the sort of short-blast sessions that are perfect for mobile play.

On top of that there's a brilliant community to the game, and you never have to wait long to find an online battle. There are a number of different modes that let you practice with different decks, take part in intriguing events and fight it out in ranked and casual multiplayer matches.

The Bad

There's a pretty steep learning curve here, so if you're not in for the long haul then you might be better finding your card-based fun somewhere else. Even when you've got the basics down you've still got a lot to learn and it can be punishing to come up against an opponent who knows more than you do.

There are also a lot of currencies, crafting materials and other rewards to figure out. The game does tell you what they do, but the tutorials are pretty brief and you're left on your own for a lot of the time to try and get to the bottom of things.

Overall

Athenion might not be the easiest game to understand, but once things start clicking it becomes something really rather special. There are some brilliant ideas here and they're woven into a bright tapestry of gorgeous visuals and wonderfully paced mobile play.

It won't be to everyone's taste, and it's fair to say that some players are going to put it down before they've even got to the good bits, but this is one CCG that it's well worth sticking with.

8.2

OVERALL

Replayability 8.1

Game Controls 8.2

Graphics 8.7

Sound/Music 8.2

Gameplay 7.8

FREE

Athenion: Tactical CCG

ZERO-bit Company Limited

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Stack & Crack ($0.99) by Jambav is a minimalistic puzzle game that looks simple at first but is intricate and complex. If you liked games such as Minimize, Cuzzle, and PUSH, then you'll enjoy Stack & Crack.

Life's been getting a bit hectic for me, so I'm always looking to sit down and take a breather. When these times come, I usually end up pulling out my iPhone and playing a game to take my mind off things. My standard fare are puzzle games, of course, as they always prove to be rather relaxing yet stimulating at the same time. And even though I think I've gone through the majority of puzzle games that the App Store has to offer since I've been here at AppAdvice, I can't help but look for more. Stack & Crack is a new release this week that fits the bill of soothing yet challenging.

$2.99

minimize

BorderLeap, LLC

Free

Cuzzle

GalacticThumb Inc.

$0.99

"PUSH"

Maciej Targoni

In terms of visual design, Stack & Crack is beautiful. It features a simple and clean minimalist aesthetic that eliminates all extra fuss and is just enough for players to understand the core game mechanics. The game is rendered in 3D with a slightly angled, top-down perspective that's reminiscent of games like Monument Valley.

The colors are a nice mix of dark and muted tones with brighter, more vibrant hues and they contrast with each other nicely. The soft glows and particle effects are calming, and animations are smooth and fluid. There are some "glitchy" line effects that remind me of Telepaint, which I thought was cool. So far, I've had no issues with lag or choppy frame rates on my iPhone 8 Plus. On top of it all, the ambient and atmospheric soundtrack is a delight to listen to, as it helps you focus on the puzzles in front of you.

Like other puzzle games, Stack & Crack is based on levels. There are seven main chapters, which you can access after completing the "Learning to Stack" tutorial chapter. Each chapter has anywhere from 10 to 15 puzzles each, and they must be completed in linear order. However, you don't need to worry about time limits or move restrictions, because there aren't any, so there are no stars to earn. So you can play this game entirely at your own pace, which is nice.

The goal in Stack & Crack is to get the "Boxies" to the Portal of Light, but they can only move in the direction that is indicated on the white strip that's on them. This means each Boxie can only move horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. So how is getting them all into the Portal possible? It's all about exploring the relationship between each Boxie, and then stacking them together to get to the final destination.

Eventually, as you get through the chapters, you'll find new game mechanics that make the puzzles more elaborate, such as squares that flip the stack order, make them jump, swap them, and more. The chapter names give you an idea of what to expect, because the new elements are stated in their names.

Controls in Stack & Crack are simple enough for anyone to pick up and play. To move a Boxie, just tap it and you'll see where it can move to, thanks to colored outlines that match the Boxie's color. Then tap the space you want it to go. In order to stack Boxies, you'll want to move another Boxie on top of another, making sure that the Boxie on the bottom is able to get to the Portal of Light. Boxies cannot be unstacked (unless there's a certain game mechanic), but there is an "Undo" button in the bottom right. You can undo as many times as you want, so make sure to use it.

If you get stuck, Stack & Crack does have a hint system. Just tap on the small icon in the top right corner, and the solution to your puzzle gets revealed. However, the game only gives you two free hints with the initial purchase, and if you run out, you'll have to buy the $1.99 in-app purchase for unlimited hints. As someone who doesn't like IAPs in paid games, this irks me a bit, but it's completely optional.

A minimalistic puzzle game about stacking four blocks.

The Good

Stack & Crack is a gorgeous and relaxing puzzle game that truly makes you think. I love the visual style because it's simple yet effective, and the music is soothing. The game concept is tried-and-true, but the intricate Boxie relationships is a nice twist, as well as the unique elements that get introduced at a gradual pace. There's plenty of content for the value, and the game runs smoothly.

The Bad

I love Stack & Crack so far. But again, I'm not a big fan of paid games that include in-app purchases, as I think you should get access to everything without having to worry about throwing away more money. I know that the hints are optional, but it's the principle.

The verdict

Overall, Stack & Crack is an enjoyable treat for any puzzle fan. The game has a distinctive and appealing graphical style, the music and sounds are charming and delightful, and the gameplay is simple yet complex at the same time. The controls work out well with no fuss, and the difficulty ramps up gradually so you don't feel overwhelmed too soon. This is definitely a game that any puzzle fan should have in their collection.

Stack & Crack is on the App Store as a universal download for your iPhone and iPad for just $0.99. There are in-app purchases.

8.9

OVERALL

Sound/Music 10

Game Controls 9

Gameplay 9

Replayability 8

Graphics 8.5

$0.99

Stack & Crack

Jambav, Inc

Source link: http://appadvice.com/reviews