1. KidCaboose's Avatar
    Picked this one up the other day when I saw it in BlackBerry World. To begin with, I had a bit of trouble getting into it, and it didn't seem like my kind of game. I've been seeing more of this kind of match 3 game being developed in the last year, and I wouldn't know what to call it other than match 3 evolution. That's not to say it's the evolution of the match 3 genre, it's more of a lateral shift. The evolution is in the concept where matching three items causes them to vanish and be replaced by a higher level version of the object. Seeking Fit for the PlayBook uses the same concept.

    Not only does Alien Hive employ the evolution variation, it also uses the sliding tile idea. Instead of tapping or sliding two tiles, as is the custom, here you'll be forced to slide rows or columns to make your matches. It's an indirect way of manipulating the puzzle that I've found takes some getting used to.

    You'll soon have access to two modes of play. One is the main matching game, wherein you have a limited amount of moves to get the highest score possible, Candy Crush style. Making matches eventually bumps you up a level, giving you a few more moves. There are also certain types of matches that will reward you with more moves. Besides score, you're also trying to evolve the alien life forms on the puzzle far enough to discover fully evolved aliens that give you bonuses while playing. There's a sizable collection of aliens to discover, and simply lasting long enough to discover one is no small feat.

    The second mode of play is Blitz Mode. Here you're against the clock, which can receive additional seconds with certain matches. Fully evolving a plant will cause everything on the board to increase one rung along the evolutionary ladder. Fully evolving an alien will cause him to beat your clock savagely, effectively pausing time for you to make more quick matches. This mode is permanently under the effect of worm holes, which allow you to slide entire rows and columns in any direction as much as you want. The game feel is completely different from the main mode.

    There may be a third mode, based on the tables in the leaderboards. The Blitz mode is ranked based on time and score, and the main mode is ranked on score. The blitz mode is a quick way to earn some money for the bonus items and to purchase extra time and moves. The main mode earns you money and bonus items. Both modes allow you to choose some bonus items before the game begins, for a price. The game can simply be played to harvest for gold and items as well, for use when you really want to try for a high score.

    The blitz mode is limited to 5 or 6 games, which refresh slowly every 20 minutes, Eggies style. But when it's not the main game mode, I'm not all that bothered at the limitation. The main game can be played as much as you want, and depending on how carefully you play, can take a while to get through one round.

    There are in app purchases for gold and energy for the blitz mode. So far I haven't felt the need to spend though.

    http://appworld.blackberry.com/webst...ntent/35978889


    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004028.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004034.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004039.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004037.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004029.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004030.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004042.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004041.png

    Alien Hive game in BB World-img_00004040.png

    Posted via CB10
    GSM-S likes this.
    10-12-13 05:03 PM
  2. eldricho's Avatar
    It's an awesome game! Reallytime consuming and very fun. Picked it up yesterday
    10-12-13 05:31 PM
  3. lexsteryo's Avatar
    Very neat game I've been addiction to since launch. Gotta love these free gems.

    Joe Moreno @ JoMoLex
    10-14-13 11:54 PM
  4. playbookster's Avatar
    I like it more than candy crush

    Posted from my Z10
    lexsteryo likes this.
    10-15-13 08:58 PM
  5. eman29's Avatar
    Caboose I saw your high score in the leaderboards... how did you get it so high??
    10-16-13 04:58 PM
  6. KidCaboose's Avatar
    Caboose I saw your high score in the leaderboards... how did you get it so high??
    I assume you mean in Blitz Mode. To begin with, you need a lot of luck. In the end, like most match 3 games, you're at the mercy of the random generation of new tiles. My scores generally range between 500k and 1000k. I focus mainly on the plants, as they'll eventually evolve all the aliens. I just keep creating purple plants, occasionally matching blocks and crystals to get them off the board. I purchase the extra 30 seconds each time, as in Blitz mode at the moment, it doesn't seem to remove the 2000 gold it says it costs. A fully evolved alien gives you ten seconds of time freeze, and a score multiplier. I just keep producing purple plants, and if I'm lucky I can evolve 3 or 4 aliens.

    I try never to match the aliens, unless I need to make room for more plants, as they match up accidentally anyhow.

    Posted via CB10
    10-16-13 05:36 PM
  7. eman29's Avatar
    No I'm talking about the main game. Your #2 with 400,000+ I can't even get that in amplifier mode. Of course I'm really stingy with the power ups though..
    10-16-13 10:03 PM
  8. KidCaboose's Avatar
    No I'm talking about the main game. Your #2 with 400,000+ I can't even get that in amplifier mode. Of course I'm really stingy with the power ups though..
    Ah, okay. In the Hive Mode, I play in two ways. Most of the time I play with simple goal of making fruit. I don't worry about score or moves, I just pump out fruit (which you get to keep when they fully evolve). Once I've collected 15, and I have about 50000 gold in the bank (there isn't much to do with money other than buy items) I wait for a good game. This for me is one that leaves you at level 2 or 3 after the first couple of moves.

    My strategy then involves my items. When I have at least 6 sprouts on the board, I use fertilizer. When I have at least two robots on the board, I use a robot destroyer (even matched robots unfortunately take up a tile). Once I start forming baby aliens (the stage after the round embryo), I start evolving them with the fruit in pairs instead of matching 3. The key to a higher score is fully evolving an alien, which I think earns you at least 100000 points. My 400000+ game resulted from evolving two aliens fully. As my items deplete, I purchase more. In the store, your available items also deplete, and I 'm not sure how or when they replenish.
    GSM-S and eldricho like this.
    10-17-13 06:24 AM
  9. eman29's Avatar
    Thanks for the tips.. this game is too addicting! Hope it gets featured soon definitely needs to be put in the spotlight. If not for this thread I would've never known about it.
    10-20-13 01:14 AM
  10. GSM-S's Avatar
    Great review.

    Posted via CB10 on my Z10.
    10-28-13 05:52 AM
  11. marron23's Avatar
    Hey guys how do you get the alien to evolve when it's in the cocoon?


    Posted via CB10
    01-02-14 10:03 AM

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