InvertY.com
A Gaming Diary
SONG SUMMONER: The Unsung Heroes – Encore (iPhone)
Jun 16th
Excited by the news that the original Final Fantasy Tactics (or, at least, a port of the PSP version of that game) is coming to iPhone, I loaded up Song Summoner, for the first time in about a million years. Or so.
What's this? It's got a good beat.
I didn’t actually play it, I just leveled-up my characters and then tried making some new ones.
We got married in a fever...
That done, I closed the app. Somehow, I don’t think I’ve got my priorities quite right.
Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter (iPhone)
Jun 15th
I’m not sure if you care, but my research suggests that this is actually a port of the second Carnivores game on the PC, rather than the first one.
My trophy room. There's going to be a T-Rex here one day.
It’s very good, you know. Thoroughly enjoyable stuff, even with the sound off. (Though it does lose a lot of atmosphere and makes you rely on the radar a bit more.)
Words With Friends (iPhone)
Jun 15th
Always neutralise a Triple Word where possible.
Oh, yes, I still play this every day. It just doesn’t make for very interesting blog entries. And I always forget to take screen shots.
Red Dead Redemption (360)
Jun 15th
Eleven hours since I saw the end credits and no sign of me getting bored yet. I have, however, given up on finding the “California” stranger mission for a while. I need to complete it for an outfit, but I’ve searched the big purple circle on the map for a couple of hours without finding any sign of the stranger, so I’ll come back later. I’ve switched to another outfit (when I’m not helping out random people or dueling) so next time I play I’m going to have to search Thieves Landing for a chest containing a scrap of cloth. That’s not going to take ages. The weird thing is, though, that I’m really looking forward to it.
Carnivores: Dinosaur Hunter (iPhone)
Jun 14th
Just gave this dinosaur hunting game a go.
Chose the first map, a random herbivorous dinosaur and the only gun I had access to – a pistol. Got dropped into what I assume is a random starting point (though I think there are a few it cycles between, as I definitely started in the same spot twice). It looks very turn-of-the-millennium-PC-game, so pretty good for an iPhone game.
Taking down one of these beasts with a pistol takes some doing.
Once I’d got comfortable with moving and aiming I shot the first dinosaur I saw, then was confused because I didn’t get any points. Decided you probably need to only shoot dinosaurs that you’ve chosen to hunt to get points, as is indeed the case. (I read the help a little later.)
Anyway, I went in a few times, used the radar to track down dinosaurs and then shot them before they spotted me and ran away. Which isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially with the pistol. (Not because of the controls though – they’re fantastic.)
The map shows you your location and the location of the dinosaurs you're hunting.
Enjoyable stuff, but I then decided to hunt the dangerous, carnivorous allosaurus. Dear me, there’s few things as exciting as making the dinosaur’s call, hearing an answering call off through the trees and then trying to hit the dinosaur before it spots you, leaps and kills you. I died a lot, but it was fantastically atmospheric and exciting. And when I finally dropped an allosaurus with the last bullet in my gun as he ran towards to me, well, that moment was worth three quid, right there.
My only slight concern is that playing it without sound – the way I play iPhone games 99% of the time – might not be an option here. I’ll have to give it a go and see.
Space Miner: Space Ore Bust (iPhone)
Jun 14th
Take the gameplay of asteroids, add in a story, upgrades, unlockable levels and all sorts of other stuff and you end up with Space Miner, an iPhone game that many people absolutely love.
I’m not one of them.
Move where I tell you to, you stupid ship!
I’ve played for forty-five minutes now, which is a fair chunk of time, but I still hate the way the ship moves. I’ve tried all the control options, but I just can’t get the hang of moving my ship around. I float and crash and I just can’t go where I want. I’ve even upgraded my ship’s engine, but that just means I fly into asteroids and enemies slightly faster than I did before.
I’ll give it a little more time, but if it’s not clicked after three-quarters of an hour, it’s probably not going to.
Cubed Rally Racer (iPhone)
Jun 14th
New track! New track!
It seems that about fifteen sections is my sweet spot for a challenging but achievable track.
The trouble is, though, over the weekend I seemed to have no patience and kept hammering the “New Track” button as soon as one began annoying me. Not a good way to play this game. As such, I didn’t get many points at all.
Red Dead Redemption (360)
Jun 14th
I found Merle wandering round Mexico, so I caught and tamed him again. I then traded him to a horrible man in exchange for someone’s freedom, then stole him back… and then watched him crumple to the ground when attacked by a cougar. Argh!
On the plus side, I’ve now completed the “kill two cougars with a knife” challenge.
Doodle Jump (iPhone)
Jun 14th
I still feel cheated by the way the Israel footie team knocked me out of the World Cup in FIFA on the PSP.
Lovely new World Cup skin, which has you jumping up a football pitch, avoiding enemy “players” and jumping through the goal to move on to the next opponent. Very clever rejigging of the core game. It’s therefore a crying shame that it doesn’t have its own leaderboard or high scores, given that it’s harder than the standard skin.
Carcassonne (iPhone)
Jun 14th
Nooooooooooooo!
Sometimes, just sometimes, I hate this game. (And not only when the online mode refuses to work properly.)
