Gamer reviews for Pocket Mine 2

Pocket Mine 2 Review: Can You Dig It?

Let's all take a moment to welcome Pocket Mine 2 from developers Roofdog Games into the category of Games that You Can't Put Down.

Pocket Mine 2 is a free to play and offers a ton of in-app purchases. That is the bad news. And the best thing is that absolutely none of those purchases are necessary to enjoy this awesome game. There are ads available, but this is actually one instance where you will find yourself wanting more because in return for watching these brief 10-20 second commercials, you are rewarded with a chunk of one of the game's three in-app currencies. The game only lets you watch a few ads every few hours, but the rewards for doing so are pretty nice.

The gameplay is basic: your character is a miner and your goal is to make it to the bottom of the mine. The limiting factor in all of this is your trusty pickaxe. It can only strike so many blocks before it gives out, but as you descend you will collect in-game dollars that will gradually allow you to upgrade your equipment and get extra whacks as the game goes on. The mine is laced with explosives that carve chunks out of the landscape as well as different varieties of mineral deposits that instantly turn into fake cash. Each playthough of a level will allot you a bonus quest that will earn you keys to open chests. Chests will contain collectible cards or rarely a gem or two. The cards are doled out three at a time before every level and offer character stat boosts that will be different every time. You will also collect crates full of relics that can be used in your factory to earn neat rewards after a short waiting period of real time and you will also find tiny outfits for your miner to equip that will also help your quests succeed. There is a lot going on in this little free to play. It offers a ton of mindless tap-isfaction and enough rewards to keep players looking forward to thirty minutes in the future when their five lives are restored and the quest can go on.

The graphics are super cute and cartoony. There is nothing over or under done about the style and it is a nice change from the 8 bit art that is so popular on the App Store. As pleasant as the graphics are, it is the sound effects that won me over. There are enough tiny explosions and crumbling noises to satiate my need for destruction, but they are not the auditory offense that they could have been.

Over all, if you are a Crossy Road fan or any other of those hundreds of mobile games revered for their use of only three brain cells, you need this game. It is a quick time waster that is sure to please. There is no dying or starting over and very little failure. Pocket Mine 2 is a symposium of "try, try again," and it will be worth it every time.

I gave the game 4.5 stars, because microtransactions and time-dependent energy systems are awful, but lives re-gen every five minutes here, so it is not as bad as some. (I'm talking about you, Candy Crush...)