1st Impressions

It has been a very long time since I have anticipated the release of a game with so much excitement.  I’ve literally been searching the app store every morning to see if it is there yet.  I knew within 10 minutes of this game going live in the App store.  When it showed up, it was like a new gift showing up under the Christmas tree!   And, unlike many games that don’t quite live up to the anticipation (or utterly fail to do so), I have to say that Virtual City is no disappointment.  And I dare say that the 250,000 folks that tried out the free version won’t be disappointed either.

Virtual City, a G5 Entertainment release, is a successful port of a game available for other platforms.  I like it better than other games in the genre of Sim City because while the game does have its complexities, game play itself is not as cumbersome and doesn’t require memorizing huge poster-size technology trees.  It works so well on the iPhone touch screen that I’d have to say that it would likely be at the top of my list of purchases should I ever get an iPad.  The very intuitive pinching to zoom in and out and moving around on the map does not really require a full size screen though.

The premise of the game is simple.  Each of the 50 levels has a list of stated goals.  They can be accomplished in any order in order to complete that level.  There has to be order in the completion of each task though.  For example, your goal may be to send pies to the neighboring city.  In order to do that, you have to work out the dependencies of that goal.  You can’t just build a pie plant though.  You have to get grain delivered to the mill, flour from the mill and milk from the dairy farm to the bakery, and pies from the bakery to the next town.  This may require construction of roads or tunnels, trash pickup and delivery to the recycling center, additional homes for workers, and responses to natural disasters, fire, illness, and the eventual breakdown of equipment.

The dependencies are easy to figure out though as they are primarily transportation related.  If you click on a factory, it shows you what items it needs and what items it produces.  Items that are already being taken care of are checked off.  In effect, your goal is to deliver all the dependencies for each of the required items in a game.  It is more about connections and transportation than it is actual construction or utility infrastructure like other games of the genre.  The goals of the game are not just in the make & deliver category though.  Even the “make & deliver” goals depend on a proper balance of money, environment points, population, and community happiness.  It can be quite a job.  And, I have to say that from the standpoint of someone that was once  a project manager as a career, I found the “job” to be very enjoyable.  The focus on raw materials, manufacturing new items from them, and transportation is something that I find unique and refreshing and makes this game so much more than a clone of SimCity.  If you like games like SimCity, to which games of this genre are forced to compete with and be compared to, you will like this one as well.  I’d go so far as to say you might actually be like me and enjoy it better.

As I said before, Virtual City comes with 50 different levels across terrain found in 5 different states.  There are 7 different “production chains” to master (things as diverse as baking, printing, and cosmetics), multiple upgrades available for 50 different types of buildings, new technologies to unlock, and even 5 different “sandboxes” (to be added in the next release) that allow for free form play to your heart’s content.

I only have a couple of suggestions for the game.  I’d love to have an easy way to cycle through trucks, dumpsters, and buses and “follow” them around in the game to see where their pickups and drop-offs could be maximized.  While there is a way to select each item individually, there doesn’t seem to be a way to easily find which truck(s) visit a particular factory, for example, without clicking on every truck in the fleet to find out.  I’d love for there to be an option when I select a factory to see it’s current transportation.  It would make upgrading them easier.  My other suggestion would be to clarify something in the tutorials.  I know that a garbage truck (a “dumpster”) can visit multiple places and deliver at a single location (the recycling center), but does that stretch to other kinds of trucks as well, and what is the limit?  It appears that I’m limited to a single destination, but is there a limit to the number of “pick-ups” before I get there?  I figured it out by trial and error, but it would have been nice if it had been spelled out in a clear fashion in the tutorial.  Finally, I’d love to see a better way to tell what parts of your infrastructure are not needed for a particular level’s goals.  Early on, I deleted a factory that I didn’t realize I needed and could not find a way to re-build it.  What I was wanting to do wasn’t part of the level’s goals/tutorial, but I’d hate to make that mistake on something important and be forced to re-start a level.

You can download a teaser version with the first four levels for free (takes about half an hour to complete), but my recommendation is to skip that and go right for the full game.  At an introductory price of $2.99, it is guaranteed to bring you hours and hours of gaming pleasure.  I’d hurry though, as the price is going up on September 13th.  This game is one of the few that makes my “Must Have” list and I could not recommend it any more highly.

