A Gaming Diary
iPhone
Words With Friends (iPhone)
Aug 5th
I managed to use all my letters in one word last night.
(I hope nobody notices that two of them were blanks. That makes it much less impressive.)
Bookworm (iPhone)
Aug 5th
How can I game that’s so very, very dull waste so much time?
The trouble with Bookworm is that you get to a stage where it’s throwing hard-to-use letters at you, meaning you’re eking out puny words and can hardly ever make good ones. That’s just not as fun as the early stages. On top of this, it only makes it harder to make good words, not survive, as the red tiles are never a real threat if you’re careful and plan ahead as soon as they arrive.
It all adds up to a deeply flawed, even broken, game… but one that still, somehow, keeps you playing.
I’ll never understand it.
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.
