iOS App-Aholics Anonymous: [Magic Portals]

App Name: Magic Portals
Developer: Asantee
Last Update: 7-14-12
Price: $0.99
App-Aholic Rating: 5/5

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Occasionally, when the AppStore seems dull from the lack of new releases, it is completely acceptable and sometimes compelling to scavenge the databases for past gems that may have previously slipped through our gaming radars. Originally released on May 24th, 2012, Magic Portal is one of these titles.

You are the nameless main character, a dark-clad man who doesn’t fly, doesn’t swim, he can he even jump! Let’s face it: he barely walks…AND bring portals to fruition. As you may or may not have already guessed by the title of this week’s selection, Magic Portals plays a lot like Valve’s Portal, but on a side-scrolling, 2-dimensional layout. Much like its 3D inspiration, Magic Portals consists of a slew of clever puzzles and a chain of decent graphics in which you cast portals to travel from point A to the end.

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Here’s a positive for ya:
The concept of the game is simple. The name may be even more basic! But the gameplay is anything but generic. With pretty visual effects and the power to zap anywhere you can point your finger to, you feel a bit empowered.

But Be Warned: Although it may be entertaining to bounce around the level (and this is advisable to try during a free play session cuz it’s pretty fun), the actual purpose of the game is to cast the least amount of portals to reach the end while collecting a designated number of gems, therefore acquiring the highest score possible.

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Developer, Asantee, offers a free, ad-supported version so that gamers may test drive it. Once you do, you’ll most likely be willing to spend the dollar for an uncluttered version.

There is also a “coming soon” tab. Magic Portals hasn’t been in the AppStore long enough to tell, but we can hope that Asantee plans to revisit this addictive little adventure with future levels and updates.

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Puzzles will progressively become harder as the chapters progress. So will the challenges, as you will be taken from simply navigating a room to the point of dodging/relocating enemies and red no-portal zones.

Other Random Pros:
Having the convenience of a reset button when you mess up is nice. As was already said, the graphics and gameplay is smooth. Also the possibility of future chapters/updates is always a welcome sight.

Cons:
There’s only one that stood out to me When battling bosses (or any enemy, really), there’s no such thing as multiple lives. If you’re struck even once, you will die, and the level will end. Lucky for you, most of the levels are pretty short.

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App-Aholic Rating: 5; I really couldn’t find anything particularly disheartening about Magic Portals. It was fun, addictive, and void of glitches/flaws. I was thoroughly hooked until the end.

Bottom Line: This is a great addition to the consumer interested in short time-wasting, puzzle-solving, and/or side-scroll platformers. Even as an RPG enthusiast, I found Magic Portals to be a blast. Download the free version, try it out, fall in love, delete it, and pay the $.99 for the full version. Or bypass that previous senescence and just buy the thing!! You’ll love it!

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