Best Fiends
Best Fiends gallery
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Best Fiends is a match-three game, in the same vein as Candy Crush Saga. While it also has the in-app purchase push of that game, it's not as intense, nor does it force you to pester friends on Facebook to advance (though you will need to have characters advance to a certain level before you can move past checkpoints). There's no violence of note, nor any sex, language or other notable concerns.What kids can learn
Kids will definitely want to jump in to the game because of its visual appeal. Once they get the hang of it, they'll want to continue, but the time limits might prove to be frustrating for some.
Kids will use strategy to make matches as quickly as possible.
Game play is easy, and reminders about how many matches to make and foes to beat will appear between every level.
What's it about?
In BEST FIENDS players attempt to match three or more similar items on screen to meet varying goals for each level. Combinations result in damage points to slugs, which you must defeat to advance. Boards are littered with obstacles, which must be removed by matching an adjacent tile. Along the way, players can unlock characters that have different power-ups in the forms of explosives that take out adjacent squares as well as matching items.
Is it any good?
It's worth knowing before you go in that the team behind Best Fiends helped to create Angry Birds, Where's My Water, and Max Payne, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that this is an incredibly well-polished game, even if it is built around the very familiar match-three mechanic. Beyond just the puzzle elements, though, there's a role-playing side to the game as well -- one that's not especially detailed, but adds enough of a new spin to keep you addicted.
Leveling up your hero dung beetles, flies, and other insects proves to be fun, and the matching puzzles don't ramp up the difficulty at too extreme a pace. The downside is that eventually, the game's frustrating timer element will force you to either pay up or walk away when you may not want to. That timer is the frustration factor for Best Fiends, as it takes what could have been a great game and makes it merely good.
Families can talk about...
-
Families can talk about planning moves ahead instead of impulsively rushing into a decision. How does it help them to pay attention and use some strategy in the game?
-
Discuss the importance of teamwork. How do the characters in the game work together?
App details
| Devices: | iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Android |
| Price: | Free |
| Pricing structure: | Free |
| Release date: | February 17, 2015 |
| Category: | Puzzle Games |
| Size: | 85.00 MB |
| Publisher: | Seriously |
| Version: | 1.2.0 |
| Minimum software requirements: | iOS 7.0 or later |
