A Gaming Diary
Archive for July, 2009
Doom Resurrection (iPhone)
Jul 27th
Another level done in bed last night. It was awesome. Playing on the lowest difficult level, as I am, I find myself often close to death, but I’ve only died once so far. It’s a good balance for me, I think. There’s danger if I’m careless, but if I keep my wits about me, I’m not going to suddenly find myself in a heap on the floor.
It’s really very playable indeed and while the story is completely unnecessary, it doesn’t get in the way too much.
I think I’ve been playing this in a good way by making it a special game that I keep for occasions where I can do it justice and not taking it too fast. I think it’s well worth the six quid price tag, but I can imagine that if you were to buy it and then blow through it one extended sitting you might not feel the same way.
Animal Crossing: Let’s Go To The City (Wii)
Jul 27th
Taking a break from the iPhone games for a bit, I remembered to go and see KK Slider’s gig this weekend.
He played KK Rally, which was nice.
geoDefense (iPhone)
Jul 27th
Another weekend, another level or two completed.
This is probably my most-played iPhone game now. I adore it. It’s just a shame that I really haven’t got anything new or useful to say about it. It’s a great tower defense game and, well, that’s about it. Just at least try out the Lite version, okay?
Rolando Lite (iPhone)
Jul 27th
Not, actually, the complete rip-off of Loco Roco that it appears to be. It’s got some ideas in common – tilting to roll little round guys around primary-coloured levels, for example – and from the screenshots you could be forgiven for getting the wrong impression, as I did.
It’s more of a puzzle game, though, and feels more precise and stressful than its PSP-based inspiration. I’m quite impressed – and the Lite version actually gives a good chunk of levels. I’ve not finished it yet, because I got to a level that I actually had to think about, so I stopped playing. I will go back, though, and if I manage to finish it off, I’ll be interested in the full game.
Pipe Mania (iPhone)
Jul 27th
So, when I last blogged about this, I was playing the Lite version and had tried an Arcade level and had my arse well and truly kicked.
However, after I blogged I started it up again and won the same level with ease. Funny how often that sort of thing happens. Anyway, that win, along with the game being on sale for a very limited time (it’s back up to full price already), prompted me to spend my hard-earned 59p.
I’m glad I did. It’s a fantastic little puzzle game so far, with no annoyances or barriers to get in the way of enjoyment. I have a great time laying out levels, it’s absolutely full of different modes and I haven’t even had to do any of the scrolling Arcade levels yet. Great stuff – and if the sale was still going on I’d send you off to buy it right now.
Pocket God (iPhone)
Jul 27th
When I wrote about Trixel earlier today I mentioned that it was probably the only game I shouldn’t have bought. I forgot about Pocket God, which kept me confused for about ten minutes and amused for about two. It is hugely popular, I know, but I have no idea why. Not a clue.
However, it had an update over the weekend that added in a proper, real mini game.
You bounce on clouds and tilt left and right to land on other clouds to bounce even higher. It’s not great, but it’s at least half decent and thus improves Pocket God a million percent, approximately. Hooray!
Ferrari GT Evolution Lite (iPhone)
Jul 27th
It’s a racing game. Guess what type of car you drive. Go on, guess. Yeah, well. Shut up. Right. It’s a racing game. There are lots of control options, but none of them work very well. I tried it several times to try and get comfortable with at least one of the control methods, but I didn’t manage it.
It looks nice and, to be fair, I know other people manage to get on with it fine, but it’s really not for me, not even for 59p.
Wolfenstein 3D Lite (iPhone)
Jul 27th
Controls work surprisingly well, after some fiddling, but, look…
…it’s Wolfenstein, which felt archaic in 1994. Bring on Doom classic.
Baseball Superstars 2009 (iPhone)
Jul 27th
Things are going better now after the disaster of the previous season. My batting average is up, my team, though seemingly doomed to mid-table obscurity, are at least doing better than last season and my coach even tells me I’m awesome now and again.
There’s no way on earth my popularity is going to be high enough to let me continue to play after the end of the tenth season, so I’ll probably just delete my player and start again. I suppose it’s possible I may play some actual full games of baseball sometime, but I just love this mode so much that I never seem to want to.
Trixel (iPhone)
Jul 27th
If there’s any game that I probably shouldn’t have spent money on, it’s Trixel. It’s not that it’s a bad game – far from it. It’s actually a very nice implementation of a good idea. The trouble is, I am terrible at it. It requires planning several steps in advance, something my poor, dim brain just isn’t cut out for.
I play a few levels, then my brain shuts down and decides that I’m not allowed to, you know, think and I get annoyed and turn the game off and go and play something that requires no thought while my brain lies back on a chaise lounge and fans itself for a while.
