Mila And The Dragons Soar Onto The iPad In 10tons' Dragon Portals HD
September 11, 2011
From the creators of Sparkle HD, Grim Joggers, and Joining Hands comes the iPad version of Dragon Portals, another great match-3 game that problem solvers can casually play for a few minutes or find themselves addicted to for hours.
As with other 10tons puzzle games, Dragon Portals HD begins with a short back story which describes the gameplay and purpose of the tasks you are about to perform. In this case, Mila is summoned to help release the dragons, who've been restrained by an evil spell. To free the creatures, match at least three of the magical orbs to create a portal for the dragons to escape.
Gameplay is simple but challenging, including three different modes of play. Overall gameplay consists of five dragons flying across the screen, one below the next. Each dragon has a chain of magical orbs lined down its body. Tap on an orb to release it from the current chain and drop it into the next. The objective is to create links of three or more same-color orbs to build the portal power, which is displayed at the bottom. The dragons are descending as they fly, therefore, you'll need to work as quickly as possible to open a portal before the mythical beings hit the ground.
Amongst the orbs are mystical gems, referred to as power-ups, that will be gradually revealed along the way. These gems have their own special powers, those that will assist in creating portals faster. As the journey unfolds, many gems will be acquired, and fit into three different categories: destructive, creative, and passive. It's only possible to use one gem from each category at a time, providing up to three in total.
Mila slowly learns the story behind the dragons and magic surrounding them, and further understanding requires investigation. One of the ways Mila and others understand is by observation. In a mini-game, use your finger to move about a camera viewfinder, where a single tap will activate the shutter. Scouting the environment, look for dragons to photograph. The current dragon of interest is shown at the bottom of the screen, and arrows will provide hints to where dragons are located.
After progressing enough through the tale, you'll be allowed to take part in the two other gameplay modes: survival and island. To be honest, both of these modes are more challenging and are basically survival quests, just with different rules, such as power-up assignments.
Dragon Portals HD is compatible with iPad running iOS 3.2 or later, and available in the App Store for $4.99.
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