A Gaming Diary
Posts tagged wheeler’s treasure
Wheeler’s Treasure (iPhone)
Feb 16th
Was feeling indecisive last night, so got my wife to pick a random game for me to play and she chose this. I’d completely forgotten how good it was. I was worried I’d have to go through the tutorial again, but when I started playing it was all very simple and soon I was rolling past friends’ gravestones and, after a couple of goes, even beat my own high score.
Ack! Stay out of the tar!
There are all sorts of unlockables – last night I unlocked a water bottle and a whole new game mode – and it’s fast, fluid and generally just pretty darn good. There are so many games I like, play for a day, then ignore. That doesn’t matter financially – even I can afford 59p here and there – but it’s a real shame when games of this quality are left to quietly rot on my iPhone.
I should play something random more often – it’s almost always a nice surprise.
Wheeler’s Treasure (iPhone)
Nov 3rd
You’re a young lady pirate. There’s a big water wheel contraption rolling through a randomly-generated level. You sit inside it (most of the time) and swipe the screen to jump in order to avoid obstacles, collect treasure and destroy enemies. It’s not really like anything I’ve ever played before, despite sitting comfortably next to Run, Canabalt, etc.
At first it all feels a bit too random, despite a decent tutorial. It takes time to become comfortable with the jumping and after several games I’m still a long, long way off feeling like I’ve mastered it. It’s not that it feels wrong – you jump exactly where you tell the game you want to jump – but there’s too much going on for you to simply be able to practice the jumping. From the very beginning you’re avoiding slime-filled pits, skeletons, bats and cannonballs and there’s barely time to breathe.
You gradually become better at the game, though, better at timing your jumps, better at learning the best time to use your equipment and you start to realise that the game might be something special. There’s a lot to unlock and equipment choices to make before you play. (Do you want to hang on to the wheel or be able to return to it if you lose it?) It’s a full, polished package and, despite still not feeling like the game’s really clicked, I don’t have any hesitation in recommending the game at the introductory price of 59p. Just be prepared to give it some time.
