[11.21.13] Hidden Variable launches sophomore effort, ‘Tic Tactics’

Hidden Variable

Award winning studio Hidden Variable, masterminds behind the mobile hit “Bag It!”, put their own spin on one of the oldest games known to man. Launching today, Nov 21, “Tic Tactics” is the classic game Tic-Tac-Toe raised to a whole new level and it utilizes the infrastructure of the popular “With Friends” series. The idea is to create a relatable yet original game that players over the age of 10 will actually want to partake in. “Tic Tactics” blends instantly-familiar gameplay with strategic, in-depth, turn-based multiplayer all presented in a very modern and sleek interface.

If you know how to play Tic-Tac-Toe, you’re already familiar with the basics of “Tic Tactics”. The twist is that your move determines where your opponent can play next. The game board consists of a 3x3 grid of Tic-Tac-Toe games on which you play traditional Tic-Tac-Toe. The catch is, when you place your move, it now requires your opponent to play their next move on the board that matches the respective location of that move. In other words, if you place your “X” in the bottom left corner of your current Tic-Tac-Toe board, it now mandates that your competition pics one of the possible moves on the Tic-Tac-Toe board that occupies the bottom left corner of the 3x3 grid of Tic-Tac-Toe boards.

“Tic Tactics” has three gameplay options to choose between so you can play how and when you want. The first option is the classic couch multiplayer. Grab a friend, a comfy seat, and select the “Pass and Play” option. Now you can play a quick game all at once while you’re waiting for your food to be served at a restaurant or waiting for your name to be called in the doctor’s office. The second option allows for shorter periods of play over a long period of time. “Random Opponent” does just what you would have guessed – it matches you up with a random opponent online to play at your own pace turn by turn against each other. This works best for playing on your breaks at work or between rounds of “Call of Duty”. The last option takes it to a slightly more personal level and allows you to play online against friends. It does this by linking with your Facebook account and allowing you to choose from your list of friends who also have the game.

“Tic Tactics” is available now on iOS and Android as a free download and is coming soon to Kindle Fire.

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you

[08.23.12] ‘Bag It!’ gets second free update packed with content

Hidden Variable

Earlier this year, a little studio by the name of “Hidden Variable” released a masterpiece which could easily be a contender for mobile game of the year. Since then, “Bag It!” has had immense success with an Amazon Free App of the Day promotion and its first free update which introduced us to a new character, Fizzy. The studio is at it again with another free update and sale to celebrate their accomplishment of achieving the 5 million download mark.

This time around, the game is getting a brand new challenge mode themed all around everyone’s favorite pirate watermelon, Seedy! “Seedy’s Booty” is an endless matching mode featuring plenty of power-ups, explosive 3D graphics, and Facebook or GameCenter leaderboards, depending on your platform of choice.

As you race against the clock to match as many groceries as possible, you’ll earn coins which can be spent on new power-ups to help boost your scores. It’s also likely you might have a visit from a sea monster or find a few other pirate-related surprises along the way. After you achieve a dominating high score, you can link with your Facebook profile on Android or the GameCenter on iOS to boast your superiority and rub it in all your friends’ faces!

If you’re not in the boat who have already downloaded the game, or you’ve just restricted yourself to the ‘lite version’, now is the time to take the leap of faith and by the full version. It’s on sale through tomorrow both on Android and iOS. For iPad users, the HD version is $1.99 and for anything Android, the regular version is $0.99 until Friday, Aug. 23 at midnight.

Hold on just a minute though, because there’s a way you can get a copy completely free! That’s right; I’ve got a few promo codes for a select number of lucky individuals. If you want a chance at a free copy of the game, all you have to do is like my Facebook Page. Tomorrow, 5 people will be selected at random to receive a promo code for a completely free copy of Bag It!

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he’d love to hear from you

[05.21.12] All new character and more coming to 'Bag It!'

Hidden Variable

About six months ago, a relatively unknown studio, Hidden Variable, launched their first mobile game to immense success. On May 25, Bag It! is getting a very expansive update, featuring new levels, all-new achievements, new modes, and best of all, a new character.

Meet Fizzy. He’s an adorable little soda bottle who’s a bit of a loner with explosive tendencies. Put him under too much pressure, and next thing you know, you’ll have cola and carbonation all over everything in your grocery bag. Working him into your grocery bag is going to be one of the toughest challenges to date for Bag It! That’s right, harder than fitting Crusteau into a bag upright or finding a safe place for Sir Eggward and Nacho during a game of Ultimate Bagger.

All of this extra effort will be well worth it, though, because for the first time, achievements are being added to Bag It! as in-game achievements on Android or via Apple’s GameCenter. In addition to these achievements will be 16 new levels across the Standard, Rampage, and Puzzle game types. Top it off with 3 revamped Endless Modes and you’ve got yourself one expertly packed bag of content.

If for some reason, everything you’ve seen here hasn’t been enough to convince you to drop some money on this game, you’re not out of luck. Hidden Variable has also released a free ‘Lite’ version of Bag It! which will give you a small 16 level sampling of the full game so you can try it out for yourself. Once you do, you’ll realize that the mere asking price of $1.99 is incredibly generous, especially with all of the new content being added this month.

The expansion will be a free upgrade to the full version of Bag It! and is expected to hit iOS and Android on May 25.

Bag It! Lite (Play Store, Amazon AppStore, iTunes AppStore)

Bag It! Full (Play Store, Amazon AppStore, iTunes AppStore, Barnes & Noble)

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you!

[02.14.12] Review: 'Bag It!'

Hidden Variable Studios

Bag It! for Android

Rating:

5 Stars

Amazon bagged another game for the free app of the day for Feb. 14, 2012 with Bag It!. It’s a new-comer on the market and the first game out of Hidden Variable Studios, but don’t count it out quite yet. It’s climbing the charts quickly despite being only a few months old. The puzzle genre is oversaturated, but Bag It! Brings something fresh to the table with its unique gameplay and adorable graphics. This game challenges you with the mundane task of bagging groceries but does so with specific challenges in mind. It might sound like a complete bore however its instant success make it seem likely you’ll be in for a nice surprise. Take a little Tetris, throw in a little Toy Story, add a dash of the travel-game classic Rush Hour and you’ve got yourself Bag It!.

The Fun Stuff:

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is a common saying and it makes a lot of sense, however there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little innovation from time to time. One of the greatest things about Bag It! is the original gameplay. It’s incredibly refreshing to play something so different and so well designed for a change. The app as a whole is very well refined and it’s likely you won’t run into a single problem while playing. Graphics are outstanding across the board whether you’re in the menus or playing the game.

Each food item is given a character with unique personalities and appearance. The background music creates a nice ambiance when blended with the sound effects and it’s the perfect environment for puzzle solving. If you ever find yourself getting frustrated with the puzzles and want to let off a little steam, you can unlock a different mode where your challenge is to crush as many items as possible. There’s also an endless bagging mode and a puzzle mode where many items are already bagged for you, however you have to move and rotate them to add in the last few while not allowing a single item to be crushed.

The Frustrating Stuff:

If we’re going to be nitpicky with Bag It!, there are two more neutral things to gripe about. It has OpenFeint integration – which some people use and love, however others who don’t will probably find it annoying. Likewise, it’s a game that requires you to play to unlock all of it. You can’t just jump straight to any level or any game you want. Again, some people prefer this method because it gives you a reason to play a game. Others will likely find this frustrating when they just wanted to jump in and get a quick fix on a random level.

Bottom Line:

Bag It! is, hands down, the best game to hit the market in quite some time. This is definitely a game that can appeal to anyone and everyone. Drop everything and take advantage of this free deal today, unless you’d rather wait to pay and support the developers – it’s much deserved for this masterpiece. If you missed out on the deal of the day or don’t own an Android device, it’s 100% worth paying for and downloading.

Bag It! was created by Hidden Variable Studios and is Amazon’s free app of the day for 2/14/12. It typically sells for $0.99. It’s also available for $0.99 on iTunes and from Barnes & Noble for the NookColor.

Anthony Ortale writes news and reviews on behalf of Examiner.com. He does so much gaming in his spare time, it’s practically a full time job! If you like what you read here, please subscribe to his articles! You can also follow Tony on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook! If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to email Tony any time at ortale.anthony@gmail.com, he would love to hear from you!