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Despite what you hear from politicians, teachers and the media, video games can in fact be positive - whether it's keep one's brain sharp with challenging puzzlers, solving some of the world's problems in an economic or environmental simulation, or letting cancer patients blast away malignant cells inside a video game.
In 2006's Re-Mission computer game, HopeLab found cancer patients took their medicine more consistently and had an overall better feeling about themselves than a control group who did not play the game.
Now you can take the action with you on your phone or tablet in Re-Mission 2: Nanobot's Revenge.
While not a flawless adventure, this free mobile game proves fun and accessible - and perhaps even therapeutic for some - especially for younger players.
In the game, you're a microscopic robot waging war on cancer cells inside the human body. Your goal is to destroy a growing tumor before the cells escape into the blood stream. Using real-world treatments to battle the baddies - including chemo and radiation - you'll blast, burn and destroy the cancer cells by moving from area to area inside the body (namely, lungs, lymph, bone, brain and bloodstream).
A screenshot from "Remission"(Photo: © 2013 HopeLab)
Using your fingertip, you'll tap the evil cells to fire your highlighted weapon at them. Similar to a game like Tetris, you want to prevent the climbing cancer from reach the top of the screen, and thus entering the bloodstream. Some weapons target each cell directly, while others are a more powerful vertical blast through all rows of enemies - but it takes longer to recharge before you can use it again. In total, there are 15 different attacks to unlock, and upgrade, spread out between the 12 playable levels (and one unlockable Challenge level).
You can spend your accumulated points in an in-game store. For example, you can buy a Red Blood Cell Plushy that doubles your starting energy. Or at level 6, you can buy a NanoScalpel Buzz Saw that slices horizontally from both directions.
Similar to other iOS games, you can also earn achievements for your efforts, such as "Cancer Slayer" (kill the Nuclear Tyrant with a Nano Reaper) and "Last Minute Shake" (cast a Tumor Shaker when the top floor is at least 95 percent).
While Re-Mission 2 is fun, one big issue is blocking the screen with your finger as you target the enemies. Because you need to tap the cells themselves, your finger can obscure your view of the action, ironically making it more difficult to see where you're firing. It's worse on the iPhone opposed to the iPad, but it's a shortcoming on both platforms.
Overall, however, this free game - which also has no in-game ads or in-app purchases - is great for kids of all ages. HopeLab says it designed with the input of more than 120 young cancer patients. More info is at re-mission2.org.