Description: CORE is an arcade style game for Android that tasks you with both defending your core as well as killing enemies that are trying to attack you. It’s a game in which all the action takes place on one screen and has you tap enemies to kill them and place green barriers around your core in order to protect against these incoming enemies. It’s a game that steadily builds in pace and becomes quite frantic as you balance killing enemies with rebuilding the defenses around your core. Let’s take a closer look and see how much fun CORE can be on Android.
How it Works: As with other titles for Android, CORE is just a short download from the Play Store away.
You can either play offline or sign-in with Google Play Games to get access to leaderboards and achievements. Either way, you’ll be given a quick tutorial on how to play the game.
The controls are nice and simple, which is good as this helps the game pick up pace without it getting out of hand or anything like that.
Things start off nice and simple, but you’ll soon get a little flustered by how quickly things keep on coming at you, it’s difficult to balance building a defense for the CORE while at the same time fending off the incoming enemies.
You’re scored not on how many kills you get, but rather on how long you manage to last against the incoming enemies. I managed to get a fairly respectable score after a few tries.
My score of 8,394 was a fairly difficult score to get, but it only gave me a rank a little below 50th in the public rankings. This is something that will keep players coming on back to the game time and time again and I’ll certainly be improving my score.
Opinion: CORE is one hell of a game, it’s fun but it’s also incredibly challenging. As the pace picks up, you’ll find it difficult to juggle building a defense around the core and actively taking out enemies that appear. It’s a cool game as well, with some groovy tunes playing in the background as well as some physchadelic graphics to look at. It’s a nice arcade game for Android that feels original and is definitely addictive. It’s a shame that there aren’t more powerups or something like a bomb, but I never came across anything like that. Of course, this helps to keep the pacing of the game such a sharp weapon that’s used against you as you try and beat your high score time and time again.
Ratings
- Speed (4/5) – CORE ran great on my tablet and it’s built on the unity engine so performance shouldn’t be an issue on most devices.
- Features (4/5) – It’s a simple concept that’s easy to pick up and difficult to master, which is exactly how an arcade-style game like this should feel.
- Theme (5/5) – This retro-futuristic show of bright colors and animations really clicked with me and I thoroughly enjoyed just looking at the game. It helps that the soundtrack is pretty cool as well.
- Overall (4/5) – A great game that’s a lot of fun for hours on end, with good Google Play Games integration, CORE is definitely one for arcade gamers and those looking for a simple, yet visceral pleasure.
Pros
- Scoring system is fair and the same for everyone, making the leaderboards from Google Play Games even more relevant.
- There’s no play-to-win or anything like that here, you just try your best to keep on pushing those high scores.
- Good-looking graphics are just a joy to look at, with some great animations being used.
- CORE is easy to pick up, but a real challenge if you’re looking to post some serious high scores and offers a genuine challenge.
Cons
- It’d be nice to see some other power-ups or such as things get faster and faster.
- When things get difficult, they do so very quickly, leaving very little room to recover.
Conclusion: CORE is one of those games that needs to be played in order to be believed, it’s a whole lot of fun and it’s easy to pick up making it one of the more accessible games available on Android. If you’re looking for something that offers a blend of arcade gameplay with smartphone controls and a focus on touch, then CORE is it and wont disappoint.