Tag Archives: Mobile Gaming

Looking For Magic…

January 5, 2016 Noob of All Trades Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: …in all the wrong places? Okay, clever (?) title aside, here’s a TLDR. Do you like Magic? Do you like Puzzle Quest? If your answer is yes to both of these, then give the game a try.)

I’ve discussed the Puzzle Quest line of games on the page. For those of you who are new and don’t want to sift through other articles, I will offer a recap of my history with the games. I started with the titular game of the series on the XBox360 because it was being sold for 5 or 10 bucks. I don’t remember the exact price, but it was cheap enough that I didn’t hesitate to buy it. I’ve also discussed that I have the same problem when Steam has a sale. It didn’t hurt that I’m a sucker for the match-3 type puzzle games. Heck, I’ve been a fan of puzzle video games since I got Tetris with the Game Boy. The match-3 have the same appeal as Tetris without the marathon matches–unless you binge, as I sometimes will. Nevertheless, it is comforting to know that you can pick the game up, play a few rounds, and be done with it in less time than it takes you to—well, I’ll leave it at that and let your imagination take over.

It looks like a demon...on the toilet...playing Candy Crush...and he is on a higher level than I am. — It looks like a demon…on the toilet…playing Candy Crush…and he is on a higher level than I am.

I’ve played all of the big names. Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook, the original Puzzle Quest on the XBox360, and I even finally discovered Candy Crush a couple of years ago. That one has occupied my free time more than any other game over the last few months. It’s just the way that these games work. They feel dumb and easy. Then, the difficulty ramps up and you’re playing them as much as you can to get that “one more level”. They show you how your friends are doing and it ramps up the competitive spirit that much more. I’ve even done something that I never thought I’d do. I’ve spent real money on these games. Candy Crush, especially, hooks me with their weekend “deals” about once every two months. I have since found other games because I’m stuck on one of the Candy Crush “hard” levels and have been for as long as I can remember. I’m not going to spend money on extra levels or anything because I’ve learned that lesson. My high–or is that low–point came during my Marvel Puzzle Quest playing days. I spent more money on that game than I care to admit. What can I say? I’m a sucker for Marvel and have not thrown my money away on comics for the better part of a decade and a half. Might as well turn that good money into ultimately useless characters for this silly game because, #YOLO

Enough of that silliness. Time for some on topic silliness. The reason that I mention my history with puzzle games in general, and Puzzle Quest in particular, is that a new one has been released. Most likely several have been released. One, in particular, caught my attention. I’ve written about it before on the page because I’ve been excited about it since it was announced. I write, of course, about Magic Puzzle Quest. They’ve done such a great job with Marvel Puzzle Quest that I couldn’t wait to see if they could capture that “Magic” again.

Pun not intended, but not exactly discouraged, either.

I should know by now to temper my expectations. I’m not saying that it is a bad game. It just feels…incomplete. The story mode in Marvel Puzzle Quest is deep and rich. I would say that is because it is based on recent comic storylines, but even the original Puzzle Quest had good, if generic, lore. In both cases, many levels are introduced with dialogue that helps to keep you immersed in the fantasy of a game that quickly gets boring otherwise. Given that precedent, I expected the newest version to follow, if not surpass, that standard. It falls well short. Most disappointing is that Wizards has stated that they want to be more committed to story and lore. That commitment showed in the latest iteration of the Duels series, but definitely took a step back in Magic Puzzle Quest. The only “story” is a single sentence, most likely just the flavor text from whatever card you happen to be battling. It’s a phenomenal disappointment. Really, though, that’s my only complaint. For someone like me, it’s a big deal. Your mileage, as usual, may vary. The gameplay is the same lame match-3 of all the others. Without an interesting story, the game is simply Candy Crush with Nissa or Liliana instead of the annoying little girl as your protagonist. What, then, keeps me logging in to this one instead of the candy filled cuteness?

That vile, vile cuteness. I see a demon...on the toilet...leading candy minions against me in a war for my soul. It is a war that I am losing...badly. — That vile, vile cuteness. I see a demon…on the toilet…leading candy minions against me in a war for my soul. It is a war that I am losing…badly.

Well, it is a Magic property. The familiarity of the characters and lore make this a more desirable destination if I’m going to be blowing up gems. Add the dimension of being able to summon creatures, play spells, use planeswalker powers, and better freebies to make Magic Puzzle Quest undeniably the choice for match-3 on mobile for me. Let’s talk about those freebies. In Candy Crush, there is a wheel of fortune that may or may not give you something useful. More often than not, the prize is nearly worthless. Magic gives guaranteed prizes every day. Sometimes it is in game currency. At the end of each week, you get a booster pack. I haven’t made it yet, but if you log in each day for a month, you get a fat pack of boosters.

