Candy In The Media

All this month on the Candy In The Media segment of the Candy Critic blog we're going to look at candy themed games for tablets.  All of the games will be tested on my Nexus 7 tablet running Android Kit Kat.  Keep in mind that I'm not really a gamer, so my past experience is pretty minimal.  I'll mainly be focusing on how easy it is to play, how it incorporates candy, and any tech issues that may come up.  We welcome your suggestions for games you think we should try out on future posts.

As far as candy themed games go, Candy Transport is fairly average.  It's the kind of game I can play for about 10 minutes, but after that I'm left bored or frustrated.  Theme wise it's pretty good, lots of mouth watering candies to look at and lots of fun characters to check out. The plot of the game is to load your truck up with all kinds of candies.  Each candy is a different size and shape, thus making it challenging to balance your load.  Then you have to drive over a series of bumps and hills without losing any of your candy load.  Lose too much and you're out.

The frustrating part of this game comes from the way the candy is randomly dumped into your truck.  Sometimes it falls into a nice neat pile, other times most of it falls out of your truck before you even start.  You can move your truck around when you're loading up, but I still get the sense that it's fairly random.  I was also kind of frustrated that after I saved up for a new bigger truck, the back end of it was tilted and it allowed candy to spill out of my truck when I went up hill.  The improvement was a little better, but considering I saved up for the most expensive truck, it wasn't worth it.

One of my favorite parts of this game came about whenever you finished a level.  At the end of each level you're given a congratulations from a random candy guy, and it was followed by a "Did you know?" candy fact.  These facts are utterly ridiculous, but really fun. Most of them would give very unrealistic praise to various candies.  I warmed up to this game fairly quickly, after a while I got bored of it, but I was still able to pick it up now and again and enjoy it for a short period.

CC

Candy In The Media

All this month on the Candy In The Media segment of the Candy Critic blog we're going to look at candy themed games for tablets.  All of the games will be tested on my Nexus 7 tablet running Android Kit Kat.  Keep in mind that I'm not really a gamer, so my past experience is pretty minimal.  I'll mainly be focusing on how easy it is to play, how it incorporates candy, and any tech issues that may come up.  We welcome your suggestions for games you think we should try out on future posts.

I can't say that I have a great deal of experience playing games on my tablet, I have a few games that I like to play either alone or with Allison.  I also have a few games that I've played, but since taken off my tablet because I was either bored of them, or I finished them.  I can say that all of the games I've ever played on my tablet would probably amount to less than 30.  Even with such a small amount of video game playing, I can tell you that I don't think I'll ever see a game that I hate more than Candy Maker.

I played this game once, and then thinking that there's no way that this is the game and I must of missed something, I played it again.  I couldn't believe how boring, and of poor quality this game was.  I tried to tell myself that maybe this game is designed for children, so that's why it's so simple.  Then I realized that if you're a child and you are able to hold a tablet, than this game is way beneath you.  The basic principle of this game is that ingredients fly in over the pot, and you tap on them to add them into the pot.  There are several ingredients, some that I'm pretty sure don't actually belong in hard candy.  After all of the ingredients are added (and there is no "wrong" ingredients you just add them all) a spoon appears and you stir the ingredients.  This is the most complicated part of the game, and it's remarkably simple.

After your mixture is prepared you pick a colour to add, then you poor your mixture into a mold that you selected when the game started.  You can see that the graphics of this game are really simple, and the animation is simply fades, and basic graphics.  There's nothing really entertaining at all.  It doesn't even represent a realistic view of how to make candy.  There are ingredients that don't belong, like large quantities of oil, and there's no thought towards tempering or heating properly.

 

At the end of the game your lollipop appears and you can decorate it.  You can pick one of 9 backgrounds and one of 9 stick colours.  Then you can add graphics to your lollipop, which consist of 9 random candy like images.  The thing is, once you've selected an image, you can't take it off.  You can move the graphics around, and you can add more, but you can't take them off.  Finally you have the chance to eat your lollipop, which consists of a shrinking/fading graphic that I learned in first year animation school. Maybe I am missing something about this game, maybe there's a detail that I didn't come across, and in that case I'm the biggest idiot.  But if this game is simply what I described, you're much better off just going out and buying yourself some candy.

CC

Candy In The Media

All this month on the Candy In The Media segment of the Candy Critic blog we're going to look at candy themed games for tablets.  All of the games will be tested on my Nexus 7 tablet running Android Kit Kat.  Keep in mind that I'm not really a gamer, so my past experience is pretty minimal.  I'll mainly be focusing on how easy it is to play, how it incorporates candy, and any tech issues that may come up.  We welcome your suggestions for games you think we should try out on future posts.

This week's candy themed game was one that is fairly popular with many people, but one I've never actually tried myself.  Actually the Hidden Object Candy version of the game may not be the most popular, but the "Hidden Objects" style of game is very popular right now.  That would explain why there are hundreds of variations to this game, with all kinds of themes.  This is but one version of this game, and as you'll read later on, I don't really understand why they even bother.

The object of this game is to find random stuff.  A picture comes up on your tablet with a pile of random things loosely attached to the picture and you have to find (and click on) specific objects hidden amongst the clutter.  A few of the objects interact with the background, or at the very least are themed appropriately.  Most objects are completely random and are just floating within the picture for no particular reason.  You get a time limit to find the objects, and then you get a bonus round to fine even more.  I can see how the concept of this game may work, but I don't really think this version works at all.

