A Gaming Diary
Posts tagged doom
Doom II (360)
Jun 1st
Doom II is now out for the 360 and it’s exactly as lovely as you might expect, given that it seems to be exactly the same as the 360 version of Doom, except with different levels. I’ve played through the first few levels on the default difficulty, which might turn out to be a mistake. On the PC I only ever played on the easiest setting, as I remember, otherwise I found the game far too hard later on. I may restart.
Switching weapons in the heat of the moment is the only real issue with the port – the d-pad just isn’t accurate enough. I’d prefer a way of cycling through weapons, I think. I had a terrible moment where I went to select the chainsaw, ended up selecting the rocket launcher and blew myself to bits. Ouch.
Still, the game did give me a nifty t-shirt for my avatar, so that was nice.
Doom II RPG (iPhone)
Feb 10th
The first Doom RPG was my favourite mobile phone game, so this has got to be great, right? Or have things moved on since I was sat on the bus squinting at the screen of a K800i?
One step closer...
I’m undecided. I’ve done the first level and, yes, I’ve very much enjoyed myself, but I’m a bit worried that it’s going to suffer from the same fault as Wolfenstein RPG – too many fights where you can’t help but take damage, so are constantly given health packs to make up for it. It’s fun and all, but I can’t help but feel that it would be nicer if combat was a bit more skillful and tactical than it seems to be.
We’ll see.
Ten Best iPhone Games, January 2010
Jan 5th
I’m often asked for iPhone game recommendations, so I’ve decided to post my list of the ten best games available for the platform. The plan is to post a list every few weeks, so please click the “top ten lists” label below to make sure you’re looking at the latest version if you’ve come to this post through a search engine. This list is in alphabetical order and consists of my own personal choice of games, based purely on how much I enjoy them.
33rd Division
A line-drawing game in the tradition of Flight Control and Harbor Master, but with a stealthy twist. Your job is direct soldiers to safe spots on the map, but without them being seen by the enemies. You can’t just draw a path, but must adjust it as the enemies patrol and lie down to stay out of sight. It’s tough, rewarding and incredibly exciting, distilling the essence of stealth into a fast-paced arcade rush.
Angry Birds
An immediate classic, Angry Birds arrived on the iPhone with little fanfare, but captivated everyone who tried it. It wasn’t just that people were losing sleep trying to get through all the levels – it’s that they then lost more sleep trying to get the full three-star rating for each one. A simple game where you launch birds at fortifications, the consistent physics and excellent level design lifted this above similar games. The only real problem is that after many hours spent trying to fully complete the game, it still leaves you wanting more. Much, much more.
Canabalt
Superb conversion of the web-based Flash game, Canabalt is a pure rush, controlled simply by tapping the screen when you want to jump. It’s wonderfully presented, perfectly simple and hugely addictive, with the randomly-generated levels meaning you can never be sure quite what’s ahead.
Doom Classic
Arguably the best game ever made, Doom has never really translated well to handheld consoles due to control difficulties. The iPhone version, however, controls beautifully and makes this the third-best version of this classic game (after the PC and Xbox 360 versions). The level design, weapons and enemies are still as wonderful as ever. If you’ve ever loved Doom, this is the version to carry around in your pocket. If you’ve never played, now’s the time to start.
iDrop Dead: Flower Edition
A physics-based puzzler where your job is to inflict as much damage as possible to cute cartoon characters. Tear their limbs off, expose their skulls and blow them up. This is a game, though, not an animated joke and the level goals are well-judged and careful consideration and well-timed flicking is needed to get them all. Forget Ragdoll Blaster and Max Injury, iDrop Dead is the pinnacle of the ragdoll genre and the Flower Edition contains the most content and is well worth paying for over the free versions.
Minigore
There are a lot twin-stick shooters on the App Store, but Minigore is the best. It may not have the RPG-like aspects of Alive-4-ever or the maze-like levels of Against The Fire, but it surpasses all other examples of the genre in pure frantic shooting fun. It’s fast, furious, relentless and tuned to perfection.
Orbital
Fantastic game that tests your aim and your brain. The mechanics are hard to explain, but obvious when you play. It’s a brutally hard game, but never unfair. Like many great games, you may develop a love-hate relationship with it – but you’ll keep going back.