I still prefer Marvel Puzzle Quest for the reasons outlined, but I only have that one on Steam and I don’t trust that my progress will carry over if I download the game onto my tablet. So, whenever I need to blow up gems while I’m…busy…I’ll log into Magic Puzzle Quest and collect cool stuff while I’m at it. I’ll also hope for a better story.

Digital Playground

Gonna Catch ’em All! (Eventually? Maybe?)

December 1, 2015 Noob of All Trades 1 Comment

(Note: Gotta catch ’em all? Yeah, right. I couldn’t catch ’em all when there were only 150 of ’em. I have no chance at this point.)

On this month’s Noob and Sons (recorded over the weekend and most likely to be posted later in the week), we dedicated the whole show to Pokemon. The crazy little creatures are near and dear to me. So much so that, for some reason, I remember the first time I encountered them. Having grown up with video games, I had heard of Pokemon, but never played the games. One day while working at KMart, I received a call from a woman. I assume she was a mom trying desperately to understand this thing called Pokemon that was most likely in response to a request by her son to get him one of the games for Christmas. I calmly explained to her what I knew of the relatively new phenomenon.

I don’t, however, remember how I got into the games. I do know that I have played since the first generation. I chose red over blue at the time and I’m not sure why. Blue is my favorite color and I was too ignorant at the time to know anything about exclusives for each version. Maybe that’s the only version that the local Toys (backwards) R Us (or Babbages, remember that place?) had at the time and I thought that I’d eventually go back for Blue.

Used to go to this place all the time at the Millcreek Mall, along with McDonalds, the movie theater, and the arcade. Don't hate me because I'm an OG. — Used to go to this place all the time at the Millcreek Mall, along with McDonalds, the movie theater, and the arcade. Don’t hate me because I’m an OG.

I’m not entirely sure, either, why I didn’t get Blue. I remember enjoying Red because it was similar to one of my favorite games at the time, Final Fantasy. Maybe I lived under the delusion that I’d be able to trade for the missing Pokemon. Perhaps my gaming budget simply went to other games as I eventually shifted my short attention span away from Pikachu and Co. Just another in a long line of good intentions gone bad.

I did eventually tire of fighting the same Pokemon, battling trainer after trainer, and not being as interested in the story as the other games like Final Fantasy. Also, it was much more fun for my brothers and me to blow each other up in Mutant League Football than to play this single player game running around and trying to catch ’em all. So, I moved on to other games and mostly forgot all about Pokemon for a few years.

The next game that I remember playing isn’t even a traditional Pokemon game. A explanation: One of my favorite consoles of all time was the Game Boy Advance. I still have one that I borrowed from a friend so that Liam could play some GBA games that he wanted for Christmas. Thankfully, this game was among them. The next (and probably my favorite) Pokemon themed game that I played was Pokemon Pinball.

At the time, I worked overnights and had a lot of free time. I wrote a ton. Between that job and my time spent unemployed, I was able to finish my two published books. When I wasn’t writing, I also played a ton of Pokemon Pinball. I didn’t “catch ’em all” as the saying goes, but I came closer than I ever did in the traditional games. Now that I have a way to play again, I’ll try to catch the ones that I missed.

Heck, I even caught Numel! That's gotta count for something, right? — Gotta catch ’em all. Even, Numel, for some reason.

After putting away Pinball, I stopped for so long that I actually forgot that Pokemon existed. It became one of those “games of my youth” that I never imagined would come back into my life. Then, suddenly and (maybe) inexplicably, I started looking at Diamond and Pearl. This time I knew about version exclusives, so I bought Diamond for Dialga. I actually caught the legendary Pokemon, too. Sadly, I have no proof and had to give up my save file.

That last paragraph might need some explanation. I say that the return of Pokemon may have been inexplicable. That might be true. I’m not entirely sure of the timeline. It might also have been that Liam was born and I knew from an early age that I was going to try to get my kids into gaming. While that gives me an in home playgroup, there are drawbacks. I surrendered my Diamond game to Liam once he learned about video games and Pokemon. Since they game has only one save file (still, WTF, Nintendo and Game Freak), there went all the effort to get Dialga. Such is life, love, and family. That was also the last time that I could consider the DS to be mine alone. From that point forward, Liam more or less claimed it for himself.

I don't have Dialga anymore, but that Numel more than makes up for it, amirite? — I don’t have Dialga anymore, but that Numel more than makes up for it, amirite?

I have not played any of the newer traditional Pokemon RPGs, but I have kept an eye on them. Liam also keeps me updated as to the new developments in the series. While I’d like to see for my self, I’m actually more excited and interested in the other games being made. The first I learned about was Pokken Tournament.

