Hotel Transylvania Adventures

In a Disney/Pixar dominated world, Sony's Hotel Transylvania's a bit of a dark horse, (pun intended) and this clever little app offers as much surprising fun as its cinematic namesake. Its simple premise—running and jumping a cartoon character around monster-ridden, maze-like levels is by no means new. Still, its smart, streamlined approach makes it a winner.

The charm of Hotel Transylvania is the first reason the app succeeds. Its setting allows for fun, creative environments filled with eerie details. Add to that a chirpy, Munsters-ish soundtrack and Mavis (Count Dracula's upbeat daughter) as the heroine, and you've got a very strong start. The second reason the app works is its simple two-finger tap controls. Movement -- both horizontal and vertical -- is precise thanks to left/right movement arrows (as opposed to a virtual thumbstick) and a sensitive jump button. These minimize the frustration, and make gameplay smooth and fun. Though the app uses the “energy pool” approach, (where each level costs energy to play) it's fairly forgiving if you're willing to watch ads. Which brings up the one bothersome issue of Hotel Transylvania Adventures. Freemium apps insert optional ads players can watch in exchange for items or extended gameplay; that's fine, but Hotel Transylvania Adventures takes it a step too far. Unless you pay $1.99 to remove them, ads pop up both after every level and whenever you fail mid-level and want to continue. It's simply too much. Then again, $1.99 might not be much to ask for this kind of quality, family-friendly entertainment, especially if you and your kids are looking to spend some time in your favorite spooky hotel.