The Hunger Games is quite popular lately, so it seems like a great time to review the new iOS game, Hunger Games: Girl on Fire. First it was a book, then it was a movie, and now it’s what the publisher is calling a “teaser game.” Published by Lions Gate Films, Inc. and developed by the creator of Canabalt, it’s a simple game with lots of polish. The character runs forward constantly, and you swipe to jump and tap to shoot!
It’s no surprise that there’s a game now that The Hunger Games has become such a phenomenon. It started as a trilogy of teen novels that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don’t want to give too much away, but they’re about the Hunger Games – an event in which the government puts a group of kids into an arena, forcing them to fight to the death. More abstractly, the books are about social status, class wars, government’s role, control, independence, manipulation, and love. As movies usually do, The Hunger Games movie lost some of the character development of the novel and focussed on visual action scenes. The film also shows many great scenes not seen in the book and does a terrific job. How does the game hold up to the novels and film? Excellently.

Hatchi is a virtual pet game for the iOS created by Portable Pixels. It’s very much like a classic Tamagotchi. In fact, if you’ve ever used one, you’ll know exactly how to use Hatchi. It has very simple graphics and sound by intention to feel like the older virtual pets. You take care of your Hatchi, let it evolve over time, keep it satisfied, and then release it!