Ridge Racer Accelerated
At launch this was a rough gem, plagued by slowdown and frame rate problems. A patch was issued quickly, though, and on the 3GS at least, performance is now nearly perfect. It doesn’t have the content of the PSP version of the game, nor the polish, but the glorious tilt-based steering makes it worth owning alongside other versions. No other racer on the iPhone comes close to the sheer terror the game can generate as you struggle to control your car round the twisting hills of the classic Ridge Racer courses. The price you see on iTunes doesn’t include the whole game – you need to set aside another three quid or so for the downloadable content – but it’s worth it.
Soosiz
The sound-bite description is Mario Galaxy in 2D, but with its cute visuals and small, but increasingly challenging, levels Soosiz soon leaves its inspiration behind and proves itself to be its own master. It controls perfectly, features a surprising amount of variety and has a enough levels to keep you going for a long, long time. It’s a joyous, bouncy experience, reminiscent of the best 16-bit platformers while being completely modern.
Str8ts
Sometimes you need to kick back and feed your brain, not your reactions, and there are a number of grid-based number puzzles for such occasions. There’s Sudoku, obviously, and KenKen, but the best of them is Str8ts. It’s impossible to say why, but Str8ts is simply the most satisfying puzzle game there is. It’s always logical and if you’re stuck, it’s only ever because you’ve missed something. The ratio between baffled staring and eureka moments is just right and when things flow, it’s glorious.
Ten Best iPhone Games, November 2009
Nov 23rd
I’m often asked for iPhone game recommendations, so I’ve decided to post my list of the ten best games available for the platform. The plan is to post a list every few weeks, so please click the “top ten lists” label below to make sure you’re looking at the latest version if you’ve come to this post through a search engine. This list is in alphabetical order and consists of my own personal choice of games, based purely on how much I enjoy them.
33rd Division
A line-drawing game in the tradition of Flight Control and Harbor Master, but with a stealthy twist. Your job is direct soldiers to safe spots on the map, but without them being seen by the enemies. You can’t just draw a path, but must adjust it as the enemies patrol and lie down to stay out of sight. It’s tough, rewarding and incredibly exciting, distilling the essence of stealth into a fast-paced arcade rush.
Call of Duty: World At War: Zombies
A direct port of the Zombies game mode from World At War on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, CoD: Zombies really shouldn’t work. A game designed for high-definition hardware and a fully-featured controller – on the iPhone? Incredibly, it’s a total success. There are three different control schemes, all of which work well. The graphics are astounding, with the zombie animations especially noteworthy. And the wave-based survival gameplay simply never gets old. Even without considering the online cooperative multiplayer, this is one of the ten best games on the iPhone. At the time of writing only one map is available, as more are added this game will only get better.
Canabalt
Superb conversion of the web-based Flash game, Canabalt is a pure rush, controlled simply by tapping the screen when you want to jump. It’s wonderfully presented, perfectly simple and hugely addictive, with the randomly-generated levels meaning you can never be sure quite what’s ahead.
Civilization Revolution
Civilization Revolution was a great game on the Xbox 360. The core of the game was the same in the DS conversion, but an awkward interface made it difficult to enjoy. The iPhone version of the game, though, is a triumph. It may not be as pretty as the 360 version or have the AI tweaks that top players want, but it’s much easier to control than the DS version. It’s more of a game than the the more simulation based PC Civilization games, but that doesn’t stop it being a great way to build an empire.
Doom Classic
It may seem to be overkill to have two first-person shooters in this list when no tower defence or racing games have made the cut, but it’s not my fault that both CoD: Zombies and Doom Classic are deserving of a place in this list. Arguably the best game ever made, Doom has never really translated well to handheld consoles due to control difficulties. The iPhone version, however, controls beautifully and makes this the third-best version of this classic game (after the PC and Xbox 360 versions). The level design, weapons and enemies are still as wonderful as ever. If you’ve ever loved Doom, this is the version to carry around in your pocket. If you’ve never played, now’s the time to start.
iDrop Dead: Flower Edition
A physics-based puzzler where your job is to inflict as much damage as possible to cute cartoon characters. Tear their limbs off, expose their skulls and blow them up. This is a game, though, not an animated joke and the level goals are well-judged and careful consideration and well-timed flicking is needed to get them all. Forget Ragdoll Blaster and Max Injury, iDrop Dead is the pinnacle of the ragdoll genre and the Flower Edition contains the most content and is well worth paying for over the free versions.
