Dan the Man Review (Android)

Halfbrick Studios has an interesting history in the mobile gaming platform. In the early days,when most Android developers were making puzzle clones and side scrolling runners, Halfbrick was busy making actual games, with real game-play designed for people who weren't brain-dead vegetables existing for the sole purpose of shelling out money for micro transactions. Dan the Man continues the tradition by making what can can only be described as the perfect retro platformer.

Gameplay

The game's description on Google Play says it plays a lot like Super Mario, but to me, this game looks and plays like SNK's Metal Slug franchise. Dan the Man combines every aspect of platforming games from the past 20 years that worked. customization of weapons, power-ups, actual melee combat... You name it, this game has it.

Graphics

The way game developers use the the retro aesthetic nowadays, its hard to believe there was a time when this art style was a product of graphical limitations. This game liberally takes advantage of the old-school design, without alienating people who like more modern capabilities. For example, the game itself scales to the size of the phone or tablet screen, instead of the other way around. This may seem like no big deal, but you would be surprised how few developers seen to get this part right when making a retro-style game.

Controls

the controls are perfectly fitted to the screen, with movable buttons that aren't big enough to cover up the game-play too much. Also, the controls actually exist. Video game immersion always starts with the controls, and the level of control you have over the character you're playing determines the caliber of the game-play itself. Less controls equals less game. Dan the Man understands this, and gives you enough controls in order to make you actually feel like you're playing a video game.

Sadly, most game developers forgo this idea entirely, relegating a player's level of control to either one-button taps or swipes, to appeal to people who are probably too stupid to know what a video game is.

I'm not too happy about the fact that there is no option for a game pad. Not every Android game needs one, but this happens quite as lot these days. Games I wouldn't mind having HID-compliant peripheral support, (King of Fighters 2012-A) don't, and this is not good. It doesn't really hurt this game at all, considering there is no real benefit to having one, but it wouldn't hurt.

Verdict

Unlike most of the games being advertised on AdSense and Google Play, this actually felt like playing a video game, instead of the pseudo-games designed to sell useless micro-transactions these days. This game represents a step in the right direction for mobile gaming as a whole.