Like most these days, Facebook introduced me to the game. I saw a video of some gameplay, showed it to Liam and Aiden, and then went digging for more information. I haven’t since searched, so much of my info might be outdated. Hey, what’s one of my sayings? Ignorance is bliss and sort of my thing on this page.

The game is being co-developed by Nintendo and the makers of Tekken to be clone of that popular fighting game. I have played Tekken, but I wouldn’t consider myself a fan. I’d much rather play Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, or Marvel vs. Capcom. Still, the addition of Pokemon makes the game intriguing. My main complaint about Tekken is the lack of special moves like fireballs and “get over here” spears. Pokemon breath fire and shoot lightning. Pokken could be like a mix between Tekken and MK, but for kids. That’s awesome.

That’s not the only new concept game four our favorite pocket monsters. Pokemon Go, an “augmented reality” app for phones and tablets, promises to turn the world around you into a Pokemon filled wonderland. As I understand, you “search” with the phone to “find” hidden Pokemon. The types of Pokemon depend on your surroundings and maybe even the season. What did I tell you? Ignorance is bliss because you never know what to expect.

This app, if it works the way that I hope it will, has the potential to suck any free time and money that I might have left. Imagine walking down the street or hiking in the woods and getting a push notification that one of the Pokemon that has eluded you is close. How cool would it be to lock eyes with that blue eyed stranger on the bus or train, open your app, swipe right, and battle one another for Pokemon trainer supremacy? I might try Pokken tournament, but I can’t wait for this thing and will most likely be one of the crazy ones crashing the server on day one trying to download it.

Who knew that such a simple concept of tiny monsters with extraordinary abilities would have such influence and staying power? Over the last 20+ years, there have been toys and stuffed animals, animated TV shows and movies, video and card games, and the franchise shows no indication of slowing down. The podcast has me playing the old games again, the new expansion has me more excited about the card game than Magic, and I’m hopeful for what is coming next.

Digital Playground

Quick Hits: Plants vs. Zombies

August 5, 2015 Noob of All Trades Leave a comment

(Editor’s Note: BRAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNNS!)

I have made no apologies for my life long infatuation with zombies. It started with Night of the Living Dead, continued through the Resident Evil games, reached its peak with The Walking Dead comic book and finally died with the TV show. However, like the zombies themselves, I’m sure that it will rise again from the grave to haunt me and attempt to devour my brain. In that case, this past week might represent the part in the movie where the hand shoots out of the earth and the ominous music plays.

Okay, guys, will you now admit that I'm the best at hide and seek? — Okay, guys, will you now admit that I’m the best at hide and seek?

Somehow, through all of the movies (hell, I even enjoyed Warm Bodies), comic books (Marvel Zombies was a favorite along with The Walking Dead), and games (Dead Rising become more fun than the Resident Evil series), I missed Plants vs. Zombies. I knew about the game, of course, but never played it. I played a version of it as a quest in World of Warcraft for a battle pet (at the time just a vanity pet) but never the actual game. Like Candy Crush, the game just never registered as one I’d enjoy.

Blizzard, your undisputed champions at making money off of other people's ideas. — Blizzard, your undisputed champions at making money off of other people’s ideas.

I got introduced to Candy Crush finally through my kids and Mother-in-Law. She was stuck on a level and I played through to help get her to the next level. It wasn’t long until I downloaded the game on my own tablet and now I’m up to level 152. A former student told me about the daily spin to keep me logging in every day and I’ve even spent some money on the game buying a couple of the weekend deals.

My introduction to Plants vs. Zombies was not as gradual. After not having played the game, I got the urge to download and install it on my tablet. I think that part of the reason that I never played it was that I only owned phones and don’t like the overall experience of gaming on phones. I have had the tablet for a few months, now, so that doesn’t explain the sudden interest in this particular game. Well, whatever the reason, I’ve found a new mobile obsession to play while waiting for my lives to regenerate in Candy Crush.

My thoughts:

The game isn’t all that hard. Most of the time, a row of sunflowers behind two rows of the pea shooters is sufficient to clear the level.
Even so, the game play and zombies are varied enough that you occasionally have to change your strategy to account for thedifferent attacks.
The mini games and puzzles are different enough to break up the monotony of the main game. It’s just too bad that there are so few of them.
I have never been able to play other zombie games around the kids, for obvious reasons, but that’s not an issue with this game.
As a follow up to that last point, there’s nothing cuter (or weirder) than hearing my 4 year old wail, “Braaaiinnss” because he heard it on the game.
Overall, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the game as a good game. It is a mostly fun game and free (or 2 bucks if you want to get rid of the ads, as I did), so you really can’t lose by trying it out if you have somehow avoided it as long as I have.