'Touch Master 2' mindless fun
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There are a lot of reasons why we play games: to not only observe but to interact with compelling narratives, to challenge our wits and reflexes, and, sometimes, just to kill time. “Touch Master 2” can’t help you on either of the first two counts, but if you want a large chunk of time to disappear quickly, it can be of service.
“Touch Master 2” is a package of 20 casual games, each entirely controlled through the touch-screen. The games are grouped into five broad categories, but except for the card games, they are fairly varied within these. From a “Spy Hunter”-like racer to a word-unscrambling game that is somewhat anomalously tied in with the “Rampage” brand -- nothing says verbal skills like a giant ape destroying buildings -- the games have a pretty wide range, if not a great depth.
The basics are all pretty solid. The touch interface is well-implemented in most of the games, and feels more natural than any other control scheme. The graphics are all very simple, but appropriate, and they match the gameplay more or less perfectly.
The success of each individual game varies as much as the games do. The card games will probably have the greatest longevity. They all fall somewhere in a spectrum between solitaire and poker, and they can easily put you in a mindless sort of play-another-round state. Most of the other games are fun for a while, but devolve too quickly into very familiar patterns.
Almost all of the games have problems with difficulty, hovering very close to “too easy” most of the time and briefly jumping up to “frustrating” every so often.
The rules of each game are never explained very well. You usually get one sentence describing your ultimate goal in the game, but omitting important details about the things you can and must do to achieve that goal. In some of the games, this actually adds to the fun as you try, for instance, to figure out what the sword will and won’t kill, and precisely what the amulet does (there’s a neat little RPG shoehorned into the puzzle section). Other games, though, are rendered annoying and close to unplayable by the obviously missing instructions.
As long as you don’t expect too much depth out of “Touch Master 2,” you won’t be disappointed. If you’ve got time to kill and you’re not near a computer, it’s probably worth it for the card games alone.
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