Amazon Fire Phone games put Dynamic Perspective to work

The Fire Phone‘s fancy Dynamic Perspective feature may have left some scratching their heads trying to make sense of its utility and practicality, but it is a control system that is just begging to be used in games. It isn’t surprising, then, to hear that Amazon Game Studios has two new games in store that takes advantage of this head-tilting mechanism to put a literal twist to some conventional themes.

Match-3 or Same Games have evolved through the years, thanks in part to mobile gaming, beyond the simple pattern or item matching game to one that sometimes incorporates other game genres, like RPGs, for example. Saber’s Edge is pretty much like that, where you try to make matches that will, in turn, power up your pirate crew in battle. Of course, being a Fire Phone exclusive, there is another side to this game, literally. Where normal match-3 games use a flat board, Saber’s Edge’s items are actually laid out on a cube. Tilting your head, which is sensed by Dynamic Perspective, allows you to take a peek at the other sides of the cube so that you can plan a super match-9 combo attack. The game also makes use of other gestures like twisting and tilting to control other parts of the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8x4GnKri3c

Amazon Game Studios really love their cubes. There is also a cube in To-Fu Fury, but this time, it is the hero, a cube of bean curd, obviously. In contrast to Saber’s Edge, To-Fu Fury takes a more direct approach to battles. You take control of the tofu and make him swing, stick, and stretch to avoid obstacles and headbutt enemies in this platformer game. But while it doesn’t employ Dynamic Perspective in some fancy way like Saber’s Edge, it does give players a different perspective. Yes, again, literally. You can take peeks around obstacles and levels to get a better view of the layout and plan your strategy better. However, it doesn’t seem to be critical to finishing the game and it might be even more challenging and satisfying to play it without this feature.

Saber’s Edge is still marked as coming soon but will be available for free, while To-Fu Fury is already out and costs $1.99, both with in-app purchases. Of course, the actual price for either of these will be much higher, since you’ll need to buy a Fire Phone to even play it, unless you already own one, of course.

SOURCE: Amazon