Like most people, I’m on my phone a lot, and because of that, I like to find some fun (and most importantly: FREE) games off the Play Store to download to play when I want to pass some time.
I’ve found some real fun little games that I enjoy playing, such as: Governor of Poker 3, Pokemon GO, 2048, Plague, INC., and FLOW.
But, with free games comes the greatest agony of gaming off of a phone or tablet: ALL. OF. THE. *breathes in* AAAAAADDDDDSSSSS!!!!!!
Specifically, ads for other games.
But then I did some thinking, and I started to wonder: Would it be worth downloading some of these apps? Are these games worth the 5 to 30 second ads I have to sit through to go download and take up space on my phone and SD card?
Well, starting today, I’m going to find out.
So here’s how each review will work:
Title of game (with pic and developer info if and when possible)
Average rating on Play Store as well as best and worst review rating (Sorry, Apple users)
My personal review
Star rating, 1 thru 5, with either an “AD(D) THIS!” Or “IGNORE THIS!” suggestion.
So, with all of that out of the way. Let’s get to our first review, shall we?
Game: Johnny Trigger (developed by SayGames)
Average rating on Play Store: 4.5
Top positive review: 5⭐
Top critical review: 3⭐
My review:
A side-scrolling shooter that puts you in the shoes of what appears to be a top secret spy who’s goal is to take down some baddies and save some hostages with a wide array of guns that you work to purchase or can unlock through a gamble by selecting one of three cases (though, if you can sit through 3 different ads for about 30 seconds each, you can unlock all 3 cases). As you’re about to take out some bad guys, time slows down and an aim assist comes up and allows you to line up your shot and PEW. Fire away. But be careful. If you miss a target while in slowmo, or get a hostage killed, you’ll fail the level.
Fortunately, each level has 1 or 2 checkpoints you can reach as you progress, in case you do goof up, you won’t have to go all the way back to the beginning.
At your disposal throughout the game is 3 types of weapons: Pistols, submachine, and special. Each weapon has damage amount and ammo amount. The pistols shoot one shot per ammo slot, the submachine’s fire anywhere from 3-5 shots per slot, and the specials, from what I know as of writing this, fire one per slot.
Another thing you can unlock throughout the game is different skins for your character, and, I have to admit, is probably my favorite aspect of this game.
There’s several “Great Value” style skins to choose from, (Mario, Lara Craft, Britney Spears even, I think) but these two (Mandalorian and Daft Punk, respectively) are my personal favorites.
With 16 costumes (that I’ve unlocked anyways) there’s a character skin for just about any play style.
Next I want to talk about the level design, enemy design, and overall aesthetic.
If I could use two words to summarize these things, it’d be beautiful… and repetitive.
This is probably the only real low point for this game. Artistically, each stage is very pleasant to look at. However, after taking handfuls of levels to get through each stage (with 2 boss fights per stage) it can get old really quickly. You will also find that the amount of ways you do these levels loses it’s luster rather quickly. Once you get through the first few stages, the game just recycles levels. I get it though. I’m sure the developers have legit reasons for this, but it is annoying and once you’ve unlocked over 90% of collectables in the game, it makes you grind hard for the other 10% with no real satisfying payoff.
Aside from the “bosses” all the enemies are, for all intents and purposes, literally the exact same, appearance wise. So are the hostages. They aren’t bad, but, again, do become mind numbingly repetitive. When you first start playing you feel like with each completed stage you’re going to get new enemies and learn who you are as Johnny and why you’re doing what you’re doing, but you don’t. I can understand why they didn’t add more depth, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t express my disappointment about it.
All in all, since playing this game the day before Thanksgiving, I’ve really enjoyed it. Though it has its downsides its a fun, simple, and well designed game. If you’re looking for a good time waster, you need to download “Johnny Trigger.”
Rating: 4.5⭐
AD(D) THIS!
Thanks for reading my first game review. Let me know what you think of this game or if there’s anything I missed. I look forward to writing my next review. If you have any mobile game suggestions for me to review, leave a comment, or @ me on Twitter @TheRichieBuzz (no one has mentioned me in a tweet in like…3 years. It’d be nice to see a new mention notification)
For SSG, I’m Richie Bazurto.
