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A Gaming Diary
Mr.AahH!! (iPhone)
Aug 24th
I also noticed that a game called Mr.AahH!! had been released for the iPhone this morning. Looked like one of those simple games that work well on the iPhone, so I downloaded the Lite version.
You swing from platform to platform. Mr. AahH!! swings automatically, you tap the screen to let go, the idea being to land in the middle of the next platform. As you advance, the wind and gravity change and you have to allow for them when timing your release. You can also tilt the phone to make small adjustments to your flight, but I’m not sure how much difference it makes, if any.
Anyway, I played the Lite version. A lot. I finished it. I got to the number two spot on the leaderboards. And then I downloaded the full version – it’s 59p – and played that. I’m currently sixth in the leaderboad on that one.
Anyway, it’s brilliant. It’s simple, professional, addictive and has great presentation. Even the sounds are great – it just sounds exactly like a video game should. You’ll see what I mean when you play it. And you really must play it. It’s excellent. If this doesn’t rocket up the charts there’s no justice in the world.
Try the Lite version, at least. You won’t regret it.
Numeri (iPhone)
Aug 24th
Looking at the New Games page on Touch Arcade this morning (no, still no sign of Geodefense Swarm) I noticed that this had become free. The icon made it look like a Slitherlink clone, so I took a closer look.
It is indeed a Slitherlink clone. Unfortunately, I cannot for the life of me work out how to play the bloody thing. You don’t touch the lines round a square, you touch a square and lines are drawn around it according to some arcane rules I cannot even begin to fathom out.
Unless someone can explain it to me, or unless I’m missing some other way to play, I’m going to have to declare this completely unplayable.
Puzzlings (iPhone)
Aug 24th
I’m really fed up with Blogger this morning. It’s just not working properly. So I won’t be giving Puzzlings the write-up it deserves.
Puzzlings is another match-three game, but with some interesting wrinkles and lots of character customisation.
I’ve been enjoying it an awful lot and I am very glad I spent 59p on it.
That’s really all you need to know, anyway.
A Quest of Knights Onrush (iPhone)
Aug 24th
Now, this is interesting. It’s a promotional game for a completely different genre of game, but which may end up being a demo of a full game. I shall explain.
Knights Onrush is a castle defense game. (Not to be confused with a tower defense game, which is a completely different genre.) Your castle is on the right of the screen. Enemies approach and you have to flick them off the screen before they start damaging your castle’s door. If your door is destroyed, you lose the level. The Lite version of Knights Onrush is included in the download for you to try.
I don’t like it. The constant flicking gets tiring, quickly. It’s odd, because I’m not averse to games with repetitive mechanics, but the frantic flicking (whether with finger or, on PC, a mouse pointer) has never appealed. I, I think I can say, do not like castle defense games.
However, A Quest of Knights Onrush is a completely different game. it’s a scrolling beat-em-up, in the grand tradition of Golden Axe. Or, for the youngsters among you, Castle Crashers. It’s a pretty small thing, just one randomised scrolling level, with information/advertising messages every so often. The aim is to get as far as you can with your one life. There’s not a lot to it and the random elements mean it’s not very fair, but it’s a lot more fun than the game it spawned from. If they do bring out a paid-for version I may be tempted to dump 59p on it.
Isotope (iPhone)
Aug 24th
This got an update to version 1.5, so I decided to play it again, not that I’m actually ready to see any of the new content they added. I’m still stuck in campaign mode.
I went I say stuck, I mean stuck. I was on the same level all last night and never even got to see the boss.
One trouble was that the controls, which I’ve previously held up as a shining example of how virtual sticks should be done, weren’t working. My thumbs just kept sticking and I couldn’t seem to fire the way I wanted. (Oddly, movement was mostly okay, it was only my right thumb having real problems.) I tried cleaning the screen and my hands a few times and, eventually, things seemed to click back into place.
Then the trouble was that I’m just a bit rubbish. I also think I need a better ship. I managed to get the one I was using to its maximum level and still wasn’t doing too well.
I’m going to have play again, because it was a very unsatisfying experience and didn’t match up to my normal feelings about the game at all.
Gangstar: West Coast Hustle (iPhone)
Aug 24th
Short bursts.
Mission.
Quit game.
Mission.
Quit game.
Start mission, look away from screen for a second, die and lose all my weapons.
Quit game.
Like that, you see. Just doing little bits of the game in bite-sized chunks.
I’m definitely coming to the conclusion that it’s pretty good despite being a bit rubbish. It really is awfully shoddy and quite empty, but the basics are there. A 3GS-exclusive sequel could be a thing of beauty, now they’ve got this far. Also, I still can’t quite believe I’m playing a character named P Thug. Urgh. In happier news, I was very pleased to win the first mission of chapter two – my first race – first time. I guess all the practice I’ve had messing around has helped.
ChocChocPop (iPhone)
Aug 24th
Gorgeous match-three puzzler that was free over the weekend.
I haven’t really given it a proper go yet. I’ve only been playing Classic mode, which has no timer and seems to go on forever. I think the other modes will probably be more interesting.
Str8ts (iPhone)
Aug 24th
Sometimes I can start up a puzzle and finish in ten minutes. Sometimes I get stuck for twenty minutes, have to leave the puzzle half-finished, then can come back a few minutes later and polish the whole thing off in two seconds.
The trouble is, I can’t predict whether or not my brain’s working before I start playing.
