![]() Logo for Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid | |
Developer(s) | HandCircus |
---|---|
Publisher(s) | ngmoco |
Designer(s) | Simon Oliver [1] |
Artist(s) | Mikko Walamies |
Writer(s) | Micah Ian Wright |
Composer(s) | Mr. Scruff |
Platform(s) | iOS |
Release |
|
Genre(s) | Adventure, puzzle |
Mode(s) | Single-player, online multiplayer |
Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid is an adventure video game developed by HandCircus, published by Ngmoco, and distributed by Apple Inc. for iPhone and iPod Touch. Rolando 2 was released on July 3, 2009. [2] [3] It is the sequel to Rolando , which was released in 2008. The game follows creatures called "Rolandos" who can be moved around the playing areas by players via the iPhone's accelerometer and the multi-touch features. The game features artwork by Mikko Walamies and music by Mr. Scruff. [3] The game features nonlinear gameplay where players decide how the story plays out. [1]
The story begins with the Sages of the Kingdom of Rolando being infected with a disease, the "Kilgorean Flu". [1] [4] The king orders explorer Sir Richard to lead a team of Rolandos to Stormtop Mountain, to retrieve the Golden Orchid: the only thing that can save the Sages from the curse, and cure them of the flu. [1] [5] Sir Richard has different types of Rolandos to help him succeed in retrieving the Golden Orchid, such as those who can move large objects, dive underwater, and perform other unique navigational skills. [1]
Upon reaching the Isle of Fontanis, the Rolandos split up, but all head in the same general direction across the island. They all meet at Stormtop Mountain, the location of the Golden Orchid. However, the Orchid is guarded by Uqishthatuximon, a gigantic, tree-shaped monster. The Rolandos manage to destroy Uqishthatuximon, and claim the Orchid. They then head back down the mountain, and reach their ship.
The Rolandos sail back to the Kingdom, and Sir Richard enters, being congratulated by the residents on the way to the castle. The Sages are cured, and begin to thank Richard, but another Rolando, Edward, drops in, and announces himself as the new king of the Kingdom. The game ends as the King pleads to their god, "Finger", to save them.
Rolando 2 consists of 46 different levels, which span six chapters. [3] The levels are in a 2.5D environment, although the Rolandos remain in 2D as in the original. [4] The object in each level is to use the accelerometer and multitouch features on the iPhone or iPod Touch to guide the Rolandos to the exit of each level, while avoiding various traps and pitfalls. Players move Rolandos by tilting the device in the direction that the players want the Rolandos to go in. [5] [6] The players must get a set minimum number of Rolandos to the exit. There are multiple paths players can take to lead the Rolandos to the exit. [7] If a Rolando makes contact with one of a certain type of object (e.g., an enemy), it becomes dazed; if a similar object contacts a dazed Rolando, then the Rolando dies. [6] As a new feature which was not in Rolando , players can collect crystals that are scattered throughout the levels. The game rates players at the end of each level, according to the number of Rolandos who reach the exit, the time it takes to get the minimum number of Rolandos to the exit, and the number of crystals collected. Throughout the levels there are other devices designed to help the Rolandos out, such as vehicles that move them around the levels, bombs that destroy obstacles, plants that serve as platforms for them, and turrets that can be used to dispatch enemies, and hit targets. [5]
Rolando 2 contains several new elements that were not in its predecessor. One of them is levels requiring Rolandos to deal with water. Whereas heavier Rolandos sink to the bottom of a water-filled level, smaller Rolandos float on the water's surface. [6] In addition, in some levels, players need to guide the king to the exit by tilting the entire level, a feature similar to that found in the bonus stages of the original Sonic the Hedgehog . [5] In these levels, players also receive the ability to break blocks, using a cannon activated by their finger. [6] Some levels allow Rolandos to inflate balloons to navigate chasms. [7] Other new features include items called "Idols" that allow players to skip levels, [6] medals that can be used to increase users' scores on Plus+ accounts (a system that is similar to that used for Xbox Live), and the ability to post high scores and level completion times on online leaderboards. [5]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
GameRankings | 95% [8] |
Metacritic | 90/100 [9] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
Pocket Gamer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Rolando 2 has received much praise from reviewers for its unique gameplay elements, artwork, sound, and replayability. Levi Buchanan from IGN lauded the game for its artwork, new features, level design, and replayability. He also praised the music, saying that it "sounds like Mr. Scruff was listening to everything from Boards of Canada to Bobby Womack and just synthesized it all for this game". [5] Tracy Erickson from Pocket Gamer praised the game for its new gameplay mechanics, increased accessibility, and the ability to purchase tracks of Mr. Scruff's music from the iTunes Store. [6] Trevor Sheridan from AppDevice.com said that Rolando 2 is "by far the best platformer in the [Apple] App store". Like Buchanan and Erickson, he praised the game's sound, which, according to him, "sets the standard for what other titles should strive for". He praised the replayability, saying that the incorporation of the Plus+ network adds to it. [4] Criticisms of the game were few. Buchanan noted the game's higher-than-normal price, but said that the price is "entirely appropriate for this premium-quality game". [5]
Rolando 3 was scheduled to be released before the end of 2009, but was delayed [11] and then canceled [12] because the game no longer fit with ngmoco's new policy to only release free games.