Minigore
There are a lot twin-stick shooters on the App Store, but Minigore is the best. It may not have the RPG-like aspects of Alive-4-ever or the maze-like levels of Against The Fire, but it surpasses all other examples of the genre in pure frantic shooting fun. It’s fast, furious, relentless and tuned to perfection.
Orbital
Fantastic game that tests your aim and your brain. The mechanics are hard to explain, but obvious when you play. It’s a brutally hard game, but never unfair. Like many great games, you may develop a love-hate relationship with it – but you’ll keep going back.
Soosiz
The sound-bite description is Mario Galaxy in 2D, but with its cute visuals and small, but increasingly challenging, levels Soosiz soon leaves its inspiration behind and proves itself to be its own master. It controls perfectly, features a surprising amount of variety and has a enough levels to keep you going for a long, long time. It’s a joyous, bouncy experience, reminiscent of the best 16-bit platformers while being completely modern.
Str8ts
Sometimes you need to kick back and feed your brain, not your reactions, and there are a number of grid-based number puzzles for such occasions. There’s Sudoku, obviously, and KenKen, but the best of them is Str8ts. It’s impossible to say why, but Str8ts is simply the most satisfying puzzle game there is. It’s always logical and if you’re stuck, it’s only ever because you’ve missed something. The ratio between baffled staring and eureka moments is just right and when things flow, it’s glorious.
Doom Classic (iPhone)
Nov 13th
Oh yeah, I’m winner! (No, I wasn’t stuck for long. I’d missed a switch.)
Doom Classic (iPhone)
Nov 13th
The only good cacodemon is a dead cacodemon. Oh, but how I hate those guys! Easily my least favourite of the classic Doom enemies, if only because I have to switch away from my trusty shotgun to kill them. (They can’t fire when they’re being shot up with a chaingun.)
In other news, I’m stuck. I’m on a late episode three level (not the one shown above) and I need the yellow key, but I can’t find it anywhere. I can remember most of the Doom levels pretty well, but not this one. While I’ve played Doom to death, I never played episode three that much, even back in the day.
Doom Classic (iPhone)
Nov 10th
Some days* you just need some good old shotgun therapy.
*Like, say, when the windows in your office are being replaced around you as you shiver, nurse a headache and try to work.
Doom Classic (iPhone)
Nov 5th
Uh oh! It’s the horrible scary Cyberdemon who, you may remember, took me months to beat back in 1994 when I first got Doom.
However, it turns out that he’s actually quite easy.
Now, that must be because I’m actually much better at the game these days and absolutely nothing to do with the auto aim in the iPhone version of Doom. Ahem.
Doom Classic (iPhone)
Nov 3rd
I didn’t intend to spend my entire lunch hour playing Doom, but, well, you know… it’s Doom. I’m powerless to resist.
I’m getting close to the Cyberdemon now… and I’m getting the fear. He took me months to beat without cheating when I first got the game in 1994. Months. Will I be able to defeat him now?
Doom Classic (iPhone)
Nov 3rd
It’s Doom. The real Doom. On the iPhone. Excited? Well, Doom doesn’t have a great record when it comes to portable versions. The GBA version was certainly a technical achievement, but the controls were pretty horrible. I didn’t get on with it very well on the PSP either. Or, for that matter, the Playstation, if we’re including home console versions. The only versions I really rate are the original PC version and the 360 conversion.
So, how does the iPhone version rate? Well, to my mind, it comes a comfortable third. The default controls are horrible – no strafing! – but the middle control option, with visible controls turned off and auto-use turned on transforms the game from a barely-playable mess into the best portable version of Doom I’ve ever played. It’s not quite as smooth as the 360 or PC versions, but it’s surprisingly close. I’ve certainly made my way through the first episode and most of episode two on the default difficulty without any problems.
This is the game I’ve spent most time with over the last few days. It’s finally, after all these years, a great handheld version of Doom and the bizarrely ugly front end and weird default controls don’t change that.
Brilliant. And maybe enough for Doom to reclaim the title of Best Game of All Time from recent upstart Grand Theft Auto IV.
