Sport games and Android games don’t really seem like a likely match. Sports Man is here in an attempt to change that perception. Here the Sports Man is not a hulking UFC esque person, but in true videogame form, a rather bland stickman. This stick man is your avatar for the games which consist of the 100m run, javelin and the 200m run. The game is ad supported free game, with the ads only appearing during the menu options and never during the actual game itself, which I think is a good touch.
The presentation immediately strikes as you as very pristine and even professional in comparison to some of the other Android game user interfaces. Sports Man is also reflected in the icons to choose the game you want. This simple aesthetic also shows through the graphics themselves, with the only animated being your character. The background is nicely detailed but is not something that would blow you away. The speed bar, time and small control icons are easy to identify and fit in well with the overarching theme of the game.
The controls are solely through the touchscreen, with the phone being held akin to a traditional controller. You use both thumbs for the running events, attempting to simulate the rhythm of both feet, however it feels odd to do so, and the controls boil down to tapping as hard and fast as you can to generate the speed required. The javelin event fares better with the controls as only one thumb is used to generate speed, the other being used to generate the angle and power of the javelin.
The gameplay overall suffers from the both the lack of events, as the 100m and 200m are really to similar to distinguish from one another, and the poor control system that is used for these events. However the gameplay for the javelin event is quite addictive. What really adds to this is the global leaderboard to post scores onto and the self saving personal best. These defiantly add some longevity to the game.
AndroGamez Score – 5
Price:
http://www.androidzoom.com/android_games/sports_games/sports-man_lzqg.html
Overall, Sports Man game does everything right, apart from the actual gameplay, which as we all know, is the cornerstone of any game. If there were more event choices like long jump or pole vault this may have been disguised. But with the majority of the gameplay coming from the running events it lets the game down. This is a game that is begging for a sequel to refine the existing template and transform it into a better game. But until that sequel it may not be your best bet to download this.
