A Gaming Diary
iPhone
Civilization Revolution (iPhone)
Jun 8th
Last time I posted I was trying to press home my technological advantage over the other civilizations by shooting them dead with lead while they came at me with swords and arrows. Well, it worked and I won a domination victory with ease.
Next up, I started as the Mongols and got into a very costly early war with the English. I ended up with the advantage, but the struggle over one of my border cities went on for so long – millennia, possibly – that I was left a fairly distant second to the Greeks in terms of technology. (Also possibly territory at that point – I kept away from them and gave in to all their demands, so never saw the extent of their empire. While I was fighting the English, German and Indians the Greeks kept to themselves and even managed to launch part of a space ship from Sparta. So, with a few turns left, I nuked Sparta – it didn’t make any difference, but felt good – and then sat back and waited for the game to time out. Turns out that all my fighting had given me huge amounts of points – I’d conquered all of England, most of India and about half of the German empire – and I won a handsome points victory. Never satisfying to win that way, though.
Right now I’m playing as the Aztecs, simply because I wanted to start with some money. (Building roads in the early game can make a huge difference, but they’re expensive.)
Fight!
Where I go from here I don’t know, but I’d like to try for a cultural victory. It’s just so difficult to stay at peace in this game. Other civilizations often declare war on me and if they do, I’m going to fight them. (And not just because I can’t work out a way to offer peace. The diplomacy screen lets me see details on other civilizations, but I can’t work out how to actually, you know, talk to them.)
Carcassonne (iPhone)
Jun 7th
Still no idea how you pronounce it, even after all these years.
One of my favourite XBLA games was the conversion of board game Carcassonne. (I’m using the past tense, as I don’t seem to have played it in about two years.) I even got all the single player achievements, which is very unusual.
Anyway, the iPhone version’s here now and it’s fantastic. The menus are a bit strange at times and Internet games seem to start randomly – I had a horrible time trying to start a game with a friend, but we got there in the end, though we’re not sure how – but the actual game interface is wonderful.
I know the rules, but I'm only starting to learn any actual strategies.
It’s a decent single player game, too. (I have trouble beating the “Easy” opponent, embarrassingly.) And there’s a “Solitaire” mode I’ve not yet investigated.
If you like Carcassonne, this is an excellent version. If you’ve never played it, there’s a tutorial here and it’s one of those “easy to learn, hard to master” kind of games. Highly recommended – I’ll let you know if I ever figure out what the problem with starting Internet games is/was.
Robot Unicorn Attack (iPhone)
Jun 4th
Good taking a screenshot with no jumps in it, me.
The iPhone version of the popular Flash game. Graphics are blurry and reduced view makes it a bit more difficult for decent players (I’m just as rubbish at this version as the web version), but still very playable. I’m enjoying it, anyway, even though it could be improved.
(If you’re wondering why the posts are so short today, it’s because the new iPhone version of Carcassonne is causing me great rage and confusion. Except a blog post on Monday when I might have calmed down.)
Civilization Revolution (iPhone)
Jun 4th
I have tanks. Bwahaha!
Everybody hates me. Demands flying in every turn demanding tribute. I’m ignoring them all, however, as I am the only civilization who current have tanks. Come to that, I’ve not even seen any other riflemen. I’m trying to take as many cities as possible while I still have the advantage, it probably won’t last long.
Civilization Revolution (iPhone)
Jun 3rd
That's the French down there, bottom left. I don't like them.
It’s been a long time since I played this. I’m not sure why, to be honest. I think about playing it several times a week, but I just don’t start a game. Maybe it’s because I’m scared of it. And maybe I’m right to be. I mean, I started a game as the Zulu last night – having double-speed warriors at the start of the game is wonderful – and then over half an hour disappeared in the blink of an eye. I built some cities, took more from the annoying French and then it was bed time I wasn’t sure how I’d got there.
Cubed Rally Racer (iPhone)
Jun 3rd
I won this 15-section track first go - amazing!
