14 DAY TRIAL // Herocraft has brought in the Arcade Park game pack all the classic arcade concepts that took different shapes over the years. Everybody played most of them at a certain moment, so there is almost no need to read the instructions. The great thing about the games in this pack is the fact that you can just pick up the mobile phone at any time and start playing.
The first of the games, Arcade Ball, is all about bouncing your ball across the screen with the help of the paddle until all bricks are broken. In attempt to break the monotony out of this game which was recreated so many times until now, Gameloft has introduced some pretty unusual elements. There's an amoeba, a bomber and some jaws which either try to kill you by dropping deadly bombs or try to grasp the ball.
The concept is old enough to bore anyone that is not a fan of this type of games. The graphics are excellent, with vivid colors and impressive animations. Still, the ball often moves too slow and makes you beg for a "speed" bonus, which is something you should theoretically dodge, as it is marked with red. Putting these aside, Arcade Ball is one excellent representation of the "Arkanoid" concept, along with its impressive graphics and strange unicellular enemies.
Make room for the second game in line: Asteroids. The game leaves you drifting through the Universe in a spaceship and you must face asteroid rings and hordes of destructive alien life forms. You can turn around the spaceship's axis and fire against the attacks of the enemies or the giant boulders endangering your ship.
The game eventually proves to be more challenging than it might seem at first. It's quite difficult to avoid impact, as the spaceship is incredibly tough to handle. It feels just like drifting in space, as responds to all commands are slowed down, making it highly probable to end up in flames after hitting one of the incredibly numerous objects flying through space.
Rushman brings to life once again the old Pac-Man concept, probably one of the most popular arcade games ever created. The difference is that now we have a furry animal running for tasty snacks on the streets of a small town. There are several enemies trying to stop him, which sets the player on a race for treats and survival at the same time. That's a tough challenge to live up to. Pac-Man fans wouldn't say the same, but might very well enjoy this one more adaptation of the old arcade concept.
Finally, the fourth game in this first part review is Digger. It follows the same line as that of the arcade game "Mr. Do!", although it has preferred the diamond and money bags idea from the PC game "Digger" instead of the cherry and apple one. We now have a diamond and gold eating mechanical bird and some weird purple-eyed creatures on its trails trying to eat it.
Who doesn't love diamonds and bags of gold? As many as possible for you just to collect. Sounds like a pretty good motivation coming from this Digger game as to successfully escape the attacks of enemies. The control demands are great for a mobile phone game, as the player only needs a few keys in order to accomplish its task. Moreover, the graphics are quite evolved and the race features high dynamics and a great amount of tension while running from the hungry enemies.
These first four games from Herocraft's "Arcade Park" are all based on arcade game concepts released at the beginning of the '80. They have created a real craze at that time, along with their many adaptations. The simple concepts and easy to handle controls make them excellent for switching to mobile phones, just as they have for some time now. The pack brings great entertainment with little resource demands and easy handling.
