Mobile Game Roundup: BeatNiks, The Room Three and More

Are you looking for a new mobile game to play this weekend? There are plenty of new options for you to try, like Starific, the first title from Beveled Edge Studios. The game is described as an 'endless arcade reactor,' and challenges players to keep a star on the game board by moving a paddle around the screen to hit the star before it leaves the board. Elsewhere, King (which was recently acquired by Activision) launched its latest title, a line-drawing puzzle game called Blossom Blast Saga. The game asks players to help flower buds grow into blooms by dragging their finger across flowers to create lines of three or more matching buds. Storm8 also released its newest game this week, Bakery Story 2, which is a bakery simulation game allowing players to create treats for their customers by collecting specific ingredients. Finally, Disney released Descendants, the official mobile game for the Disney Channel movie Disney's Descendants. The game allows players to become a student at Auradon Prep, a school for the children of Disney heroes and villains. Are you looking for a different game to try? Here's a look at some additional games released this week. BeatNiks (Free on iOS, Android) - From Harmonix Music Systems, in collaboration with publisher partner Tilting Point, BeatNiks is a music-themed virtual pet game, allowing players to create a monster pet, or BeatNik, by selecting color, shape and personality options which are each associated with clips of music or sounds. Gamers can decorate their pet's home with music-themed items, and can dress their pet in items inspired by music. Users can also play mini-games with their pet, like a memory game, as one example. Monsters will level up over time, and players can evolve them to receive new body parts and clothes. As users listen to their real music via the in-app music player, they'll unlock additional clothes for their BeatNik based on this music. In addition, users can connect to Facebook to earn credit for the music they listen to on Spotify, Pandora and iHeartRadio (if those services are also connected to their Facebook account), even though they may not be playing the game while listening. Leonardo's Cat ($2.99 on iOS) - From developer Savage Studios and publisher StoryToys, Leonardo's Cat is a puzzle game starring Leonardo da Vinci, voiced by Sir Patrick Stewart, and his cat Scungilli. The game offers 60 levels, challenging players to retrieve the missing pieces of da Vinci's automaton by creating a path to guide Scungilli through each stage using da Vinci's creations, like cannons and catapults, as examples. Players have access to a limited number of these creations in each stage, and can drag them to highlighted locations along the path. Players choose which object to place based the stage's obstacles, like bodies of water or crates blocking the path. Users can tap on these creations to change their angle, which alters the path Scungilli will take when he reaches them. There may be multiple ways to complete each level. Farm Away (Free on iOS) - Farm Away is the debut title from Finnish mobile game studio Futureplay Games. The 'idle' or 'clicker' game allows players to tap on farm plots and animal pens to generate coins, which can be spent to purchase additional farm plots and animal pens, or to upgrade existing plots and pens to make each tap worth more coins. Players can purchase upgrades for their farm over time, which may automate the production of coins at each plot or pen, so players no longer need to rapidly tap to collect their coins. While automation upgrades will remove the need to rapidly tap, each tap generates experience points for the overall farm. As players reach new experience point levels, they'll receive gems, a secondary currency, which can be spent on special power-ups or upgrades in the store. For instance, one upgrade will permanently multiply the farm's profits by three times, while power-ups may move the in-game clock ahead, giving players large instant profits without the need to wait for them to generate as normal. Players can watch video ads to trigger temporary rain or sunshine boosts, which double their profits for a limited time. Hello Kitty: World of Friends (Free on iOS, Android) - From Assorted Nuts Entertainment, Hello Kitty: World of Friends allows players to travel around town as Hello Kitty to complete quests as they interact with other Sanrio characters and collect new outfits for Hello Kitty to wear. Players can complete timed activities in locations like the museum, theater and post office (among others). When players start an activity, they'll spend energy on prompts in the area to earn completion progress for the activity. If players can fill the entire progress bar before time runs out, they'll earn the activity's base rewards, as well as bonuses, like extra coins and experience points for each of Hello Kitty's traits (like 'Scholar,' 'Chef' and 'Performer,' as examples). Even if players don't fill the entire activity progress bar, they'll still be rewarded when the activity ends. Gamers will fill Hello Kitty's photo album as they complete quests. Progress to 100 ($2.99 on iOS) - From Ludosity, in partnership with game designer Tim Garbos from Copenhagen Game Collective, Progress to 100 is a puzzle game challenging players to swipe and tap on the screen, rotate their device and complete other tasks as they work to interpret text prompts on each level screen. For instance, the prompt 'just vowels' asks players to place three fingers on the screen on top of the 'u,' 'o' and 'e' in the words, while a prompt like 'on a boat' asks users to rock their phone back and forth as though they're on a boat. Eventually, the microphone and camera are added to the game. Players can replay previously cleared puzzles, encouraging users to share the game with friends. Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock ($3.99 on iOS, Android) - From Phoenix Online Publishing and Red Herring Labs, Morningstar: Descent to Deadrock is a first-person sci-fi adventure game, challenging players to help a man named Powell repair his ship after it crash-lands on an alien planet. Players will complete puzzles as they explore the environment, and will help Powell discover who, or what, has brought down not only his ship, but another ship whose crew has perished, apparently 'not by natural means.' Fantasy War Tactics (Free on iOS, Android) - From Nexon Korea, Fantasy War Tactics is a strategy RPG which sees players take on the role of a wizard with the goal of conquering the world. Players will recruit a team of heroes to take into dungeons, which see users moving these heroes around the tiles on the game board to attack enemies. Battles utilize a 'rock, paper, scissors' mechanic for attack and defense, while different kinds of terrain may give characters an advantage or disadvantage when attacking. Players can increase their characters' skills over time, and can compete against others in player-vs-player battles outside of the main story mode. LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin ($4.99 on iOS) - From Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games and The LEGO Group, LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin was originally released on Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita earlier this year. The game sees players helping the ninjas from the LEGO Ninjago: Masters of the Spinjitsu television series regain their memories after they're stolen by an enemy named Ronin and his army of dark samurai. The game allows players to explore locations from the TV show, and includes vehicles like bikes, jets and mechs. As gamers progress, they'll be able to unleash their Spinjistu Power, which sees them using an elemental tornado to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. The game offers two control options: Virtual D-pad and Casual. LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin is coming soon to Android. Rock the Goat (Free on iOS, Android) - Rock the Goat is an endless survival game from developer Galaxy Crunch and publisher MS-E Publishing. The game challenges players to help Barry the goat stay balanced on top of a moving platform by tapping on the left and right sides of the screen to move him back and forth. Players earn coins as they survive in each game, and will receive bonus coins as prizes over time. Each time players accumulate 100 coins, these can be spent on new costumes for Barry. Players can also watch video ads to receive extra coins, and can purchase individual costumes with real money. StormBorn: War of Legends (Free on iOS, Android) - From JuiceBox Games, StormBorn: War of Legends is a base-building and hero collection game, which sees players become one of three heroes: rogue, mage or fighter. Players will build a base by balancing the use of two key resources, and can upgrade their resource production buildings to improve their productivity over time. While players begin with a few heroes in their army, these can be sent to the Storm Portal to recruit new heroes (the game offers 60 heroes at launch). When recruiting a hero, the class of each hero assigned to the portal (rogue, mage or fighter) determines the possible variety of heroes players can receive. During battle, the player's heroes attack the enemy (and the enemy's gate) automatically, with each character's special ability charging over time. When this ability is charged, players can tap the hero's profile picture to trigger it, and if players activate multiple special abilities at the same time, they create a combo bonus. Users are led through the game by a series of quests, as well as a level-based campaign. Users can also battle other real players to receive extra loot. A Land Fit for Heroes ($0.99 on iOS, Android; $1.09 on Amazon) - From Gollancz, an imprint of Orion Publishing Group, and Liber Primus Games, A Land Fit for Heroes is a multiplayer gamebook written by Richard Morgan. The fantasy title represents the first book in Morgan's Sword and Sorcery trilogy, and follows three main characters with connecting stories and a single ending. As a gamebook, users can make decisions which impact the way they progress. Users will also collect information items as they read and play, which may be important to another character's story. The game's battle encounters see users move their character around the game board, with dice rolls used to attack. Gamers may also visit shops and purchase items for their characters. During the game's single-player mode, users will experience the stories of all three characters, reading one chapter for one character before moving onto