Yep, I played more of this game last night. You can tell I play a lot, because although my high score only puts me at number 42 in the global leaderboards, when it comes to experience (gained for completing races) I’m breathing down the neck of the top ten. It really is an utterly fantastic little game. I’ve put hours into it without getting tired of it – and all for the cost of a (cheap) sandwich. Brilliant.
Cubed Rally Racer (iPhone)
Jun 1st
I feel like the Duke boys. Both of them.
Still playing this, yes. I’ve can make tracks of up to twenty-five or twenty-six sections now, but I’ve found that ten-section tracks are the most fun and fit nicely into commercial breaks.
Cubed Rally Racer (iPhone)
May 28th
I dreamed about this game last night. And I dreamed that you could quit the app and then come back and resume your current track. It was a wonderful dream but, sadly, just a dream.
Oops. Again.
Fantastic game, though. If it’s good enough to interrupt my usual dreams of cowboys and separation anxiety, then it must be pretty special. Also: I’ve been playing it too much.
Cubed Rally Racer (iPhone)
May 27th
Here we have a little isometric driving game, most notable for generating tracks randomly. You chose how long you want the track to be, then try to get through to the end, picking up as many bonus points as possible. Longer tracks are obviously harder to complete, but generally offer more points. It is random, though, so a very long track might get you fewer points than a shorter, more bonus-heavy track.
Oops.
My experiences with the game went something like this:
0 mins: Hmm, the review on Touch Arcade made this sound great and it’s only £1.19, I’ll give it a go.
5 mins: Okay, this is completely uncontrollable. Whoever programmed this either hates gamers or me personally. Might be a good game, otherwise, but these controls are appalling.
15 mins: Right, I’m starting to get the hang of this handling, but I keep missing the buttons. They’re just too small.
30 mins: My thumbs have adjusted and I’m hardly missing the buttons at all.
45 mins: Actually, this handling model is lovely. Skidsome in the extreme, bombing round these tracks is brilliant fun.
60 mins: One… more… go…
120 mins: My battery ran out! But I need to keep playing! Chills coming on… starting to shake… must find charger…
Which is all a long-winded way of saying that it takes a while to become comfortable – it takes a while to even be able to turn the simplest corner, to be fair – but once you start getting used to it, it won’t let go. There’s never a chance of getting stuck, because a whole new track is only a button click away.
It’s not perfect, though. The left and right buttons could do with being a little taller. I’ve adjusted now, but I can’t imagine that it would hurt the game in any way just to extend the area of control response up the screen a little. Also, the game doesn’t save tracks. It’s not much of an issue at first, but when you start on the longer tracks it’s annoying that you can’t take a break and come back to them. You can retry the same track as much as you like while in the game (which gives you a ghost of your best attempt, a lovely touch), but quit and come back and you’ll have a whole new randomly-generated track to deal with.
Still, neither of those niggles spoil the experience. I’ve not been this consumed by an iPhone game for a while. It’s really brilliant stuff. Initially unfriendly, but definitely worth sticking with.
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (iPhone)
May 24th
Take that!
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney has just appeared on the App Store. It’s the first DS game in its entirety for the bargain price of £2.99.
I never did finish the DS version, I don’t think – I’m not sure I ever started the fifth case and I’m pretty sure I didn’t finish it – but I’m also looking forward to replaying the cases I did play back in the day.
I know he touched something, I just need to prove it.
It’s a decent conversion. The two DS screens are shown using the iPhone’s portrait orientation and, apart from looking a little small, there’s nothing to complain about, except for wishing text appeared a little more quickly. It even does a quick save when you press the Home button. Yes, I know it should, but there’s enough games that don’t to make it worth pointing out.
I’ve just spent my lunchtime playing through the first case. All simple, tutorial-level stuff, but it’s very satisfying when everything goes to plan. I remember it being slightly annoying in later cases when my brain failed me and it became an exercise in trial and error, but hopefully I’m cleverer now.
