A Gaming Diary
iPhone
Jet Car Stunts (iPhone)
Nov 17th
This is really, really hard. I played this exclusively yesterday evening – though I wasn’t playing all that much – and I only got through a few more levels. (That’s a cunning way of saying that I can’t really judge how long I played for and can’t remember how many levels I completed.)
It’s excellent, though – even when I’m falling to my doom.
Ground Effect (iPhone)
Nov 16th
Finally finished the seventh race simply by not taking the tempting shortcut and being a lot more sensible when using boost. (For example, I’ve now trained myself to stop using it when I’m going uphill, as doing so sends me straight into the ground.)
The eighth race was pretty easy and featured an excellent jump. The next track looks pretty nasty, though. I may even have to try using some brakes.
The Settlers (iPhone)
Nov 16th
I wasn’t go to buy this for £3.99, after it unexpectedly went up in price from £2.99. But I had the credit in my account and it felt like such a Sunday game that yesterday I gave in and downloaded it.
Good decision, bad decision?
I won’t keep you in suspense. It was a good decision. Definitely.
The first three tutorial levels didn’t seem to be teaching me much. After completing them I still felt slightly baffled and started the fourth mission – the first that doesn’t tell you what to do step by step – with some trepidation. However, after a bit of messing around with icons and menus I started to feel more comfortable and soon had a thriving economy going… which, after a couple of hours, ground to a halt. My gold mines seemed to be the first to stop producing, following by coal mines and soon I was unable to produce any soldiers. I had a look around and the problem seemed to be a lack of fish. I had a fishing hut, but it wasn’t producing anything. So I built another one, which didn’t produce anything, either.
I scratched my head for a while, before having a eureka moment. It turned out that, in messing about with the icons at some point, I’d set my fisherman to try and catch fish on land, so obviously he wasn’t doing anything. The second fishing hut I’d managed to build too far away from the water, so this fisherman was also doing nothing. I told both fisherman that, yes, they should look in the sea for fish and my economy started working again. Soon I had gold and swords and was able to finish off the Vikings on the west side of the map. Hooray! A delayed victory, but a victory nonetheless – and one that taught me a lot about the game.
Fantastic stuff – and gorgeous, too. Wonderfully animated, with tons of incidental detail that brings the world alive. A great, great game so far and I’m so glad I bought it.
Jet Car Stunts (iPhone)
Nov 16th
It’s pretty much Trackmania, just on the iPhone. And with a lovely, stylised chunky polygon look to it. It’s got a great controls, it runs like a dream and it’s very hard without crossing the line and being off-putting.
The menus aren’t great, but they’re functional enough and the game’s got it where it really counts. If had some sort of award I gave out to games that seem like they’re really good based on the first hour or two of play, this game would get one.
Ground Effect (iPhone)
Nov 16th
Though technically pretty astonishing, this ekranoplan racing game didn’t grab me at all at first. I was flying around, skimming over the sea and ground, feeling like it was all a bit lifeless. The first race is just an oval, the second only slightly more interesting. A reasonable way to introduce people to the game, but not very interesting. The third race is more fun, but it still wasn’t grabbing me at all. The tilt to turn mechanics work fine, there’s a boost to use on straights, but it all felt a bit lacking, like a tech demo with a dull game bolted on.
Then I tried the fourth race. This puts you down at the edge of a small archipelago with a checkpoint on the other side. You can take the safe route round the islands, but that’s not going to help you get in the top three. (You unlock the next track by coming in third or better in the races.) Instead, you have to work out a good route between the checkpoints, then actually manage to fly around for three “laps” without crashing.
I found it incredibly difficult. It took me a long time to work out a route, then trying to do it without crashing was causing me all sorts of problems, due to some nasty turns. I spent a long time trying and failing to perfect it, then went back to basics and worked out a much safer route, which finally let me complete the race. It took me many, many goes, but it really made me appreciate the game.
Then level five comes along, which is much easier and offers a breather, then level six is harder again. I’m currently on level seven, which is another hard one. It’s a simple route, with checkpoints limiting the opportunities to take short cuts, but there’s one very tempting place where you can just about get over a rocky outcropping without crashing – but only if you get it just right. I can’t resist it, but crash in that spot and you’re pretty much done for. It’s a fine balancing act.
Highly recommended, though be prepared to let it grow on you. It’s not as immediate as some other games on the App Store, but it’s worth properly digging into.
Words With Friends (iPhone)
Nov 16th
Played three great new games over the weekend, but first the obligatory Words With Friends post. I did play it and the idea is to blog about games when I play them, after all. Anyway, had a very, very close game over the weekend – that I ended up losing.
So close.
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.
Bejeweled 2 (iPhone)
Nov 13th
I had no interest in this whatsoever until it got updated this week. What’s the big difference? Well, the game now includes the famous Facebook game mode, Bejeweled Blitz. This transforms the normally staid game into a frantic minute-long burst of excitement. You can even drag pieces around while other pieces are in motion, which makes the game infinitely better. (Zoo Keeper needs an iPhone port, like, now.) Shame the scoreboard only shows Facebook friends – only one of my real-life friends seems to be playing it.
The rest of the game is just what I expected. I doubt I’ll play it much, but the classic mode is okay to have on while you’re half-watching TV.
Words With Friends (iPhone)
Nov 13th
Not the most exciting screen ever, but I just took one while I remembered. Not every move is a huge deal, most of them are just the best of a bad job.