Word Quest is a basic word-search game for the iPhone.  At $0.99, it offers unlimited game play that incorporates not only different difficulty levels, but twenty different lists of words.  I found the variety to be very entertaining.  Game play is very simple as you can not only tap the first letter of the found word and dragging to the end of the word, but you can also just tap the first letter and then the last letter.  There are even hints available if you get stuck.  The graphics are nice, and the interface very intuitive.  Overall, it is a fun game for when you have a few minutes.  Anyone that likes word games will not be disappointed with the versatility of this one.

The long awaited Pochi in Space has finally arrived in the app store. With the highest user rating of five stars, this game is a sure crowd pleaser.

The object is simple. you (Pochi) are blasting through space, doing your best to avoid running into UFOs, asteroids, and other space junk. Along the way you can pick up upgrades, such as shields, which will allow you to get even further.

Pochi offers two modes of play: an Exploration mode which is a good place to start for beginners, and a Speed mode that requires even faster reflexes.

As  many other games have begun using, the developers of Pochi has chosen to utilize the ever more popular Open Feint for tracking your scores and comparing them to others.

Speaking of the developers, my hat is off to you for making it so east to contact you with the option to do so built right into the About screen, something that guys like me appreciate. So many times you have to dig deep into the iTunes store just to find out how to make a game suggestion.

Regardless of that little rabbit trail, Pochi in Space was an entertaining surprise for me and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys classic arcade games.

Flight Doodle is one of a number of “doodle” games that seem all the rage right now.  At $0.99, this one puts you in control of a hot air balloon in an attempt to survive as long as you can against attacks.  As you can see in the attached screenshot though, you can configure your vessel and your attackers with a number of different choices.  In this case, I chose missiles against a jetpack.

Game play is very simple.  Using the tilt controls of your iPhone, you “steer” yourself around not only attackers, but also through power-ups that do things like shrink you or give you offensive weapons.  They can also speed you up and slow you down.  One interesting thing though is that you also go past the benchmarks of those that have gone on before.  This is facilitated by online leaderboards that can be set to automatically update after every attempt.

The game is not static though.  Future updates to the game over the next month will be adding new game modes.  Not sure where that is headed, but it should be interesting to find out.

While this is not one of those games that will keep you captivated with new content for hour after hour, the simplicity of little games like this that can be picked up and played for a couple minutes at a time speaks a lot for the million dollar success that some of these “doodle games” have achieved.  Every iPhone needs a few of these for just such occasions.

I have to confess, Zombie Wonderland surprised me. It wasn’t the quality graphics and sound. That has become something Chillingo is known for. What surprised me is that I found a zombie game so entertaining.

I’ve played other zombie games. They never kept my interest. But this one is unique. It combines Minigore style square-jawed graphics, arcade style zombie shooting, and elements of the time management genre of games into something new that really works.

This $0.99 bargain offers both survival and story modes, four different types of enemies, and three different levels of difficulty. It is guaranteed to keep your fingers busy. The close confines of the house you are protecting keep this from becoming overly burdensome though.

Not being a huge fan of arcade games, it is the time management aspect of the game that I really appreciate. Among the blood and guts that you would expect to find is the introduction of choices between killing or cleaning up after the mess, choosing between aggressive shooting or defensive boarding up windows, and, as you progress, choosing different weapons and bullets as you prioritize among the different types of zombies.

Overall, this game uses a mixture of successful elements that we have seen other places into something that is unique and is well worth the dollar. It definitely gets a thumbs up.

To tell you the truth, when I saw the title of this game I thought it was a donut-inspired clone of something like Diner Dash.  I was not aware of the award-winning PC game upon which it is based.  This is not a time management game though.  It is a process management puzzle.  It reminds me a bit of Aztec Quest or something where you have to place different pieces of equipment in the right place configured the right way in order to “complete your order”.

The goals are simple to comprehend.  On the right side of the screen you have orders for donuts.  They are different types with or without icing, sprinkles, filling, or whatever.  In order to complete your order, you need to set up the flow between the different machines so that you get the right number of the right kind.

One of the things I really like about the game is that it is challenging, but there is no time constraint to cause you pressure.  If you don’t get it right the first time, you are not running out of a limited number of lives or something.  This gives the game a nice relaxed feel that I find appealing.  This is enhanced by the fact that the puzzles can have more than one solution.  This allows you to solve the level by figuring out the right order of things without having to get too down in the weeds with exact placement of equipment.

