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Gamers' Fantasy Weekend

    What a great weekend to stock your I-Pad with games! Here in the USA it is a holiday weekend and the app store features a ton of games that have been marked down drastically. I'm not talking about games that are so bad that no one wanted them, so they had to mark them down to move them. There are plenty of games that are top-notch and highly popular.
     EA Games is running a sale. Gameloft is running a sale. Other developers are running sales.
    Let me start with NOVA 2. If you want a review of the game, look to your right. The graphics are among the very best on the app store. The action is intense in this space shoot-em-up. It is on sale for 99 cents this weekend. I think I paid $6.99 for it. This is a great game but I have been very upset with it. You see, I am not a good player. I'm old and I learn a bit slowly on some things. Plus, I don't have a lot of experience in gaming. I was stuck pretty early in the game and have remained there for months.  After a long time I had given up. 150 failures at killing the two giant Mechs early in the game seemed to be enough for me. Coincidentally with this big sale, my gaming consultant,( a teenager named Trevor) dropped by today and within 10 minutes he had beaten the two abusive Mechs that had been blasting me into the stone age for so long. Then, oh joy, I embarked on a wonderful ride into a very enjoyable game. You absolutely cannot go wrong, buying this game for the puny price of 99 cents. If you have an I-Pad this game is among the top 5 you can buy, unless you're a puzzler and hate shooting games. Great price, great game. (Now that I'm past the giant Mechs.)
    Last night I bought Asphalt 6, Adrenaline HD for 99 cents. It is normally $6.99 and it is very cool. It takes a bit to get used to the controls but I lowered the sensitivity on the steering and I am doing better. I particularly love racing in Nassau because I've been there and I really like the place. Driving through the underwater tunnel with sharks swimming past outside is really awesome. For a dollar, it is a no-brainer.
    I like to watch a section on the app store that merely states, Top 10 paid apps and Top 10 free apps. You get a pretty good feel for what the teens are into at the moment. For the past couple of weeks I've noticed Battleship has been high on the list. I thought, "That old game we played in school?" Well, it's come a long way. I bought this version for 99 cents today, which is a good price. The graphics are good and it is a fun game. Certainly not as great as the first two I mentioned but worth the dollar.
    One of my favorite games is on sale this weekend. I'm talking about Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12. At 99 cents, run your hand down behind the couch cushions and buy this game with what you find. I have had it since Christmas and I play it about 5 days a week. A great game with a lot of depth.
    New this weekend is a cute little physics puzzler which is not on sale but is 99 cents anyway. It's called Burn The City. Here's the recipe. You are a monster from outer space who wants to destroy whole cities by spitting fireballs at them. It's much like Angry Birds but I haven't played it enough to say it's good, or not good.
     I paid $9.99 for a game called Dead Space HD. This game is on sale this weekend for ... you guessed it. 99 cents. For those of you who are good players this may be a great opportunity. I must be honest, however. I hate this game. I just can't seem to get anywhere on it. Are the graphics great? Yes. Can it be intense? Yes. Is it highly reviewed, especially by the hardcore players? Again, yes. Make your own decision. Be advised. If you are old like me you may have to have your game consultant (any teenager will do) get you past certain levels so that you can get a little fun out of it.
    Basically, I hate Role Playing Games (RPG ). They are not my thing. Yesterday I tried the free sample of one called Sacred Odyssey, Rise Of Ayden. This game is on sale from Gameloft for ... you guessed it. 99 cents. The graphics are incredible. The storyline seems pretty good and even a shooter like me can have a pretty good time with it. In fact, I played through the free levels and went to the app store to buy it. It was confusing. The app store seemed to think I already had it, yet I hadn't bought the full version and when I returned to the game I could not go beyond the freebie barrier. I can not recommend it heartily because of this glitch and because I haven't gone very far into it, but I intend to buy it. It is almost a half of a Gig in size and takes a good bite out of the battery when you play. However, the graphics are so awesome that it is worth a dollar to see the blue fire fly from this dude's sword when he hacks up the Orcks. Yeah, I know I told you I hate sword-fighting games, but heck. Try the free version and see if you are not impressed.
    I could talk at length about other games on sale. Some that are famous, like Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3, which I have never tried. I have no idea if it is good or not. NBA Jam is worth the...99 cents. I own it. I have teetered on the edge of buying a game called Mirror's Edge for months. It is a running, jumping game that doesn't seem too overpowering. It is normally $6.99 but is now a paltry...99 cents. Another new one that has just been released, some say prematurely, to coincide with the movie release, is Transformers: Dark Of The Moon HD. To my surprise it is on sale for...99 cents. I don't know if it is good or not.
    Several of these I didn't know about but another one I can recommend is Battlefield Bad Company 2. This is a shooter game and it is very good. For the sale price of...99 cents you won't be sorry. It is war battles and is typical of the genre, with excellent graphics. Are you noticing a pattern on these prices?
    Hey, you may be like a lot of people. It's vacation time and thanks to the brutal economy you are stuck at home this week instead of walking on the beach. For $12  you can buy all the games mentioned and have fun all week, and for months to come. Hey, if you are going to the beach just get the games and play them in your hotel at night. You know that motel cable will be a loser. If you do buy these games, toss in Rage, Carnivores and Scrabble to make it an even $15. That's a pretty cool library of games for less than the price of one X-Box or Playstation game.
    I hope you guys have a great time at the beach while I work on the 4th. But whether you are home or abroad, check back if you have time. I will post again tomorrow and Sunday, barring something unusual.
    From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
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