My biggest problem with this game is the randomness.  The randomness of where the things are sitting on the screen, as well as the randomness of the objects themselves.  Most of the objects that you search for have no relation to candy whatsoever, they're just random objects.  While the backgrounds are candy themed, the hidden objects don't really belong in the pictures for the most part, and when they are integrated they're nonsensical. To me it seems like the candy theme of this came is just thrown in with no effort.  I'm guessing if the candy theme was pulled off a bit better, I may have enjoyed the game a lot more. As it stands I've played it 3 times, and that's probably it for me.

CC

Candy In The Media

All this month on the Candy In The Media segment of the Candy Critic blog we're going to look at candy themed games for tablets.  All of the games will be tested on my Nexus 7 tablet running Android Kit Kat.  Keep in mind that I'm not really a gamer, so my past experience is pretty minimal.  I'll mainly be focusing on how easy it is to play, how it incorporates candy, and any tech issues that may come up.  We welcome your suggestions for games you think we should try out on future posts.

This week we're looking at the first candy themed game that I ever downloaded for my tablet, Cut the Rope.  I have to be honest, when I first downloaded Cut the Rope I didn't even know that it was a candy themed game.  I just saw the cute little picture of the monster that eats all the candy and thought he (or she) was really cute.  Fortunately for me the creature was not only really cute, but the game was kind of fun and candy related as well.

The best part of this game for me is the theming.  Most puzzle games have a theme, but it's rarely more or equally clever as the games themselves (unless the games are really, really lame).  I can assure you that the Cut the Rope game is also really clever and fun, but so is the story that follows them.  You're basically trying to feed this little monster that comes in boxes delivered to your doorstep.  You have to complete puzzles that collect stars, and eventually feed the little monster a piece of candy.  The sound effects of the little critter are great, and the look of the game is perfect with the theme.  And the thing that drew me to this game, the cute little monster, is very cute and likable.

The basic design of the game is fairly simple, yet each puzzle varies in difficulty.  I found that the order of each puzzle didn't really reflect the difficulty of the puzzle.  In other words the puzzles didn't really get progressively harder as you move on.  Some of the puzzles at the beginning were very challenging, and some later or were very easy.  I did have a few puzzles were I gave up on trying to collect all the stars, and one that I even used one of the free firefly cheats to win.

As a game I found Cut the Rope to be a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed the way candy was integrated.  Candy wasn't just used as a decoration, but it was part of the storyline.  My biggest problem with this game is the advertising.  It's pervasive, constant, and interrupts game-play a lot.  I have never been so disturbed by advertising while playing a tablet game before.  It's physically impossible to ignore the advertising.

CC

Candy News

Flavour wise beer and chocolate make sense together, culturally I'm not so sure.

Did you know that PEZ was origionally a candy for adults? Well it is once again.

As a protest to the word "Candy" being trademarked for use in a video game by the makers of Candy Crush Saga, a few people have started to make their own candy themed games.

So how do you feel about Necco's latest new messages to be printed onto their candy hearts: "#LOVE” "TXT Me" and “Occupy My 3>”?

Are you into Dungeons and Dragons?  Do you like candy?  Well here's a little project you might enjoy.

Huffington Post recently posted a list of "Disappointing Foods That Are Never As Good As You Think They'll Be", but I'd argue quite a few of these.

Here's an interesting photo collection were they compare things that have been banned in parts of the USA, to things that are allowed (pretty much guns).  Kinder Eggs are included in the things that have been banned.

Skittles art is so cool, any subject works really well, even your favorite football player.

If you want to keep up with all of the daily candy news that we come across as it happens, follow us on Twitter.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Candy Crush Candies - Dylan's Candy Bar - For a month I was really into this game, eating the candies would finish my addiction. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

A Cool Candy Thing

I guess this isn't really a "candy thing" but it comes in the coolest box ever.  I think there is one obvious problem with this candy though, where the heck are the fruit and ghosts?  The game revolves around Pac-Man eating ghosts and fruit, and they only give you Pac-Men to eat.  Maybe in this particular scenario you're playing the role of the ghosts, and your job is to eat the Pac-Men.  In that case I recommend wearing a sheet with eye holes cute out while you eat these, just so you can be in character.

CC

Friday Candy Video - Cups and Cakes

Today was a day of learning for me.  For no particular reason I had the song "Cups and Cakes" stuck in my head for the last couple of days.  I thought it would be a fun song to post on the Candy Critic blog because it's main theme is sweets.  I decided to search YouTube to see if I could find it posted, and what I found blew my mind.  Did you know that there's a Lego version of the Rock Band game?  Did you know that this version allows you to play as Spinal Tap?  Did you know that one of the song options is "Cups and Cakes"?  This is so very awesome that I think I'm going to just sit back and play this video again.

CC

Gummies And Games

One of the newest trends in gummy shapes is tie ins with video games.  I think it's a great way to promote a video game and since gummies have such a versatility you can make just about any shape you might need.  I think more companies should jump on board the gummy train and start promoting their product with gummies.  I've seen a few movies promote with gummies, but often the shapes are fairly un-creative.  I think it might also be neat to see car companies, rock bands, or maybe art museums use gummies to promote their products.

Click here to read our Angry Bird gummy review.

CC

Monday's Candy Links

Mental Floss has a great gallery of Tetris themed cakes and cookies.

Mental Floss also has a list of some amazing food challenges, including Sunni Sky’s Cold Sweat Ice Cream.

Boing Boing has been going a little nuts with the strange cake posts lately, here's a couple of examples: Example 1 and example 2.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Angry Birds Space Candy  - Healthy Food Brands - I also want to try the new game too. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Official Angry Birds Candy - Made by: Fazer - Why: Because I love throwing candy around. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC

Stuff I Want To Try

Chocolate Space Invader - Made by: ?   - Why: It's the only way I can conquer Space Invaders every time. - Click here to learn more about this treat.

CC