Glow Hockey

Summary

Sometimes the simplest and most straightforward gameplays are the ones that procure the most entertainment—so much so that new games draw from the same principles over and over again. Some of you may not be familiar with Pong – the Godfather of all computer games – but most of you will have come across some sort of Pong-inspired offspring. Glow Hockey is yet another game that is heavily inspired by Pong, a game that’s approaching its 40th anniversary. Find out more about Glow Hockey in today’s review.

Test devices: HTC Desire HD/Samsung Galaxy Tab
Android Version: 2.2/2.2
Root: Yes/Yes
Modifications (CPU changes, etc.): None

App details:
Usable as of: Android 1.5
Apps2SD: Yes
Required authorizations: Hardware controls elements, network communications

FYI: our rating system goes a little something like this:
1 Star (downright terrible)
2 Stars (just about manages to scrape by)
3 Stars (good, but there are a few drawbacks)
4 Stars (great)
5 Stars (exceptional)

Please note: we very rarely award a full 5 star rating! They’re as rare as falling stars in a summer sky. If you we give an app 5 stars (or you feel it deserves such a stellar rating), inform your buddies, colleagues, and neighbors, they’ll love you for it!

As mentioned above, Glow Hockey’s gameplay is a pretty basic one. The goal of the game is to both prevent pucks from entering your goal using a paddle, as well as scoring in the opponent’s goal. As soon as a party scores seven goals the game is over. The winner is quite simply the player who manages to score the most goals.

Watch the video to get an idea of the gameplay (but please note that it’s the iPad/iPhone version).
As far as Glow Hockey’s feature goes don’t go by what’s shown in the video. At the moment the Android version “only” comes with four degrees of difficulty. What’s most likely still to come are multiplayer and Wifi options.

This review is all about what Glow Hockey currently has to offer in the Android version, and even though that isn’t that much I can tell you that Glow Hockey is nevertheless a fun game to play due to its solid controls and graphics.

Bottom line:
Glow Hockey is a contemporary and very good version of Pong. It’s just the thing for a quick game to play when you’re looking to kill a bit of time.
 

The following options are displayed on Glow Hockey’s homescreen:

Play
Settings
More Apps
About

You can switch up the puck and sticks under Settings, as well as switch other particles, sound, and vibrate options on or off. You can make changes throughout an ongoing game (providing you pause the game to make the changes).

Pick a degree of difficulty before commencing a game:

Easy
Medium
Hard
Insane

Once you start playing you move the stick using your finger. You don’t necessarily have to press on the paddle to do so; using your finger does the trick, too. Controls are awesome and with a bit of training you’ll find that you’re up to the task of knocking your opponent’s socks off with one powerful hit after another.

Hit the pause button (located in the middle of the right margin) whenever you need to. As already mentioned, you can pause the game to make changes to the settings.

The game field is divided into four different color sections which light up as soon as the puck enters them. This effect is underlined by metallic sounds, and indeed the game’s score is very metallic-sounding. I’m really into both to visual and acoustic effects; they really help enhance the fun factor. Glow Hockey looks great on both the HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Bottom line:
The visuals and sound effects are really what help make Glow Hockey a fun pass time. Controls are also very good. Pong – or its reincarnation – is still rocking it after 40 years!
 

Glow Hockey ran really smoothly on both testing devices throughout the testing phase.

Glow Hockey can be downloaded free of charge from the Android Market. Ads were displayed on the menu on the Galaxy Tab but not on the Desire HD. Advertisement are not displayed during a game.