the next. In the game's multiplayer mode, users become one of the three characters, and can work with others to complete the story. In multiplayer games, the app offers a voting system when choices must be made. Zenonia S: Rifts in Time (Free on iOS, Android) - This sixth installment in the Zenonia action RPG series from Gamevil will see players explore nine new realms with both old characters (like Regret, Ecne, Daza and Neal), and a new character, Vishu, an assassin. The game's single-player campaign offers 90 levels to complete and 141 types of monsters to battle. As players progress, they'll complete quests and will collect new equipment to make their characters stronger. In addition to the single-player campaign, players can chat with others, or compete on teams of up to four players in real-time boss raids to defeat 12 bosses and earn rewards. Steam: Rails to Riches ($6.99 on iOS) - Following the game's release on Android earlier this year, Steam: Rails to Riches from Acram Digital is based on the board game Steam, and sees players take control of a railway company. In each game, players will build railroads and deliver goods between stations to earn profits and eventually expand their company. Players can upgrade the game's towns, or improve their trains along the way. Each of the game's maps supports three to five players, with three levels of difficulty available when playing against computer opponents. Online multiplayer and two to six player maps will be added in a future update. Mavenfall (Free on iOS) - This multiplayer turn-based card battle game from Blue Tea Games allows players to collect mavens, special hero characters which each have a unique deck of action cards. Before each game, players choose the mavens they'd like to take into battle. Once a match begins, players will have a limited number of action points on each turn to spend to play cards. As players progress, they'll unlock new cards, and can edit each maven's deck to suit their play style. The game supports Apple's ReplayKit for recording games, and allows users to record their face and voice to add commentary to their videos while playing. Gamers can save these videos to their camera roll, or share them to social platforms without leaving the game. Mavenfall is coming to additional platforms at a later date. Around The World (Free on iOS, Android) - From Ketchapp and Aya Games, Around The World is an endless survival game, challenging players to help a bird avoid red obstacles as it travels around an automatically rotating world by tapping and holding on the screen to speed up its flight. The bird moves up and down automatically as it flies, challenging players to fly above or below these obstacles by tapping (or not tapping) at the right time. Players can collect coins as they fly, which can be spent on new characters in the game's store. Players will unlock some characters for free via the prize boxes they receive over time. Rise of Heroes (Free on iOS) - From Pine Entertainment, Rise of Heroes sees players recruit heroes and complete wave-based battles against enemies. The game offers more than 30 different heroes to collect at launch, each with different skills (more heroes will be added each week). Gamers can equip their heroes with the gear they collect while playing, and can spend their coins to train their heroes and upgrade their stats. While battles progress automatically once players enter each level, gamers can manually use potions and other items to help their characters succeed in the fight. Gamers must equip these items before heading into battle. In addition to a single-player campaign mode, gamers can compete against other players in game's tournament mode. Sky Squad (Free on iOS, Android) - From developer Neskinsoft and publisher Kongregate, Sky Squad is an endless top-down shooter, asking players to drag their finger across the screen to move their plane left and right while it automatically fires at oncoming enemies. Players will collect coins as they fly, which can be spent on upgrades for their plane's weapons, or on upgrades for the game's power-ups, like a coin and item magnet or a score multiplier, as examples. These power-ups appear randomly as players defeat enemies, and players can collect them by flying into them (once collected, they remain active for a limited time). Players can also spend coins on minions, smaller secondary planes which fly alongside the main plane and also automatically attack enemies. Gamers can take a single minion into each game for free, while a second minion slot can be unlocked using coins. While free-to-play, gamers can spend premium currency on new planes, as well as new pilots. The Room Three ($4.99 on iOS) - From Fireproof Games, this sequel to The Room and The Room Two challenges players to complete puzzles and clear challenges created by a mysterious figure known as 'The Craftsman.' Players will need to rotate or zoom in on objects as they determine how to progress, and can 'explore the world in miniature' thanks to a new eyepiece ability. The Room Three is coming soon to Android.

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Mobile Game Roundup: BeatNiks, The Room Three and More

We take a look at some of the new mobile games released this week.

Brandy Shaul

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Brandy Shaul