This is one of the titles I played in my iPhone 3G and now in my 3GS. The huge difference is the loading time. 3G is reasonable. 3GS is fast, fast enough to make this Mahjong version a good pick up and play. 3GS feels so right!
As soon as Mr. Mahjong Touch is loaded you see a beautiful interface, well designed and organized.
A good set of features is available: layouts (you can purchase more in game), shop (a good touch to acquire e.g. shuffle and hint to play with) and statistics (strangely winnings/losses information is not included, just the overall performance).
Gameplay
A Mahjong solitaire goal is quite simple: clear the board by matching tiles.
Mr. Mahjong Touch adds interesting approaches that increase the interest for the game. One of them is the timer but you have to hurry just if you want to earn as much coins as possible. By the way, coins can be used to acquire items in the game Shop. You can e.g. acquire more shuffles to increase your chances to finish a layout. There is a good set of bonus to help you out.
The game is divided in 4 packs. Each pack has 5 sets of themed layouts like Forms and Numbers.
Inside of each of the 4 packs you can purchase ($ 0.99) 5 more sets of layouts. This can increase the game value but right now it is limited to 4 additional purchases.
An entire pack without any additional purchase takes about 1:00 to 1:30 to complete. A reasonable amount of gameplay.
Note that each layout is not generated randomly. If you want to play them again you?ll play basically the same game. Chances are that if you want to play the game all over again you won?t remember the steps you took earlier.
The game also presents a Fever Mode that is triggered when you fill the matching meter. While in fever mode all pairs solved are worth double the amount of points.
The controls are OK. When a tile is small (due the layout and zoom applied) the tap selection is not as precise as when you have bigger tiles on the screen.
Finally, the game plays in both landscape and portrait modes and allows smooth zoom. Sometimes portrait mode is better so make sure to check both orientations and see what is the best for the current layout.
Graphics
There is no doubt the game is polished but it is not so easy to see how many tiles are in a column. You get use to it though.
Sound
Good music but there are missing sounds for tile selection, tile matching and when you make a wrong selection. Not good!
If iPOD music is already playing starting the game will fade it out. You have to turn on iPOD music from within the game Options.
Pros
Polished graphics Reasonable content Statistics It can properly resume
Cons
Missing sound effects You have to turn on iPOD music through the game
Conclusion
Mr. Mahjong Touch is one of the best of its kind due its polished graphics and well balanced production. I just hope to see the missing sound effects in a future update, then chances are that this will be the best for good.
Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):
Graphics: -5- polished graphics and well designed interface Sound: -2- missing sound effects and partially supports iPOD music Controls: -4- when you have small tiles tapping is not precise Gameplay: -4- the shop and statistics increase the interest for the game
Playing Hints and Tips:
Check the current mode in both orientations to see what is the best Acquire items in the shop (e.g. shuffle) to increase your chances to beat the layout
The graphics look great. As for the sets, I'm used to having lots of them in a Mahjong game because I don't usually play all layouts. Do you get to look at the additional layouts before you buy the additional packs?
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