Previews

Gamescom '14 Quick Pick - Madfinger drops zombies for model kits in gorgeous Monzo

Checking in from Cologne

Gamescom '14 Quick Pick - Madfinger drops zombies for model kits in gorgeous Monzo
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This week, members of the Pocket Gamer and AppSpy crew are at Gamescom in Cologne. Between eating our collective body weight sausages, we'll be bringing you quick-fire impressions of our favourite games on show.

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Madfinger's next game couldn't be much further away from the games in its back catalogue, which includes ninja limb-lopper Samurai Vengeance and zombie blaster Dead Trigger.

There's no blood in Monzo. It's actually a lush, detailed model kit app about locking together bits and bobs to make teeny weeny motorbikes and cars.

There's no violence, either. Because with these being virtual models, there's no danger of your dad sitting on and crushing your freshly constructed helicopter.

Monzo

Making the models is a very straightforward process. You've got a little book that splits the model up into a bunch of simole steps and shows you which pieces to use and where.

Then, it's just a case of picking the right piece from your toy box (not hard - the necessary bits are coloured in while the unused pieces are greyed out) and dragging it onto your work-in-progress piece.

When you're finished you can paint your model, tap on bits to activate little animations (like opening doors and spinning wheels), peel back the outer layers to see how the machine operates, and take fancy photos with filters.

It's all done in proper swish Unity-powered 3D and it looks outstanding. Especially the way you grab a model box, flip back the lid, and see all the pieces in a little tray that's covered in shrink wrap.

Monzo

Monzo isn't much of a game, though. There are no points, no bonuses for making models faster, and the only thing you win is the self satisfaction of seeing the task through.

So for those bloodthirsty gamers who know Madfinger through Dead Trigger, you may be disappointed.

But if you fancy something relaxing and zen-like after an hour of decapitating zombies, this detailed digital model kit might scratch that itch. Or you could model a gun. Guns are used to kill zombies. That's close enough.

Monzo

Monzo will be a free app when it lands on iOS and Android towards the end of 2014, and comes with a pair of models.

You can then buy extra models through in-app purchases. They'll come in packs (like a Leonardo da Vinci-inspired series), and sometimes come from real model manufacturers (like US firm Revell).

More will be added, but with each model taking about a month to design, you might have to wait a while.

Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer