MiniGame Paradise Review

Monday, September 19, 2011

MiniGame Paradise Review

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MiniGame Paradise Review

By Rob Rich on September 19th, 2011
Our Rating:

:: VERSATILE ENTERTAINMENT
iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

MiniGame Paradise is a bit of a mixed-bag, but mixed bags tend to offer something for everybody.

Developer: Com2uS
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0.1
App Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS
Graphics / Sound Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
User Interface Rating: 4.25 out of 5 stars
Gameplay Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
Re-use / Replay Value Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Overall Rating: 4.19 out of 5 stars

I’m usually a bit wary of mini-game collections, because they have a tendency to be filled with a handful of completely lackluster offerings. Of course, the overall value inherent in these kinds of titles largely depends on the individual. Some may enjoy most or all of the games on offer, while others may only latch on to one or two. MiniGame Paradise falls somewhere in the middle.

With ten games on offer, and the promise of “more to come,” there’s a decent amount of content here. All of these games are played using a simple one-touch control scheme which works a lot better than it sounds, most of the time. Additional (and superfluous) items and characters can also be unlocked by cashing in stars earned by playing or completing one of the many preset challenges.

Only two of the ten games are available at first, but thankfully Com2uS starts players off with enough “cash” to unlock another two of their choosing. After that, they either have to earn more by collecting them in-game or through in-app purchase. I admit I wasn’t all that thrilled with the first two offerings, but a number of the other mini-games are actually pretty good. In fact, many of them are styled after some of the App Store’s more popular “one button” games. My two favorites in this collection have to be the one that involves swinging along with a grappling hook in order to avoid getting caught by a giant wave, and a bizarre little RPG-lite kind of game involving a bunch of walking from side-to-side and not much else. It’s more entertaining than it sounds, trust me.

As I’ve said, a few of the games on offer are somewhat uninteresting. At least for me. The first one, which involves tapping in order to make the character move left or right as they run along a winding path, was particularly dull. I’m also not a fan of how convoluted the main interface is, with several rather important (or at least popular) choices buried under a bit too many sub-menus. It shouldn’t be this arduous of a task to simply put a hat on someone.

Ultimately, as with all mini-game collections, the amount of joy gleaned from MiniGame Paradise depends entirely on the user. Personally, I could care less about a fair few of these games, but a couple of them are surprisingly good. Good enough to be their own game in a few cases, actually.