Crap-Out at the Contest of Champions

Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm a comic book superhero guy, and a big Avengers fan. I've talked about Avengers Alliance here before, linking to my article at Biff Bam Pop! right here. Since then I've moved on to playing the game on my iPad, much bigger and crisper.

Once I had obtained the perfect Avengers team - Vision and the Scarlet Witch, Giant-Man and the Wasp, Hawkeye, Black Panther, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America - I kinda stopped playing for a while. After all I doubted they'd introduce the Swordsman and Mantis to the game, the only thing that could make it cooler. And then I discovered Marvel's Contest of Champions.

Contest of Champions combined the comic book fun and character selection (to a point) of Avengers Alliance with the more advanced animated fighting of Injustice. And it rocked, for a while, and I played non-stop for almost three weeks. I loved it.

Then one day I turned on the game on my iPad, and it had logged me out. Not only had it logged me out, it had put me all the way back to the start. So I logged in, twice, several times, and I never got all my levels and characters that I had fought so hard for - and paid for as well, because it's one of those games. Kabam is sort of like the Yahoo! or Facebook of gaming companies. They wouldn't help me. And I'm not the only one this has happened to. Now that app is collecting dust on my iPad, and probably will for another couple weeks until I delete it in frustration.

And it's a shame too, because now they're running a promotion coinciding with Avengers: Age of Ultron. I would have loved that, but alas, I am not starting over from scratch. I guess I'll be going back to Avengers Alliance.

Denny's Remixes Atari

Those of you who read my French Fry Diary blog already know about this, but it's still cool. Denny's has joined with Atari to update some of their retro videogames to match their menu.

They've turned Asteroids into Hashteroids, Centipede into Centipup, and Breakout into Take-Out. This "Greatest Hits Remixed" campaign includes apps on both the iPhone and the iPad as well. The games are just as fun as the originals, just with new fun graphics. Check them out.

And you can read my original blog post at FFD here, and the original announcement here.

Welcome to San Andreas

We've talked before about my utter inability to play Grand Theft Auto in its intended form. And we've also talked about my love for the tiny little game GTA: Chinatown Wars that I played on the iPhone for hours and hours until my eyes bled or the battery ran out. Well, I've found another GTA like the latter, that I just can't get enough of.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was originally released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2004, but that's not where I've played it, or even seen it before. I got on board when I first got my iPad, and they were offering it a reduced price. I liked Chinatown Wars, so why not? At first glance, it reminded me a lot of the PS3 game I'd played, lots of things I wanted to do, but was unsure I could make it work - that old bugaboo I have with controls, ya know.

Surprisingly and happily, the controls were similar to those of Chinatown Wars, so easily playable for me, and of course a whole step up from the tiny size of the iPhone screen. The graphics were incredible as well, on par with some I've seen on the PS3. I love this game, and like the iPhone game, I've been playing for hours on end.

Of course, my buddy Ray has pointed out that I'm not exactly playing the game the way that I could. Both he and I hesitate to say 'play the game right,' as it's an open world game… you kinda can play it any way you want. So if I just want to mug folks and take their cars and run from the police forever, it's totally cool.

While I was on a GTA kick, it should be noted I also downloaded Vice City for the iPad. Did not like it. While it's not bad, and it could be fun, I got spoiled by San Andreas and its fancy graphics. They make Vice City look and feel downright primitive. Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to crash more cars. If you need me, I'll be in San Andreas.

Star Castle and the Discovery of Vectrex

Back in the day, everyone had an arcade game that they played all the time, a game they could play for hours on just a quarter or two, a game that they had mastered, yet still enjoyed. For me, that game was Star Castle.

I first encountered the game, and conquered it at Malibu Grand Prix some time around 1980 or 81. I would play it dependably every time I was there. When I first went to college, there was a Star Castle machine in the lounge that I'm sure contributed to my low grades that first semester.

I loved it, and sadly, it was not a game I saw again that much in the years since. Star Castle was supposedly the basis for Atari's Yar's Revenge, though similar, and even though I loved that game too, it wasn't the same. I never saw it much because, as far as I knew, it was never available for a home video game system.

Just because I wasn't aware of it doesn't mean it didn't exist. Recently my friends Ray and Justin mentioned they had gotten a Vectrex app for their iPads that included Star Castle. Like I said, this was new to me, but back in the day there was this thing called a Vectrex. A box halfway between the size of a GameBoy and a full-sized arcade machine, so still kinda bulky, but it had a huge selection of games available like Berzerk, Pole Posistion, Mine Storm, and Star Castle.

I have been since able to find Star Castle online, but with keyboard controls, it's just not the same. Check it out here. Then I found Vectrex on my iPhone and my iPad. Granted, it's bigger, and therefore more fun on my iPad. And the touch controls make it easier to work, but for the real thing, I guess I'll just have to break down and buy a real Star Castle machine. I could always hustle folks for the money to pay back the machine…

The Dark and Gloomy Halloween World of Springfield

Halloween is over. Well, it's over in most of the world. In Springfield, the world of the Simpsons, and especially the videogame The Simpsons Tapped Out, it's still Halloween, until at least November 7th.

Halloween in Springfield is a little like Snake Whacking Day diversion in that you have extra things to do, or rather distractions to deal with. In this case, we're talking about houses and other places being haunted by fellow players, ghosts to pop, and goblins to stop. There are also a number of bonuses you can get as well.

The problem with this version of the game is how dark and gloomy it is. Literally. There is a fog and mist that covers the screen so it's hard to see stuff. At least it's a little brighter in Krustyland. Let me tell you, as much fun as I'm having with Halloween, I can't wait for clear blue skies again.

It's all fun and games while it lasts. There are some things that I just won't get because I'm not willing to put out the extra cash for the game, but that's life in Springfield...

Now excuse me, I have some ghosts to pop...

Where Have I Been?

Yeah, I've been delinquent over here on The Non-Gamer's Gamer's Blog. It's been at least since June that I've done anything here, and now it's November. I haven't forgotten you, I've just been busy.

I am still playing games. My recent purchase of an iPad Mini has attracted me to a few games that I continue to play. I am still addicted to Simpsons Tapped Out, currently cleaning out ghosts for Halloween, and of course, Candy Crush Saga. I'm also playing Avengers Alliance, a whole lot of Injustice and one or two others. It's notable that I'm spoiled by the iPad, and no longer play any of these on my tiny iPhone.

Right now however, it's November, and November is NaNoWriMo, so I will be very busy. So I just wanted to check in, and I'll see you in December.