United Kingdom
Very
good
 |
Pyxidis - For magician wannabes
Tested version: 1.0.8
Latest version: 1.1.3
Requires Android: from 2.1
|
Summary
Didn’t we all dream about being able to do magic back when we were kids? For those of you who still sometimes fantasize about it—this may just be your chance to find out what being a magician feels like, virtually at least!
The game we’re reviewing for you today won’t actually turn you into a magician, but Pyxidis does let you slip into the role of a great sorcerer. Come up with new incantations by connecting the stars and creating new constellations.
Features & Use
Section rating:
Test device: Nexus One
Android-Version: 2.3.3
Mods: Root
Pyxidis’s gameplay is easy, but mastering the game is complicated.
The goal is to create chains consisting of at least 3 stars of the same colour. The longer the chain, the higher your score.
There’s a bar located at the bottom of the display that informs you about how many stars of a certain colour you still need to collect.
To make the whole thing more challenging, you have to do all of this within a limited amount of time. A small time bar at the top right lets you know how much time you have left. A little word of advice: stay cool, calm and collected, even when you’re nearing the end!
You also have only a limited supply of magical energy, and with every new star connection some of this energy is used up. The bar that shows you how much energy you have left is replenished after a short while, but if you try to do everything in one go it may occur that you can’t make connections, which can be stressful considering that you are playing under time constraint.
You receive a virtual dollar at the end of each round, which you can then encash in the Magic Shop.
The three game modes are:
• Adventure
• Challenge
• Endless
You can use spells in Adventure, but they have to be activated first; collect virtual dollars and stars to activate them.
In order to collect stars a few apps have to be downloaded. There will soon be an in-app-payment option via Google Checkout, as well as – most likely – PayPal.
Spells are useful for when you attempt the more challenging degrees of difficulty. Some spells will buy you more time, others will provide you with more magic energy, or else maximize the distance between stars, etc. Spells have to be used carefully and craftily, so as to optimize their efficiency.
Spells cannot be used in the Challenge mode, but on the other hand connecting stars is faster and easier in this mode than in others. It’s quite a challenge nonetheless, because of the limited amount of time given to complete chains.
The Endless mode can only be activated using stars and virtual dollars. Once that’s sorted the gameplay is pretty much what you’d expect, considering the mode’s name: that is to say, time and energy are unlimited. Hence this mode has aptly been dubbed ‘Relaxed Playing’.
What makes this mode challenging is that you have to work more meticulously and precisely: stars have to be connected in a less forgiving way than in the other modes.
I found the background music to be somewhat annoying: an electronic version of Canon in D Major, otherwise known as ‘Canon Rock’. Mercifully, the music can be switched off (see settings; switching off the soundtrack is the only adjustable setting).
The game is OpenFeint, which can quickly lead to ‘I just spent 2 hours straight playing Pyxidis’ type scenarios. Achievements and high scores can be published and shared with your OpenFeint mates.
Bottom line:
Pyxidis is the kind of game that’s especially fun to play for short periods of time. The degree of difficulty keeps augmenting, meaning that it continuously challenges the player and hence frustration rarely sets in. The gameplay is a simple, but one that will suck you in once you’ve spent a few minutes playing the game.
Screen & Controls
Section rating:
Pyxidis’s design is very well done: really pretty graphics. Controls are intuitive and what’s more all control elements are located directly on the screen rather than tucked away in endless menus.
Speed & Stability
Section rating:
Pyxidis run very smoothly throughout the testing period and there was no lagging or crashes.
Price/Performance Ratio
Section rating:
Pyxidis is free and financed through advertisement, though in-app-payments are in planning. The app can be downloaded in our App Center as well as the Android Market.
Comparable Apps
No comparable apps are currently known to us. If you happen to know one, it would be great if you could get in touch with us.
Report comparable or similar appsReviews of this app in other languages
Developer
Top App:
Speedx 3D full&free
* Get our new free HyperQuiz, an adrenaline-pumping multiplayer quiz challenge :) (...)
* Get our new free HyperQuiz, an adrenaline-pumping multiplayer quiz challenge :) (...)
More Apps:
Galaxy NGC3D, Prism 3D, Speedx 3D, Speedx 3D full&free, Pyxidis, JellyBalls, ShakyTower (physics game)
You must be logged in in order to become a fan of HyperBees Ltd..
Features
Screen
Speed
Price
Market Rating:
AndroidPIT User Rating:
Own Rating:
Log yourself in!
Ad
Bookmark / E-Mail
Click on an icon to bookmark this test report. » Send this article via e-mailScreenshots
All Test Reports
- Applications (505)
- Games (300)
Archive
- 2012 (142)
- May (25)
- Songify – Speech to Music
- Money Tab – Everything's Under Control!
- 500px – The Official App
- Get-neutral – Environmental Activism à la Android
- OsmAnd+ – Navigation Made Easy
- TimeTable++ Schedule – What's On Today?
- GRAVITY PROJECT – A Better Temple Run?
- AlarmDroid Pro
- Chord! Free (Guitar Chords) – Crazy Chords
- Rail Maze
- Cartoon Wars
- mSecure - Password Manager – The Ultimate Security Service
- Get Taxi – The London Edition
- Akinator the Genie – Omniscience For Android
- Talking Tom Cat 2 Free – Return Of the Cat
- Solitaire – A Classic
- trainANDtrack! – How fit are you?
- Sonos Controller for Android – Music In the Palm Of Your Hand
- Folder Organizer – Tidy smartphone, tidy mind!
- BMX Boy
- IMDb Movies & TV – Films and Telly Galore
- ICQ Messenger – Chat! Chat! Chat!
- Samurai II: Vengeance – Pure Action!
- Remoteless (for Spotify) – Remote Control for Spotify
- Tiki Kart 3D – Does it compare to Mario Kart?
- April (29)
- March (29)
- February (30)
- January (29)
- May (25)
- 2011 (360)
- 2010 (303)
Market Comments
Tiki, Feb 10, 2012
Not up to par Cargo set my expectations too high to try to pay this game. Disappointed and am uninstalling asap.
Mark, Jan 12, 2012
Ups and down Its a fantastic game but you will get to a point where you either have to spend some money to get power-ups or quit. Gameplay is 5 stars, lameness in making you pay is a -2 star.
You must log in or register now,
to submit a comment!
As a logged in user, you can also change the order of the comments.