Ovi knows that sometimes the sequel is better than the original

Often times, there will be a sequel for a movie, or part two of a book, or the sophomore release from a band … and it just doesn’t live up to expectations, for whatever reason … there was so much hype for part one, how could anything new be better, ...

Often times, there will be a sequel for a movie, or part two of a book, or the sophomore release from a band … and it just doesn’t live up to expectations, for whatever reason … there was so much hype for part one, how could anything new be better, right?

What about when it comes to mobile apps and games? Can the sequel – Part 2 – of the game meet your needs? This past week in the Ovi Daily App we came across a couple of sequels that definitely meet their expectations head on, and then power through to offer even more cool features not found in the original.

For starters, let’s take a look at Gish Reloaded published by HandyGames this time around. This game makes sewers and tarballs more fun than you can possibly imagine. It’s the successor to the Gish Mobile release that we reviewed in the Ovi Daily App this past October.

At it’s core Gish Reloaded is a maze game. You take the role of a sentient 12-pound tarball navigating through sewers and other underground environs collecting goodies and avoiding perils. Like the original Gish Mobile game, this new version continues to use an open-source physics engine to create the movement of your tarball. (Trust me, this stuff is cool for the inner-science geek in you, and makes the movement in the game super slick.)

But, as you will see, Gish Reloaded is more than just a basic maze game. It offers plenty of hidden goodies like secret passages, and doors and lifts you can activate.

Gish Reloaded offers both single-player and Bluetooth multi-player modes, and has 35+ Single-player levels; 25+ multiplayer cooperative levels; as well as deathmatch and speed race levels. If for some reason, you run out of levels to play, you can create  your own or download additional levels for free from the developer’s website. There were over 1,000 downloadable levels available! That should keep most of us quite busy for the weekend.

Gish Reloaded is compatible with Nokia Symbian smartphones (touch-enabled and keyed) and is available for $0.99 (USD) in Store.

Our next game sequel also has its hero underground … maybe that’s the theme today? This time, however, you are in the thick of it with Marv the Miner 2 taking on 31 levels of retro-styled platform-gaming action. In this game by Digiment, you must keep Marv moving in order to highlight/run across all of the steps in your path to complete the level and move on.

As you play, you try to collect as many gems as you can, avoid assorted baddies/monsters, and make sure you don’t fall too far – it’ll kill Marv quick. You do get three lives to begin the game, but still, run and jump with both eyes open.

As you move along, you will have new tools available to you to help you complete each level. And one more thing: each level is timed! Run out of time, and that will kill Marv, too. You wouldn’t want that to happen, would you? Look at his cute face … how could you hurt a fella like that?

Like the Gish games that offer ways for you to create your own levels,  you will find that the makers of Marv the Miner 2 have posted the full source code and build files for their game, and several other titles they produced. You can also see a list of some of the new games in the works (and, based on some other secret stuff the Digiment team shared with me this week, the new games in development are going to rock – stay tuned for those!).

Marv the Miner 2 is available for $1.99 (USD) in Store. There is also a free version, with in-game ads and 20 levels to play; and if you still aren’t convinced there is a 3-level demo version to try, too.

Before we go, I’ll mention one other sequel that caught my eye in Store … I have not had a chance to try it yet, but it is on the to-do list. Specifically, I’m talking about Farm Frenzy 2! We all went a little crazy for the original Farm Frenzy, so our hopes are up that this new version continues to bring us the charms of life on the farm – all 90 levels of it. We’ll be sure to let you know how it goes!

So what do you think? Game sequels or stick with the original game? Among your favorite mobile games, which one would you like to see get its own sequel? Dare to dream in the Comments section below.

Source : http://blog.ovi.com/2011/03/18/ovi-knows-that-some...