But it got its hooks in me and I kept playing. And kept playing. After I figured out that I should focus more on upgrading defenses and less on building new ones, the game got a lot easier, while retaining enough challenges to keep me addicted.

There are three modes of play: Survival (which seems to the default mode and is what I’m most familiar with in TD games), Door Busta (kill the door through which the creeps enter so they never come back!), and Endurance (the seemingly infinite mode; I’ve only gotten to wave 140). Each mode has an easy, normal, and hard difficulty setting, and there are acheivements available for each. So you can really tweak how hard you want to go. I haven’t played the Door Busta and Endurance modes as much, but my usual play style is to start a Survival level on easy and progress to the next difficulty after getting all the achievements. I’m filing this post under “First Impressions,” but I’ve actually played through quite a bit of it. Now I’m just going back and filling in the achievements I’ve yet to get, and I made my very first iPhone in-app purchase by paying $.99 for the first level pack, which features adorable dinosaurs and ups the difficulty.

One fun and unique element of The Creeps is the addition of obstacles. Plants, trees, and rocks line the path along which the creeps crawl, blocking key spots for defenses. The cool thing is that you can destroy these obstacles, and there are at least three incentives to do so: 1) Destroying obstacles gives you more money with which to buy more defenses. 2) Getting obstacles out of the way gives you more options for where to build defenses. 3) You’ll earn an achievement if you destroy all the obstacles in any given level. My number one goal when I start a Creeps level is usually to destroy all the obstacles.

I think the cute graphics may be a selling point to many, but they don’t blow me away. Each creep and element is cute and hand drawn, but the over all design and color scheme seems a little disjointed. The Comic Sans-like font set off some serious design alarm bells when I started the game. But it’s grown on me, and the sounds are really really cute.

The goal is to prevent the creeps from getting to the bed of a little kid hiding under the covers, which adds a nice emotional story element. I sure feel bad if I let a creep get to that helpless little kid! There’s not any more story than that, but it’s just enough to make me care.

One annoying thing: If I start a level and accidentally hit the wrong difficulty setting, or otherwise start a level I didn’t intend to play, there doesn’t seem to be a way to exit that level without losing all my saved progress. If I pause, I have the option to restart (which just starts over the same level at the same difficulty), resume (exits the pause, back to the level), or quit. Quitting takes me back to the main screen, where I have the option to Start or Resume. Starting gives me a message that all my progress will be lost if I go with it. So of course I hit No, because I don’t want to lose all my achievements and access to unlocked levels! But hitting Resume just takes me back to the unwanted level which I guess I just have to finish. Oh well. I’m wondering if the progress I’d lose if I hit Start just pertains to that particular level, but I’m afraid to find out, and it seems pretty clear I’d be starting a new game. Any tips on that?

This is the choice I have to make: lose my game or complete the stupid level I accidentally started.

Straphanger review: I started playing this game during the same time my subway commute got longer and more crowded. I’m fine with playing it standing up, with one hand holding a pole for balance and one hand holding the iPhone and using the thumb to build defenses. I am however more prone to pausing the game and running it on normal speed (there is a double speed option) while standing, since my poor thumb is not always fast enough to stay on top of things.

The Creeps! is made by Super Squawk Software and is sold exclusively on the iTunes App Store for $1.99. If you like Tower Defense games on the iPhone, or just want something to fill the I-just-completed-Plants Vs Zombies void, I’d definitely check it out.

I love you, Tall-nuts!

I’d heard a lot about Plants Vs. Zombies, but didn’t get this single player Tower Defense game until it hit the iPhone app store this February. I’m glad I waited, because it is truly the perfect iPhone game. And by that I mean the perfect game for me to play while on the subway, or waiting in line, or curled up in bed before turning the light out. I still dabble in Bejeweled now and then, but PvZ is a meatier casual game. There’s just a little more to grab on to. A lot more, actually. And yet, it still possesses the ability unique to casual games: it’s easy to pick up and put down. Well, maybe not that easy to put down. But if you’re in a pinch, like say, if your subway doors are about to close as you realize you almost missed your stop, you can turn it off quickly and not lose progress.

As far as tower defense games go, it’s not as hard as the few TD games I’ve played. Defender Chronicles, Geo Defense Swarm, and Field Runners are all more difficult and require a little more strategic thinking than PvZ. But don’t get the wrong impression – PvZ warms you up slowly, gradually increasing the difficulty as it throws a variety of zombies and even surfaces at you. Luckily, you also build up a collection of unique plants in your arsenal. It’s a lot to keep track of, but you’re limited to 7 slots (you can buy more as you go – I have 8 and I’m saving up for 9!) of plants to use on any given level. And you also quickly unlock a handy almanac detailing all the abilities of plants and zombies that you’re already encountered.

