15-Minute Challenge: Gene Effect by Lightstorm3D

For our latest 15-Minute Challenge, I went digging through the Google Play Store in search of the latest and greatest paid applications and this is what I found: Gene Effect by LightStorm3D. At $3.50, the game is expensive enough to some frugal buyers wary, yet cheap enough to warrant a purchase (if it turns out it’s any good). I spent a good amount of time with the game and for my full 15 minute walkthrough (it’s been edited down to a more palatable 8 minutes), check out my video below.

Story and Visuals

Unlike many a Play Store titles, Gene Effect actually features a pretty in depth, interwoven story to accompany the game. The story helps immerse players in a world where, as the developer puts it, “a simple rescue mission in the not so distant future turns into the discovery of a secret that threatens the existence of mankind.” Sounds epic, right? Gene Effect is further brought to life thanks to dark, moody graphics that make good use of special effects such as lens flares and light bloom (might not work well on all Android handsets). While exploring other planets, environments combine lush plant life with desolate rock landscapes, honestly, it really feels like a real living breathing alien world.

Gameplay

Although described as an action-exploration title, I think the first part of that description might do Gene Effect a little more harm than good. Yes, your tiny ship can carry weapons and yes, you will have an opportunity to blast enemies. But Gene Effect is no fast-paced shooter. Far from it. The real name of the game in Gene Effect is side-scrolling navigation and exploration. Similar to titles like Metroid of yore, you explore unknown planets while gathering resources and powerung up your ship with various upgrades along the way. The game really does have the appeal of bigger budget titles, making the price tag sound more like a very reasonable offer.

Verdict

As you no doubt saw from my video above, Gene Effect wasn’t quite for me. That’s not to say the game isn’t good. I also avoid sports titles like the plague but we all know how much people like Madden. What I can tell you about Gene Effect is that it’s a solid Android title — one of the better ones found in the Google Play Store — and if a great storyline and planetary space exploration sound even remotely interesting to you, then I urge you to give it a download. With 3 difficulty modes, randomly generated items, trophies, rewards, hidden ship upgrades, puzzles and even 25 music tracks that can be played on your favorite Android music player, Gene Effect offers quite the bang for the buck. It gets 2 big thumbs up from me. You can download Gene Effect for $3.50 via the Google Play link below.

[Google Play link: Gene Effect]