Jon Gracey's

Archive for the ‘iOS’ Category

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Games That Rocked My World – #60: Drop7

In Android, iOS on March 25, 2014 at 7:22 am

Title: Drop7
Format: iOS, Android
Released: 2009

Drop7 Logo

Hey, you want one of those fucking list articles? Yeah, you lap that shit up, don’t you. Oh don’t worry, Games That Rocked can do pointless, numerical based, easily digestible tripe with the best of them. Who am I kidding, you’re not even going to read this. There’s an Upworthy article that YOU JUST WON’T BELIEVE only one click away.

Well, now that I’m alone, I present to you:

7 Ways Drop7 is like life

 

“But what is Drop7?”, I hear you bellow, foaming incoherently into your overpriced coffee, like the poorly made assumption by me that you are.

Drop7 is an almost perfect puzzle game. A modern day Tetris, it’s Sudoku mashed with Connect4, and is dangerously, cripplingly addictive. It’s 69p IT’S NOW FREE and lives on your iPhone, where it will never leave.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked…Viv Egan’s World – #54: Plague Inc.

In Android, iOS on January 28, 2014 at 7:37 am

Title: Plague Inc.

Format: iOS, Android

Released: 26th May, 2012

Plague-Inc Logo

I don’t believe you can tempt fate. That is to say, I don’t believe that saying or thinking something bad will make it more likely to happen. For instance, if I tell Jon that I hope he dies, or if I instruct him to kill himself (something I do frequently), I don’t believe that I’ve brought the universe’s attention to his mortality, and that he’ll suddenly be struck down (more’s the pity).

But this stoicism was sorely tested on the evening/early hours of May 6th 2013, during which a hell was rained down upon me unlike any I’ve ever known. And it felt like a terrible penance for playing one, truly addictive, game. That game was Plague Inc.

Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked My World – #50: High School Story

In iOS on January 3, 2014 at 12:41 am

Happy 50th article, Games That Rocked! Here’s a rant.

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Title: High School Story
Format: iOS
Released: 2013

HSS Front Cover

This is a hard one to write. Up until this point, Games That Rocked My World has largely been about celebrating games that have affected our lives in a positive way – from showing us new worlds to helping us jazz up our own miserable existences. But then I realised: one’s world can be rocked in a bad way. Good. Because I really want to talk to you about High School Story.

Full disclosure. If any of the following should sound bitter, allow me to preface: I recently spent my 28th birthday visiting a friend out of town. It cost me time and money to go and visit, neither of which I have much to spare at present. He forgot to wish me happy birthday. He also recommended I play High School Story. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked…Jonny Garrett’s World – #44: The Secret Of Monkey Island

In Amiga, iOS, Mac, PC, PSN, Xbox 360 on July 19, 2013 at 10:36 am

Today’s post is by Jonny Garrett…

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Title: The Secret Of Monkey Island

Format: Amiga, Mac, Mega CD, iOS, PC, PSN, Xbox 360

Released: October, 1900

Monkey Island Box Art

A great man once said “Always be yourself. Unless you can be a pirate. Then always be a pirate.” I don’t remember who said that, but they are wise and, presumably, a pirate.

Sadly, when I first heard that saying I couldn’t be a pirate. I was 7 and lived in Oxford, a city so far from the sea we thought punts were an efficient way to navigate water. My ambitions were landlocked and somehow scuppered at the same time.

Then everything changed. My dad brought home a copy of The Secret of Monkey Island, installed on about 12 floppy discs and with a glossy stapled manual. From over my elder brother’s shoulder I watched Guybrush Threepwood shuffle onto my screen, dressed like a Jane Austen character pixelated out to protect his identity. Read the rest of this entry »

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Games That Rocked…Bex Lindsay’s World – #40: Peggle

In DS, iOS, Mac, PC, PS3, PSN, Xbox 360 on June 21, 2013 at 11:26 am

Today’s post is by Bex Lindsay.

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Title: Peggle

Format: PC, Mac, iOS, DS, Xbox 360, PS3, PSN

Released: Feb 27th, 2007

Peggle Logo

Let me tell you a love story.

A few years ago, I met a boy. He was handsome, clever, funny…and I was totally smitten. By a stroke of good luck we ended up living together, and I was convinced this was my chance to get to know him better.

I only had one rival for his affections – his absolute fascination with computer games. I tried hard but I just couldn’t distract him from whatever bright and shiny game he was playing, no matter how much my conversation sparkled. Eventually I decided to see what all the fuss was about, and asked to try it out for myself. Immediately, and much to The Boy’s chagrin, I was both hooked and better at it than he was. When he was out I’d open his laptop and not only play the game but also beat his high-scores, then put it back and leave him baffled as to why his settings had changed. It was the ultimate clandestine affair. Read the rest of this entry »