At GDC 2014, the developers announced the game Seabeard, [13] which has a different setting, and other protagonists, but has a similar aesthetic and whimsiness.
Paperboy is an arcade action game developed and published by Atari Games and Midway Games, and released in 1985. The player takes the role of a paperboy who delivers a fictional newspaper called The Daily Sun along a suburban street on his bicycle. The arcade version of the game featured bike handlebars as the controller.
Brain Challenge is a mental exercise video game, featuring "brain exercise puzzles". The game was developed by Gameloft Beijing for mobile phone and iPod and released on September 5, 2007. In 2008 was followed by a Nintendo DS version on January 8, an Xbox Live Arcade release on March 12, and a PlayStation 3 launch on November 27. The N-Gage 2.0 version was released on the day of the service's launch, April 3, 2008. A version for WiiWare was released in autumn 2008 on all three regions. The Wii version also uses Miis for the players profile. OnLive also had launched their new streaming game platform with Brain Challenge on July 27, 2010. The game was released for Mac OS X in January 2011.
I Love Katamari, is a third-person puzzle-action video game developed by Namco Bandai Games for iOS. It is a continuation of the Katamari Damacy series of games. It was released worldwide in the App Store on December 14, 2008. In 2010 Namco announced a Windows Phone 7 version of the game. A version was released for Android in 2012 exclusively for Samsung Android devices. In this game, the King of All Cosmos instructs the game's protagonist – the Prince – to gather as many objects as possible to grow a highly adhesive ball called a Katamari large enough so that he can pick up special objects to bring to the King so that he can regain his memory.
Rolando is a puzzle-adventure video game developed by studio HandCircus and published by Ngmoco. It was released for iOS on December 18, 2008, and uses the Box2D game engine.
Zen Bound is a puzzle game for the iOS, Android, and Maemo platforms, developed by Secret Exit. It was announced on September 5, 2008 via the company's discussion board, and officially released via the App Store on February 24, 2009, and via Ovi Store on June 16, 2010. A port to Android was announced as part of the Humble Bundle for Android 2 on March 19, 2012. The game has received press attention for its unique gameplay. A lite version of the game was also released for free which featured 2 levels of the game. A sequel, Zen Bound 2, was released for iOS on April 1, 2010, for Steam on November 16, 2010, and for the Nintendo Switch in Europe and North America on May 24, 2018.
Ngmoco, LLC was an American-based publisher of video games for the iOS and Android platforms, and a subsidiary of DeNA Co., Ltd. The company was founded by former Electronic Arts executive Neil Young in July 2008. Since its founding, ngmoco has had more than seven million combined game installs. Venture capital firms Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Norwest Venture Partners, among others, have financed the company with a combined total of US$40.6 million. The company is most well known for their publishing of the Rolando game series and Eliminate Pro.
Zenonia is an action role-playing game created, developed, and published by Gamevil for iOS, Android, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DSi, Zeebo and Windows Mobile. It was released on the App Store on May 24, 2009 and on the Google Play Store on March 27, 2010. It was released for the PlayStation Portable on October 12, 2010.
Real Racing is a 2009 racing game developed and published by Firemint for iOS. It was released on June 8, 2009 for iPhone and iPod Touch, and later a HD version was released for the iPad, which featured improved graphics to take full advantage of the iPad's capabilities. The game was a critical and commercial success, and has led to two sequels; Real Racing 2 in 2010 and Real Racing 3 in 2013.
Plus+ was a social networking, game discovery and multiplayer platform launched by Ngmoco in June 2009. The network was similar to Xbox Network and allowed users to interact with other players while playing.
Ultimate Spider-Man: Total Mayhem was a 2010 action video game for the iOS and Android systems. It was developed and published by Gameloft. The game takes place in the Ultimate Marvel Universe (Earth-1610). It is no longer available for purchase in the App Store for iPhone and Google Play Store for Android. The game features a rogues gallery of villains from the Ultimate Universe, and is played as a series of occurring events rather than an overarching plot. The title received generally favorable reviews from critics, with the iOS version holding an 85/100 on Metacritic.