One of the other things I really appreciate with the game (other than great graphics and game play) is the attention to detail.  Not only does the game allow for multiple player profiles, but sound settings based on different volumes (as opposed to just on and off).  It also separates the 111 levels across five different factories for a little variety.  Another thing that I really like is that, but muting the overall sound on the main launch screen, one can play books or music from other apps while playing the game.  The game also allows for skipping levels if you really get stuck on one.

I can come up with very few suggestions for this game.  I think it would be nice if additional “factories” or level packs became available in future upgrades – even if they were in-app purchases.  Ability for users to contribute their own levels would be cool as well.  But these kinds of possible future enhancements take nothing away from the game as it exists today.  It is solidly built and I can’t find a single fault with it.

Rocknor’s Donut Factory, at an introductory price of $0.99, is a steal of a deal for the 100+ levels it contains.  It’s been a while since I reviewed a game that made my Must-Have list, but this not only makes that list, but also gets 5-stars from me on the App Store.  If you are one of the folks that come to me later and ask if I recommend this game for you personally, consider it recommended.

The Jim and Frank Mysteries: The Blood River Files is a combination of a puzzle game and an adventure game. It reminds me of a cross between Myst and Return to Monkey Island. The game play is simple, the graphics and sound effects are of the highest quality (pretty much expected fir a Chillingo release), and it promises 20-hours of entertainment for the bargain price of $0.99.

The game impressed me. It was both entertaining and challenging. It allows for multiple profiles/players as well as options for turning the music and sound effects on and off. Unfortunately though, getting back to that screen to change those options is somehow beyond my grasp. Maybe that is a extra credit bonus. LOL

One unique thing in the game us the ability to fund a couple of “eureka” bucks at each location. These can be used to purchase hints or skip puzzles. They can also be purchased with in-app purchases. While I did not take advantage of that, I thought it was a really good idea.

Other than an easy way to get back to the main screen, my only other suggestion would be a free lite version with the first couple of puzzles in it. I really think that once folks try it, they will definitely want more.

Overall, this is going to be a game that stays on my iPhone 4 for a while. The hand drawn scenes and 60 puzzles make it difficult to put down and you want to see what is next.

Catagugl is a cute $0.99 game that reminds me if those Yeti and Penguin games where distance is the goal. Using a circular swinging motion demonstrated on the help video, your goal is to launch the Gugl creature as far as possible. Hitting clouds, bouncing off red balls, and deflating during flight will increase your distance. Once you set a new personal high score, you can submit it to leader boards and compare your progress with that if others.

The graphics on the game are high quality and game play mechanics something that children should be able to master with no problem. I think kids will find a lot if appeal in the game. The entertainment value for adults will likely be limited however.

I did have one issue with the game. the help video shows a build-up of your strength. I didn’t get that. I am not sure if that was due to poor game play on my part or maybe an issue with the iPhone 4…or maybe some combination of them. Either way though, this doesn’t detract from the odd sense if accomplishment one feels with setting a new high score.

Hacker Evolution 2010 reminds me of the one time I went to a casino.  I could not figure out how the games were played and quickly lost interest.  The premise probably isn’t that complex, but it is just different enough to confuse me.

The goal of the $0.99 game is to hack the computers being shown on the screen using either a direct hack or a virus.  You start out each level with a certain number of viruses for attacks and a firewall level that reflect the strength of the servers you can hack.

The key to this process, and what is smarter than I am, is that if you don’t do these attacks in the right order and bounce your attacks off of the right servers, you run out of viruses and firewall and can’t go any further.  To make this more frustrating, there is no “restart” button on the screen.  You have to exit out to the menu and start a new game.

The game offers a couple of pages of help.  But, contributing to my confusion, the text is fairly small and I can’t read it.  I think the game would really benefit from a tutorial level that walked the user through a level.  I don’t believe the game is complicated.  I like a game that is a challenge.  The addition of a short tutorial and/or some larger text in the help section would help with the understanding though.

Overall, I’d probably give the game a score of a B.  It isn’t as addictive as other puzzle games I’ve played, but should offer multiple hours of challenge for a reasonable price.  If you want to check out the concept, Hacker Evolution Lite is a free version of a similar title from the same developers and should give you a good idea of game-play.