A Gaming Diary
Archive for August, 2009
Big Top Ten (iPhone)
Aug 5th
Some games you get right back into after leaving for a week or so. Big Top Ten is not one of them.
It’s not that I was doing terribly badly and I like the game just as much as I always did, never fear, but I didn’t even get up to half my all time high score. My brain has just its lost ability to quickly recognise patterns of numbers that add up to ten and I found myself staring blankly and flailing around like a fish that’s somehow been pulled out of the water and had a finger grafted on to one of its fins.
Harbour Master (iPhone)
Aug 5th
Tried out the Smuggler’s Cove level for the first time last night.
My scores are pretty awful and after a fair few tries I’ve still not unlocked the next level. However, I very much enjoy it and having to sink the pirate ship with the cannon adds an extra element to the game – and one that works.
Terminator Salvation Lite (iPhone)
Aug 4th
I’ve been thinking about buying the full version of Terminator Salvation, so thought I should go back to the Lite to see if my opinion about it has changed since I last played.
If anything, it’s even better. I’m now much more used to using virtual pads and buttons than I was even two weeks ago, which helps enormously.
Now I have more idea of the average standard of graphics on the iPhone, it looks even more impressive than it did before. It’s different enough in pace to feel like a complement to Resident Evil 4, rather than a competitor. Really, the only thing holding me back is knowing that it’s £2.99 for a game that, from what I’ve read on forums, lasts no time at all.
Words With Friends (iPhone)
Aug 4th
I wish I knew how the game decided who wins a game when it ends with the scores tied. One I won, this one I lost.
These are the scores after the value of the remaining letters had been calculated, by the way. I was losing, but managed to tie the score by getting rid of all my tiles when my opponent had one or more left. Maybe in the event of a draw it awards the game to the person with the higher score before the remaining tiles are factored into it? I don’t know.
Wild Wild Train (iPhone)
Aug 4th
After much sweating and tension I finished level eight.
So I then moved on to level nine.
I took one look, felt a cold chill sweep over me and stabbed at the Home button.
I’m beginning to think Wild Wild Train is less of an arcade puzzle game and more survival horror.
Space Invaders Infinity Gene (iPhone)
Aug 4th
Pew pew! Pew pew!
Had some slowdown today for the first time, but it’s understandable given that the level in question looked like this:
Actually, wait, no it’s not. Still, I can’t say it harmed the experience in any way. If anything, it all adds to old school shooter feel, so no matter.
Wild Wild Train (iPhone)
Aug 4th
When I was a child, this was my bedroom wallpaper.
I used to lie in bed and follow the train tracks around and around and around. I never had a train set, but but I had this wallpaper. It didn’t turn me into a trainspotter, but it did leave me with a warm nostalgic glow whenever I look at train tracks and a desire to follow them around.
Which leads us to Wild Wild Trains.
Each screen is a track layout. You have to flick the switches so that the trains can get to their cargo, then drop it off at the station. It’s a simple concept and you start with uncomplicated track layouts and one train. Soon enough, though, you’ve got two trains to deal with and have to try and stop them crashing into each other, while routing them where they need to go… and all against a time limit.
It’s frantic, brain-frying stuff. You need to examine the track before you start, trying to work out how the different loops and paths intersect, work out a basic plan, then try to put that plan into action. It’s a bit too much for me, so I can only really do one level at a time and then I have to take a break.
It’s only 59p and if it sounds interesting by all means go for it, but if you’re unsure it might be better to see if I play more and how much I enjoy it before going ahead with a purchase. It’s obviously a lovingly crafted game, but it might just be a bit too much like hard work for a poor man like me.
Sway Lite (iPhone)
Aug 4th
Now this is good.
You’re a lovely, floppy little guy (either a lizard or an unlockable pirate in this demo) and you have to swing through levels to the exit. Your left thumb controls the left arm, your right thumb the right arm. Press on the screen to hold, move your thumb to swing, let go to let go, then put your thumb back on the screen to grab hold again.
It takes some getting used to, but by the end of the demo I’d improved dramatically compared to my first halting swings.
It really does appear to be very, very good indeed. Maybe even £2.99 good. I’ll have to go and find some reviews, to see if there are any complaints about later levels, but I urge you to go and try the Lite version right now – and don’t give up after thirty seconds.
Incidentally, I only downloaded this because the main character is going to be a co-op character in a future update of Minigore. Cross-promotion in games obviously works, then.
Oh, and for the record, when I use the word “guy” it’s gender neutral. I know that’s not standard usage, but I’m a rebel and I play by my own rules.
Glyder Free (iPhone)
Aug 4th
Fantasy-themed Pilotwings-a-like controlled by tilting your iPhone around.
Not a quick fix game, it’s more something to wallow in, like a hot bath. Takes a few minutes to get used to using thermals and maintaining your speed, but it soon starts to feel more natural.
There are orbs (or whatever) to collect of varying colours. I collected all the blue orbs and got told that if I had the full version I’d have unlocked the next level. I’m reasonably tempted, I have to say. I’m just worried that later levels might get annoying and lose the laid-back feel of the demo level. I’ll have to give it another go before I decide whether to spend my £1.19. I’ve got a lot of iPhone games already and there are a lot on the App Store that I want. I need to make a list somewhere and work out what to buy. Why doesn’t the iTunes Store have a wishlist feature? Oh, I know there are third-party solutions to that, but none of them seem perfect and it would be natural for iTunes to build the feature in directly.
Resident Evil 4 (iPhone)
Aug 4th
Last night I ignored Mercenaries mode and decided to attempt mission six of the story again. I upgraded my shotgun and stepped into the church. Tch, these poor, poor European peasants. They can’t even afford decent textures in their church. They need a fundraising drive.
So, yes, I blasted some chaps in the head with my shotgun a few times. Might seem blasphemous, but I’d been starting to think that this church had been deconsecrated some time ago. After killing one of the Gross Tentacle Men™ I found a key, which let me into the room on the second floor in which Ashley was being held.
After, er, introducing ourselves it was time to leave the church. I found a nice spot to get out the rifle and shoot back down into the main body of the church. I then jumped back down to the ground floor, caught Ashely when she jumped… and then got stuck behind her and couldn’t move. I tried shooting the advancing peasants, but managed to shoot Ashely in the head by mistake.
Mission failed.
Escort missions, eh?
So, I started again and this time managed to get us both out alive. Phew.
