Marvel Future Revolution

(Very) Early thoughts:

Well, Netmarble did what SquareEnix couldn't: they delivered a very decent open-world MMORPG game with characters from the world of Marvel. But let's not beat around the bush. The gameplay of Marvel Future Revolution is mediocre at best. There’s a lot that Netmarble could do with the game but players just have to spam the attack button and then there’s autoplay as well which just makes the game a repetitive and boring grind. The characters do look pretty, especially on higher graphical settings and players get to choose who they want to play as. The cool thing with all the different characters is their signature special abilities and attacks. But unfortunately, it’s a wasted opportunity since you just keep clicking the attack button and can take out enemies without even thinking about it. Being all about the characters and you can play as a bunch of different heroes from the Marvel Universe. Another thing which was a cool feature was the suits your characters can wear. Costumes can be mixed up and paired with different items to make your hero stronger and more resilient. But this comes with a couple of downsides. The game does have a story and there’s PvP gameplay and the story has been written by Marc Sumerak who has worked for Marvel. It’s an original story set on Primary Earth. At present, players can play as Starlord, Black Widow, Spiderman, Doctor Strange, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, and Storm. One big issue for me was optimization. Even my Samsung S20 FE which is pretty good for mobile gaming struggled a little and as far as I know, overheating and freezes are pretty common across devices which really is a big issue and should be worked on (you can see it by how this playthrough ended - later I noticed that the game crashed because my phone was just burning up). The game doesn’t have advertisements which is pretty cool but the In-App purchases are among the biggest concerns here. The game is way too pay-to-win and if you were to take a look at the store, you’d find a lot of different cosmetics for every character but they’re not just visual addons. They can increase the damage and strength stats of your players which some might consider as unfair towards other players. There’s a bunch of different bundles which cost quite a bit and if you’re going into PvP, someone who’s made these purchases is going to have a big advantage. Since the game does have an engaging story, I do think that kids 10 and above will find it pretty fun to play, but as the game goes it's non-stop violence, so take that with a grain of salt (or the entire shaker). 3 out of 5 Pandas (for now)

Paw Patrol Rescue World

Review:

If you ever wanted to be in an episode of Paw Patrol, this is your chance. In Paw Patrol Rescue World you'll take on missions playing as the titular characters of the Paw Patrol Cartoon Show as they face challenges to help their friends in Adventure Bay. The game's strengths are without a doubt its amazing cut-scenes, the music, and the sound editing using the original voice actors from the show. The gameplay is fine, but the mini-games are nothing worth writing home about and have been seen on many other games, but they are well implemented within the story and they're fun for kids 3 and up that are fans of the show since they're the typical mini-games that work fine motor skills of children. As for monetization, the game does not push any in-game ads and in my view, that's the cherry on top of what's essentially a great game. 5 out 5 Pandas

PJ Masks Moonlight Heroes

Review:

PJ Masks Moonlight Heroes is a multilevel scrolling game based on the popular Tv Show PJ Masks, whereby single presses anywhere on the screen will make the main hero dodge obstacles and/or collect orbs and masks. you can choose between the 3 heroes: Catboy (who climbs and jumps between two buildings), Gekko (who runs across the rooftops), and Owlette (who flies over the rooftops). Each hero has seven levels to complete. A total score and star rating (1 to 3) is given at the end of each level to indicate a degree of completion. The aim of the game is to collect as many orbs and masks as possible and to make it to the end of the level without losing lives. Very simple, fine motor skills, good hand/eye coordination, and fast reaction time are required to play. Content within the app itself is completely fine for children aged 4+. 5 out of 5 Pandas

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Legends

Review:

Teenage Mutant Ninja (or Hero) Turtles Legends is an excellent game and an example of how to adapt the source material into a well-crafted experience. The game follows a simple path but from the graphics to the gameplay everything is thought out perfectly. Yes, it deals with violence and I certainly recommend it to children 6 and above, but the violence is subdued by the gameplay that forces kids to think about their choices. This is no beat-em-up, no street fighter kind of game. In order to progress past a certain point and to gain more and more bonuses, brute force will not be enough and the game does make you think about who to have in your party, what powers to use on whom, and why. In terms of monetization the game allows you to play it from start to finish without ever having to see an ad, something other Nick games should follow. 5 out of 5 Pandas

BEN 10 Omnitrix Hero

Review:

To be perfectly honest I was expecting a lot from this title since Cartoon Network usually delivers good tie-in games. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The graphics and sound effects are good, the music is reminiscent of the old 16-bit era but the game in itself is just too repetitive. Being able to play with different characters is nice and all but the whole game feels like going through the motions just for the sake of it with no real objective or story to back it up. The monetization is kept to a minimum, but the difficulty really ramps up, making it almost necessary to view ads to progress in the game. A real shame. This one is for [screaming] die-hard fans only. 1 out of 5 Pandas.

Toca Kitchen

Review:

In true Toca Boca fashion, Toca Kitchen is a very well-made little game where you can try out different types of foods with 3 different people, each with their own likes and dislikes. It can help kids and parents talk about different types of food items, as well as how everyone is different and can have their own taste. It can also let kids see what happens to certain items when cooked in different ways, from grilled to fried or even squeezed. Plus kids can just fool around and make the poor characters eat stuff filled to the brim with hot sauce. All in all, it's a very enjoyable and very fun little game. 4.5 out of 5 Pandas.

Math Kids

Review:

MATH KIDS is a free educational game aimed at children from 3 to 8 years old. It has a very good presentation with a very likable mascot (Lucas) and it is very easy to understand, even for toddlers. The game adapts its difficulty to the age you input at the start so you don't have to be afraid that it will overwhelm your child, but even if it does, it is very easy to change the difficulty in the setting menu. Your kid will learn about counting, adding, and subtracting numbers in multiple fun mini-games that are very well presented. This game is not about the bells and whistles and that's fine by us since the important stuff is on point: the questions are shown in a simple and clear way, pointing out one right answer before asking the child to make his/her choices. Plus the little bonuses you can collect along the way, like stamps, stickers, and objects are fun to see them pop-up from time to time. Plus, there are trophies to collect by completing certain goals. Another positive is that this game doesn't try to shove ads in the child's face and is careful in the way it pushes its own monetization. Oh! And it comes in different languages, although I can only attest to the English version. I definitely recommend it. 5 out of 5 Pandas