Monster Island: Detonate the unwanted visitors on your precious island!
Miniclip have revamped their smash hit game Fragger and they’ve delivered their new version, Monster Island! Does the new game explode with as much excitement as the original? Or is it just a reskinned variant? Read on to hear more…
Gameplay: First we should make it clear that this game is very similar to Fragger. So if you enjoyed the original grenade lobbing game then you should definitely toss some bombs in Monster Island. For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of playing Fragger, then here’s a quick overview: this is a Physics Puzzle Game where you test your coordination and timing by throwing projectiles at the enemy thugs. Most of your shots will explode (because everyone likes destruction), but there are also plain and simple (painful) rocks. To throw a missile you merely touch on the screen and drag your finger around to adjust the directional throw arrow. Once you think you have the right trajectory and power then you can let go of the screen to unleash your attack. The aim is to eliminate the monster thugs on every level using the least number of throws.
Gut Feel: Clean and simple killing is always enjoyable. The satisfaction is particularly good when you feel like you’ve thrown an amazing projectile arc. But what’s really attractive about the game is the look of despair on your enemy’s face when imminent death is upon them! The little details are incredibly funny and it’s somehow quite satisfying to knock them in the head to anger them. Yeah, you know you like causing them pain too….
Monster Island is very well polished and its setup for both casual and hardcore players. Hardcore players will hone their finger-eye coordination to ace each of the levels, whereas casual players will blitz through the levels in a trial and error fashion… Eventually everyone does this because they’re trying to get three stars on all the levels.
Graphics and theming: No matter how I look at this it’s still Fragger at the core, but there are still beautiful cartoony graphics which are accompanied by pretty particle effects. The thrower now looks like Majin Buu from Dragon Ball Z, and the enemies are clearly monsters, but they still fall around like skittles.
Is it the same game as Fragger then? Although on the outset it looks the same, there is a subtle difference. Fragger is much more physics and mechanics skill with grenades, whereas Monster Island introduces variation into the mini monsters (i.e. different grenade types) early on. There are five monster bombs (Rocko, Sticky, Xplode, Blui and the fearsome Don Tonator) and there’s a lot more emphasis on these new weapons early on.
Good points: As this is effectively a sequel game then there are many excellent aspects which have carried over. Most notably restarting a round is really fast and smooth – this is very important for those people trying to three star all the rounds. There are also solutions to every level available so you shouldn’t get frustrated (But unfortunately, this can only be used a limited number of times, after which you need to buy more credits to access more solutions).
Some downers: Unfortunately the Free version has very annoying adverts and it also has a countdown timer overlay screen to try and get you to buy the full version! Personally, I’ve found that the game is too easy. One can get through the levels very quickly.
Rating: 4/5 Monster Island is great for time wasting. Although the free version is a bit too easy, there are some funny levels that should make you smirk. Overall it’s very tempting to buy the full game to get all the levels because it should be worth the money.
Fragger Monster Island Tips From Android Games Review:
- Trial and Error will let you solve most levels.
- If you’re stuck then carefully consider the bombs which you’ve been provided – are you using all of them effectively?
- So far in the free version I was only really stuck on one level and that was because I didn’t realise that the blast radius of a bomb can actually be much further than I thought. So try the more obscure bomb positions eventhough you may think that the explosion shouldn’t help.
- If you’re still stuck then think carefully about the order of explosions and actions. Does a pathway need to be opened prior to doing your main detonation?
Developers: MiniClip
Monster Island QR Code
(Click on the image or scan the barcode with your Android phone to goto Google Play)
