Australian developer Bubblegum Interactive, who we’ve previously seen release Jetpack Jinx, has released a new game for Android – Cake Bake Blitz – which they describe as ‘the most delicious game on mobile’. The game also includes a new element which they’ve also added to their existing title Jetpack Jinx – integration with Tango.
Tango
While both games from Bubblegum Interactive now include Tango integration, you don’t need it to enjoy them, you can still play each as a standalone game – indeed the latest Jetpack Jinx update allows you to play completely offline – the Tango integration which has now been included simply adds an extra dimension to the games – a social option!
With over 150 Million users, and around 250,000 new users joining every day, Tango is a large social network which began with allowing users to make and receive both video and voice calls, and now allows developers to integrate a social aspect to their games, using the Tango App available in Google Play as well as the App store for iOS because Tango is cross platform. To use Tango, you’ll need to create an account, but from there you can use the service with no other prompts.
The developers at Bubblegum Interactive have looked to Tango over Google Play Gaming due to the reach of the platform, as well as the availability — Play Games wasn’t available when they were looking to introduce a social aspect into their games. They haven’t ruled out releasing games with Google Play Games integration in the future but at this stage, they’re looking to move forward with Tango.
The choice of Tango, which offers cross platform capabilities to developers, would still not be my personal choice with Google Play Games offering cross platform capabilities for iOS devices as well. Having to download a separate App is mostly a hassle but with Google Play Games still a relatively new service it may have just been bad timing, which goes to show that Google probably need to communicate upcoming releases to their developers a little earlier.
Cake Bake Blitz
Cake Bake Blitz is their new title which also is designed to be used with Tango. The game itself falls squarely into the ‘match three’ style of games that are quite popular, but the storyline is that you play Katy Cupcake and are travelling the world baking off against some of the top chefs in the world in order to raise money to save her Grandpa’s bakery and rebuild the bakery’s reputation.
The game, while seemingly fairly similar to other titles in the genre, offers some well thought out special power-ups such as a special rewind time option to give you the option to replay a certain move if you notice a better move just after you complete one.
The graphics on Cake Bake Blitz are – as with JetPack Jinx – of a very high standard, it’s colourful and attractive without being over the top. The game seems to be running brilliantly and for new players there’s a fairly shallow learning curve, after which you can spend hours playing.
There is of course a freemium aspect to Cake Bake Blitz, extra options and powerups – such as more lives – can be purchased via In App Purchase throughout the course of the game, but with many of the features available just through playing, there’s nothing to really force you into any purchases.
As a long time Bejewelled Blitz and Candy Crush player, I jumped into Cake Bake Blitz with a gusto that I don’t think I probably should have, but it’s fun and the rewind time option is a phenomenally fun option to have the option to use.
