You can read my review policy here.įlipped Stomach is Mikael Raheem. This game was reviewed on an iPod 5 running iOS 7.1.2. – MAJOR: paywalls are restrictive and discouraging
+ MINOR: aesthetics are cohesive and true to the series + MAJOR: match-three combat mechanics are engaging While the game could have had you pay to unlock new levels or new looks for your characters, it chose instead to bury its reliable gameplay mechanics in a pile of paywalls. It’s just that the fun starts to wane when you’re constantly baited with costly powerups and obvious ploys to bring in more revenue. Add that to a “cash for power” mindset and the game’s constant pay-to-win reminders come off as a blatant cash-grab.įat Princess: Piece of Cake is fun, there’s no denying that. Thankfully, it isn’t too difficult to beat level 15, but it is a little irritating that in order to redeem your voucher you have to log into your Facebook account.
One of the big draws of playing the mobile version of this game is that it allows you to unlock the PS3 version of the game for free if you beat level 15. Want to increase your chances at a getting better prize? Just pay a few bucks!
To add insult to injury, after beating each level you’re presented with a slot machine that will grant you either a few coins or a few diamonds, maybe a powerup. The game is guilty of the popular board game level select screen that requires new areas to be unlocked by either getting achievements or, you guessed it, paying money.
Not only are there the usual free-to-play culprits such as forcing you to wait for your energy to recharge to keep playing or asking you to pay for in-game currency so that you can buy powerups, there’s also a disastrous “Boosts” system that allows you to permanently power up your squad by spending at least fifteen dollars. Gameplay (left) and paywall system (center/right).Īs far as the rest of the game goes, it’s a bit of a mess. The few downsides to the presentation are the generic, repetitive soundtrack and an unfortunate lack of humor that the original game was known for. The animations are smooth and shifting gems around feels as though it really is effecting the bloody display just above your grid. Your warriors’s look is taken straight from Piece of Cake‘s predecessor along with the princess’s waddling gait. In terms of aesthetics, the game delivers well on the Fat Princess art style. There are a few things that push the gameplay a bit further, such as the diamond collection system or charging up Fat Princess’ butt slam, but overall the game is simple and easy to pick up. The minute-to-minute gameplay is entertaining and satisfying: it’s a great combination of chance and skill that lets you make decisions without overwhelming you. Each member has different abilities, whether it’s attacking the first two rows with a weaker attack or stunning the entire enemy party with lobbed bombs. Your party consists of different types of warriors, each one set off by matching their associated gems. The game centers around defeating waves of enemies by matching three or more of one type of gem. The match-three RPG elements, while interesting and well put-together, are undercut by the all-too-common paywalls seen in mobile games that ask for cash in order to either progress or excel.
Sony Fat Princess Piece of Cake is a free-to-play game with a solid core and a slew of slimy paywalls.įat Princess: Piece of Cake, mobile successor to the popular Playstation 3 game Fat Princess, has a decent premise but asks too much from the player in terms of progressing through the game.