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September 2014

No Heroes Allowed: No Puzzles Either!

This free, quirky PS Vita game is essentially a "match three" type of game with a bit of a twist: rather than a move consisting of two tiles switching places (as in Candy Crush or Bejeweled), you destroy one tile at a time and try to get matches that way.  It can be hard to get used to, but it works well as a puzzle game.  Each tile has a monster on it, and when you match three of the same kind they will go to the left side of the screen to fight the hero.  Did I mention that you play as the bad guys trying to stop the heroes in this game?  If you get a combo then progressively more monsters will begin attacking.

 

You sometimes capture the heroes and put them to work in a mine.  They will occasionally unearth goodies which can be used to upgrade your monsters, or they may even find a new kind of monster altogether!  The humor throughout the game is pretty good and typically involves breaking the 4th Wall and the fact that you play as the antagonist.

 

Overall, the gameplay is well balanced and designed.  However, it uses the all-too-common mechanic of giving you a limited amount of gameplay attempts which are recharged over time.  If I were the President of the United States I would take immediate Executive Action to forbid such video game mechanics.  The kicker with this game, though, is that the recharge time for each attempt is 8 hours long.  And you have a maximum of 3 lives.  That is just ridiculous.  You can, of course, spend real money to get more attempts, or if you spend $15 you get infinite lives - in other words, you unlock the actual game.

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