Review - Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD

Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD is a different spin on the usual solitaire game for the iOS, but is it worth you hard earned money especially for $6.99? Read on to find out.

Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD is a golf-style solitaire game. By golf style solitaire, I mean that you have a layout of cards on the table and you have one card up in front of you for example an eight of clubs. Now you can place a nine or a seven on that card and so forth. It took me a bit to get used to it, but now I kind of prefer playing the golf style solitaire instead of my usual Klondike.

Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD and it's sister app, Faerie Solitaire Mobile, are a port of the popular PC game of the same title. I've sunk way too many hours playing my copy to be comfortable in admitting my playtime. Since this is a port, some things did get left out, but more about that in a bit.

The general plot is that you are rescuing faeries from imprisonment by playing. The reason why you are rescuing them it that you have been charged with a quest to rescue them all. After you complete ten hands in the game, you can release a faerie from captivity. At least that is what I vaguely remember from playing the PC version since the cut scenes aren't really in the game. Well, they are but are external YouTube links that take you out of the app.

Graphically Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD looks good, but it really doesn't have much in the way of flash.The same with the sound, nothing really special. The background music is nice for a while, but to be honest I usually have it muted.

As for IAP, Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD doesn't have any. This is nice especially considering the rather high cost of the game.

I have managed to drain the batteries in both my iPad and iPhone several times playing this game, usually with the idea of "just one more hand." I have also managed to have both my legs fall asleep while playing it in a waiting room. There is just something about the game that scratches an itch that keeps me playing it.

My only issues with Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD are some crashes while playing and the fact its missing one of the parts of the PC version I liked. The pet raising mini game is not present, although the publisher does say that it will be added in a future patch.

The only other thing that bothers me about the game is the absurdly high number of wild cards I have. In other games like this, I might have four or five stocked up, in Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD I have almost 100. This seems like overkill and has made the game far to easy in my opinion.

I will admit that I was shocked by the price of both Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD and Faerie Solitaire Mobile. I believe I got them both for free or at least much lower than that. But I believe that they are both great games that are worth it. If you like solitaire, then give Faerie Solitaire Mobile HD a shot. Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to play some more before my next meeting.

Verdict:

Graphics: Two stars
Sound: One star
Gameplay: Three stars
Amount of IAP: None
Angry Bird Leg rating: Three stars

Overall: Three stars
Cost: $6.99

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Mobile Gaming Quality Improving As Devices Improve

The problem with the relatively new market of mobile games has been the limitations of the mobile devices but are we beginning to see those restrictions ease?

Games designed for playing on handsets and other mobile devices are improving as game developers are able to build more elaborate graphics and, whilst we probably won't see serious gamers flinging their PS3s, Xboxes and Nintendo in the trash just yet, there are new breeds of games coming out that do offer more.

Typically the type of game on offer for the average iPhone user little more than a year ago was a very lite-on graphics affair - perhaps word puzzles, search games or scaled-down versions of social games like FarmVille with their bright colors and relatively slow-pace; in the past year slightly more complex games and action-based games have become very popular, as the ridiculous amount of downloads of Angry birds has shown.

There are even newer breeds of action-based game that are more graphics intensive appearing in the apps stores, with lots of animation, but without being overly bulky, top-heavy or memory-hungry.

The skill of the game developers has gone hand-in-hand with the skill of the device manufacturers to produce better, more textured, multi-layered games, designed for devices that are more powerful, have better processors and graphics chips and have a battery life to support extended play times.

The moans and groans that met the recent release of the iPhone 4s, from people who'd been expecting the release if the iPhone 5, meant that some major improvements to that phone were missed - many specifically designed to improve the mobile gaming experience.

These improvements include the use of the A5 chip, which is the same as the one used in the iPad 2. This provides twice as much CPU speed as the iPhone 4. It also has a dual core graphics processor that is seven times faster than the iPhone 4. These two features, along with the extended battery life, all make for a more game-oriented device.

This, of course, is great news for the casual gamers you see tapping their iPhone screens on the bus on the way to work in the morning, because it means a better gaming experience; whether it will be enough to attract serious gamers as well as mums, dads and kids, is not so clear.

Just recently I tried out a new free sidescroller game from the App store; it was very graphics intensive, with very beautiful landscapes where I had to guide a spaceship through. It was a throwback to the days of Atari video games and great fun.

I almost forgot that I was using my iPhone to play that game, it was so unlike typical iOS games; there's no doubt that games are becoming higher quality as the devices improve.

Styla Brite is a published author and product reviewer. Continue reading more about JumpShip Thrust Control and MonkeyBin Studios

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