Infinity Blade was an action role-playing game developed by Chair Entertainment and Epic Games and released through the Apple App Store on December 9, 2010. It was the first iOS video game to run on the Unreal Engine. In the game, the unnamed player character fights a series of one-on-one battles in a derelict castle to face the immortal God King. When in battle, players swipe the screen to attack and parry, and tap the screen to dodge and block enemy attacks. Upon defeat, the player restarts the game as the character's descendant with the same items and experience level.
N.O.V.A. 2: The Hero Rises Again is a first-person shooter video game, developed and published by Gameloft. It is the second installment of the N.O.V.A. series made for the iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, HP Touchpad, and Blackberry Playbook, and sequel to the original N.O.V.A. game and predecessor to N.O.V.A. 3. The game was released to the App Store on December 16, 2010 for iOS. N.O.V.A. 2 features Gameloft's multiplayer service Gameloft Live.
Crush the Castle is a physics Flash game developed by Armor Games. The Flash version was released on April 28, 2009, and versions for the iPhone and iPod Touch were released on January 19, 2010. Notable for its "flinging" game mechanic, which influenced the popular mobile game Angry Birds, the goal of Crush the Castle is to kill all inhabitants of various castles by using a trebuchet to fling large rocks or bombs. A sequel, Crush the Castle 2, has similar gameplay, but features new maps and power-ups.
Tapper World Tour is a reinterpretation of the 1983 Bally Midway arcade game Tapper for iOS. Players take the role of a bartender with the goal of serving drinks and collecting empty glasses and tips from a demanding group of patrons. The game was developed by Square One Studios and published by WB Games.
Hills and Rivers Remain is a video game developed and published by Square Enix and released for the iPhone and iPod Touch in North America and Japan, and additionally for DSIWare and cell phones in Japan. The game was released in November 2009, and has seen many map expansions released. The game is a strategy game that incorporates turn-based and real-time elements. It sees the player controlling several forts in a group of connected bases, choosing each round which base will create new forces that are used to attack enemy positions.
Angry Birds Rio was a 2011 puzzle video game developed and published by Rovio Entertainment. It is the third installment in the Angry Birds series. The game was released on March 22, 2011 and promoted as a marketing tie-in with the 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios co-produced animated film Rio. While utilizing the same basic gameplay as Angry Birds, Angry Birds Rio added a number of new elements, most notably the first use of boss levels. Angry Birds Rio was discontinued on February 3, 2020 along with Angry Birds Star Wars, Angry Birds Space and Angry Birds Star Wars II, with the games also being pulled out of the app stores.
NFL is a series of American football games that are developed by Gameloft, which is supposed to be a simulation of the National Football League. The game series is released on iOS, as well as Palm, and was originally released on the Nintendo DS. The series first came on the DS as NFL 2009 in 2008. Starting with NFL Pro 2012, the game became free, even though players still have to pay for extra XP. 2012 is also the first game to have experience points, team points, which can be used to boost players, as well as credits, which can be earned by leveling up, as well as watching Gameloft trailers. In NFL Pro 2013, when the player is in a passing play, the camera will zoom into a first-person view from the quarterback's perspective.
Spider: The Secret of Bryce Manor is a 2009 side-scrolling action-puzzle video game for iOS and Android, developed and published by Tiger Style. The player takes control of a spider who comes to reside in to the deserted Bryce Manor and must spin webs to trap various types of insects, whilst simultaneously ascertaining what happened to the former residents of the manor. The game received critical acclaim and won multiple awards. Originally released in August, a Director's Cut update replaced the original version on the App Store in December. The update added ten levels, twenty-four Game Center achievements, new music, more story elements and an insect. A year after the game's initial release, a HD version was released for the iPad. In 2013, the game was also released for Android. A sequel, Spider: Rite of the Shrouded Moon, was released in August 2015 for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac and Linux.
The Quest is a role-playing video game developed by Hungarian studio Redshift for PDAs in 2006. The game was ported to modern mobile devices three years later, and a remastered version was released in 2016. The remastered version added support for Microsoft Windows and macOS.
Mirror's Edge is a side-scrolling platform game developed by IronMonkey Studios and published by Electronic Arts. It was released for iPad and iPhone in 2010, and for Windows Phone in 2012. The game is a prequel to the original Mirror's Edge, setting the scene about Runners and the city's shady corporations. It received very positive reviews from critics.