Taking hold of another inter-galactic application called Asterism, I was pushed back to nostalgia. Remembering times where games are simple yet provides no room for boredom. Talk about the brick game! The influx of intricate mobile software that obviously refurbished the age-old games we grew up with became a gateway for people to higher their standards regarding applications. Not that it’s wrong, I just feel like they’re missing out on the real essence of gaming: using your brain. So it’s great to have this new application called Asterism that makes use of a retro game play and even design.

With simple instructions and a user-interface that looks like it’s from yesteryear, people will be taken up to the galaxy through this exciting physics game! Read more of this Android app review to know more about Asterism.

I can’t deny the fact that I do enjoy games which requires minimal thinking skills because if you’re just passing time, it’ll definitely be handy. Although I’d always prefer those that makes me think if it comes to the general question of what kind of apps am I after. Going back, the mobile game I’ll be reviewing today resembles the game play of Stupid Zombies which I have talked about a few months back. But Asterism focuses on blowing up stars instead of walking cadavers’ heads. If you’re one of the 90s kids who enjoyed the heck out of Space Invaders Galactica, then you’d probably have a ball while trying Asterism for a spin.

is a physics-based game which is the creation of Heroes by Design for the Android audience. It follows suit a premise of obliterating what supposed to be constellations made by a group of colorful stars. The gist is to follow the color indicator at the top of the screen and shoot the stars chronologically according to the line up of colors. The free game contains 60 levels which is divided into two namely: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Stellar Game Play

The rules are pretty simple; you just need to be wary of the indicators on your screen. First up, taking note of the chronological order of colors on the top left corner of your screen is the key to finish a level. So the main gist is to shoot the stars by pointing your shooter at the right angle and relying on the bullet’s ricochet to bounce off of the next star in order.

The levels are divided into two which means that there are 30 challenges per set. The first one is called the Ursa Major while the second is the Ursa Minor. The former contains puzzle 1 through 30 (the easy levels) and the former has puzzles 31 through 60 which offers a heightened difficulty.

If you don’t find the levels challenging enough, you can always change its stringency right from the get-go. What I like about this set-up is that it asks for you to set the difficulty every time you start a new game. After you’ve tapped on the set you’d want to play, the prompt will appear.

Guess the right angle…

To start turning the stars into dust, you have to get used to the controls of your shooter. By pressing hard on the left side of your screen, the pointer will slant to the left, the same thing happens when you press anywhere on the right side. As for me, it is as tedious as it sounds. The pointer reacts and moves slowly which kinda rubs on the wrong side of my patience. But of course, that’s just me wanting a swift game play that follows my commands in a snap.

Once you’ve made up your mind on the angle of your shot, you can then tap on the “fire” button to release the bullet. Once the bullet hits its target, it will bounce off of it. The ricochet will then give a high possibility of the bullet hitting the next star of color. But if it hits the wrong star, the bullet will then disappear—shortening its bouncing stint. You will only have three bullets to use, so don’t be too hasty because you might end up wasting your time. The three dots on the bottom right hand corner indicates how many shots you can still take. Nonetheless, all levels are re-playable.

The screenshot above shows level 3 of Ursa Major. It only involves the stars and the shooter. It’s very basic and it primarily relies on the bullets rebound. However, in the Ursa Minor, players will face hindrances in forms of barriers. Refer to the image below:

Level 1 of Ursa Minor in the “regular” difficulty level.

Interesting, ain’t it? With three bullets to spare, you can just probably wish on luck to help you pass this level!

Another great thing about the app is that once you closed it, it automatically saves your progress so you can continue it in a later time. If you’re not up for it, there’s always the option to start a new game at your disposal.

Key Features

• Fast, fun, addictive game play
• 60 challenging levels to play through
• 2 difficulty modes
• Master one shot “trick-shots” on all levels
• Auto-saves game progress
• Free updates with extra levels and features

The graphics of Asterism is superb considering that it sort of looks like it’s a game developed many years back. Maybe that’s the point of it, though. To have that feeling of playing an old-game on your modern devices. With its straightforward menu options, the app is every bit easy to navigate. Together with a hypnotizing background music, players of Asterism will surely be hooked for hours!

Harrie The Star Destroyer

Although the whole process of aiming the shooter is not something I’m nodding to, the whole package still deserves a five-star rating from me. There are no bugs which makes for the app’s seamless play and I did love the fact that it was really simple.

Asterim is one great app that can revive our love for old-fashioned games without sacrificing the compelling characteristics of modern applications. If you’re looking for an application that can hold your attention for hours and at the same time exercise your problem-solving skills, then this app is your perfect match! It’s available for free in the Google Play Store and there’s no in-app purchases; just updates.