Mforma's Connect Four Challenge is exactly what many mobile gamers are looking for when they check Verizon's download service. It's a clean, quick adaptation of an enjoyable game that everyone already knows how to play. Plus, Mforma's given it a nice multiplayer mode, which helps to stave off boredom once you've mastered the game's computer players. Connect Four Challenge proves that a mobile game doesn't need to do something entirely different to be worthwhile.
Anyone who's ever had a sibling probably remembers staring at them through a Connect Four frame. And, that's how you play the game: the black and red players drop their pieces into the top of the vertical game grid, which consists of seven columns and six rows. Whoever's the first to create a line of four, be it vertically, horizontally, or diagonally, is the winner. There's nothing out of the ordinary about the game's presentation, and that's exactly the way you want it. On the LG VX7000, Connect Four Challenge uses a regulation yellow frame and black and red pieces, all set against a sky-blue background. A quiet but appealing background theme hoots and chimes as you play, and once you "connect four," the winning pieces feature a little explosion effect.
Connect Four Challenge packs three difficulty levels in single-player mode. These suffice to give you a decent grasp of the game's tactics, at which point you can move on to pass-and-play or over-the-air multiplayer. When playing over the network, the game lets you designate your handle, as well as choose from a bunch of lobbies to play in. There are lobbies for about 15 different cities, although many of them seemed to be empty at the time of our review. If you like, you can simply start a game, and Connect Four Challenge will match you up with a random player. Our multiplayer game ran smoothly, with no disconnects or stuttering. The game offers an instant rematch function, as well as a high-score table that ranks you among the best of the best.
Connect Four Challenge gives you exactly what it advertises: a solid mobile Connect Four experience. Fans of the game, or mobile gamers who're looking for an easy-to-pay multiplayer experience, would do well to check it out.
