A Gaming Diary
That Rev Chap
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Homepage: http://www.inverty.com
Posts by That Rev Chap
Pocket Frogs (iPhone)
Sep 16th
You know how you get poorly sometimes, but you’re not really poorly, you just feel a bit rough and take the odd Sudafed and carry on as normal while feeling slightly crap? Yeah, that.
As such, I found it impossible to concentrate on real games last night, so just ended up playing Pocket Frogs.
It’s a free frog-breeding game and I don’t quite get it.
You have some frogs.
These are my frogs.
You tame the frogs by having them leap around from pad to pad eating flies. (You just click on the pad to jump there. You can’t die, there’s no time limit, you can’t go wrong.)
I am taming this frog.
You can jump on other frogs to breed with them (or breed frogs you own from a menu).
After a while your habitats get full up, so you see some frogs and breed some more.
That seems to be it. Some frogs are rarer than others, some require you to level-up achingly slowly before you can breed with them, you can send frogs to friends and pay real money for unnecessary extras, but, though charming and pretty, it all feels a bit empty.
There are Awards you can earn for performing certain tasks, but most of them are so involved that I won’t be bothering with them, and sometimes someone sends you a request for a certain type of frog they wish to eat or worship, but that doesn’t happen very often – and the chances of having the right frog seems to be slim.
I’m not quite sure what to make of it. It’s perfectly likable, but I just don’t really get it.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (iPhone)
Sep 15th
Haven’t played this in ages, but it called out to me last night and I thought I’d give it a go.
I love stealing these trucks.
Didn’t do any missions, just mucked about getting used to the controls again, then stole an Ammunation truck and found a rocket launcher.
Hooray!
Of course, I blew myself up with it, but only when firing the last rocket. That’s better than normal.
Truly a fantastic game. According to my save file I’ve played over twenty hours of the game – and that’s after completing it on the DS!
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)
Sep 15th
First night mission – and very interesting it was, too.
It’s the first mission where I’ve noticed bonus enemies out of the way of the main action. In this case, a yellow-capped enemy was on a completely different map to the main action. (Enemies with yellow headgear give item bonuses when you kill them, I think.)
Possibly more interesting, though, was the sheer rubbishness of the enemy AI. I left my tank facing away from an enemy shocktrooper, its weak spot exposed and the stupid enemy didn’t even move during his turn. I hope this is just because I’m still in the very early stages and not an indication of what I can expect throughout the whole game.
Predators (iPhone)
Sep 14th
Look at me, I'm invisible!
Seems like a half-decent movie tie-in, based on twenty minutes or so. You run around slicing and dicing humans and when you’ve killed enough, it’s on the next level, which will probably give you a new weapon or teach you a new combo. (I do like removing heads for a trophy kill.) It’s all been very easy so far, but I’ve only just got a gun so the challenge will probably ramp up a bit. Even if the campaign doesn’t challenge, there’s always survival mode.
Minecraft (Mac)
Sep 14th
Lately, I’ve just been digging around under my castle.
A lot.
I dug this.
I think, in fact, that I’ve been digging a bit too much. I’ve got a huge network of tunnels and keep digging into and wrecking things I’ve already built, which I then have to repair. Then I have to divert my new passageway and normally end up hitting something else or flooding the whole area with lava.
I think it’s time for some more surface building.
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)
Sep 14th
I spent longer last night setting up groups than playing the game.
I kept the first group the same, but set up a second group of reserves who have an APC, rather than a tank.
Both vehicles are equipped with the same flamethrower turret, however.
It’s just a shame that the one mission I finally ended up doing gave me a preset APC and didn’t let me take my own vehicle.
Zombie Flick (iPhone)
Sep 13th
I’m honestly not sure what to think about this one.
Sometimes, when I’m cutting off multiple zombie heads with one throw of a record, it’s the best game ever.
Sometimes, when everything I’m chucking around keeps missing the zombies for no apparent reason I dislike it strongly.
Weapons are various.
And then a hulking great brute of a bodybuilder zombie turns up and refuses to die and I get killed and I’m not sure why.
I’ve only played it a few times, so I suspect I’m missing something rather fundamental.
Regent Style vs Trombone (iPhone)
Sep 13th
It is a silly game.
So, Game Center happened. And what Game Center-enabled game have I been playing most? Flight Control? No. Real Racing? No. Adrenaline Golf? No. Regent Style vs Trombone? Could be.
It’s incredibly simple, but now one of my friends has set a high score that I long to beat. And, well, there are a couple more achievements to strive for, too.
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP)
Sep 13th
This is just so, so good. I haven’t even progressed very far – I’ve been redoing early missions to experiment with different classes and squad combinations. Even just doing that, though, opens up lovely new cut scenes involving the characters you’ve been using in battle.
I don’t know what it is about this series, but the Valkyria Chronicles games are the only ones where I see sitting through more dialogue as a reward.
Minecraft (Mac)
Sep 10th
Summoning’s currently broken on the server, so I’ve not been able to plan any grand projects or even make any lava lights. I’ve been having to use torches, like a peasant.
In order to have something to do, I’ve started hollowing out the huge mountain inside my castle walls.
Part mine, part Bond villain-style lair.
I’ve got huge rooms, weird little mine bits, windows, open areas and long, twisting passageways. It’s half a building and half a mine – with a great big pit in the middle that I’d never noticed before, despite it being very large and on my property.
