Smash ‘n Dash — Android/iOS — Free
“Smash ‘n Dash” looks like your run of the mill mobile game, but upon closer examination you find a lot of challenge and a freemium model that doesn’t force pay-to-win. Available on Android and iOS “Smash ‘n Dash” looks a lot like “Geometry Wars”, but it does not focus on using lasers or stick-based shooting to kill the enemies. Instead, your goal is to ram your ship through the enemies without running into their lasers. The bottom portion of the screen is home to your “touch pad” where you drag your finger to control the ship. While this felt slightly odd at first, it made dodging lasers and making quick escapes much easier since you can still see the arena above. As you destroy ships you collect gems, which can be used to purchase power ups to assist in receiving the highest score.
The power ups definitely add a new layer of fun to the game. Some are a single use (such as the extra life) while others are random occurences that will begin dropping during gameplay. As you gain more gems you can also level up the recurring power ups to show up more often, or do more damage. Power ups range from simple items like a shield to bigger helps like nukes and lasers that help clear baddies fora short time.
Photo: The Upgrades
It is something you can sit down with for three minutes, or spend the entire day with.
This game has an element of addiction that is important to casual games of this genre. It is something you can sit down with for three minutes and knock out a few rounds, or spend an entire day (like I did) trying to perfect your reaction skills and grow that high score.
It is important to reiterate that you can spend hours pounding away at this without spending a single cent, and still feeling as if you’ve accomplished something. Learning to master each wave of baddies becomes more fun and frantic as the levels progress. The soundtrack fits the gameplay well and at times adds to the stress of maneuvering your ship around the laser-infested arena. The explosions are spot on and the only sound that is at times grating to the ear is the echoing of the gems as you pick them up. This is a great time waster for your mobile.
You’re probably not doing anything anyway; you may as well hit up your app store and give this a play.