My strategy has generally been to line up sunflowers (and at nighttime, mushrooms) at the back row, sometimes doubling them up. The next row is a line of shooters, then a line of a special ability plant, usually one that slows. Then I leave a space or two for later planting, and start building a defensive row of Wall-nuts. Preferably, Tall-nuts. They’re my favorite unit so far. I get so sad when I lose one! Fortunately, they’re pretty tough and don’t get lost too often.

Oh, and did I mention that the game is absolutely charming? It’s charming. I was not paid to write this. I want to adopt a Tall-nut (Pop Cap merchandising opportunity?), the graphics are adorable (even the zombies!), and the music is somehow both soothing and adrenaline-pumping at the same time.

Straphanger review: If you have a seat, like most games, you’re golden. If you’re interrupted, you can easily pause the game and pick it up where you left off. The addictive and immersive nature of the game can be hazardous to your awareness of your stop, so stay alert! Standing and playing isn’t ideal, but can be done, as I have many times. It’s possible to play the game one handed, cupping the device and playing with your free thumb, while you hang on to your chosen means of balance. That thumb will stay very busy though, picking up suns, coins, and planting your zombie killers!

Plants Vs. Zombies is published by PopCap Games and designed by George Fan. You can try it for free on their site, buy it for $2.99 from the iTunes App Store for your iPhone or iPod Touch, or download it to your Mac or PC for $19.99. It’s also been announced to Xbox Live Arcade, though I didn’t find a release date.

Click on the image to view it larger

The short version of my first impressions of Mass Effect are as follows:
OMG I LOVE THIS GAME! OMG OMG OMG.

Ok, ok. Here’s a slightly longer version.

I’m playing this first-person-shooter RPG on the Xbox, because John had already bought it and he’s a console guy. While I would probably prefer the controls on the PC version, I have to say that this game looks fantastic on our big screen HDTV.

After a stirring intro, I created my character – my own personal variation on Commander Shepard. You can import your character from the previous version of the game, but I never played it. I probably should. I chose Engineer for my class (you thought I’d go with Infiltrator, didn’t you?), Spacer for my pre-service history, and War Hero for my psychological profile. The visual character customization isn’t amazing, but it’s nice and about on par with the options available in contemporary games. I always appreciate when developers make a female version available, especially when it means recording another voice for a very talkative game. My only gripe is the eyelashes. This lady wears a LOT of mascara, and there’s no getting rid of it. Oh well, *shrug, move on.

My first time in combat with a fellow squad member was a sad affair. I took forever trying to figure out the stupid power wheel controls on the Xbox, especially when it came to ordering my friendly squad mate, Jacob, to use his special ability on the infinite number of mechs unloading on us. I call the power wheel “stupid,” but I’m getting used to it now. It’s actually kind of an elegant solution, which I admit now that I get it. Still, I’d probably prefer the PC controls. And I’m not alone on that – a friend from our D&D group bought the collector’s edition for the Xbox and hated the controls so much that he gave it away and bought it again – collector’s edition and all, for the PC. And he’s very happy he did. I’m also not too keen on the slowness of turning on the Xbox and suspect that I could do a much quicker mouse turn on the PC.

So once I got the controls down I really enjoyed the gameplay. It’s not insanely hard, but a good challenge, and my squad seems to have good AI and really helps me. The squad and sci-fi aspect definitely got me thinking about comparisons to Star Trek Online. Of course there’s no space battle in this (arguably the best part of STO), but in both games you control a team that has good AI, while you retain the ability to exercise control and skill customization over them. The combat is primarily that of a first person shooter, and the power wheel can be brought up at any time, pausing the action, to select and use a special ability that’s appropriate for the enemy. You can also map abilities to controls if you don’t want to bring up the power wheel all the time.

This game has a lot of story and talking, which normally might turn me off. But here it’s fantastic. The story that unfolds is interesting, the universe is rich and populated with intriguing characters, and the design is sci-fi-beautiful. The voice acting and animation are superb. I’m faced with choices every time I talk to someone, and those choices affect how the story plays out and how good or evil my character becomes. I have missions and “assignments,” which appear to be side quests much like the ones I’ve done countless times in villages in the Zelda universe. Somebody needs help with something, and I go help them. But then, I’m trying to play a good, or “Paragon” character. I suppose I’d be less helpful if I went Renegade. The difference here, besides the complete change of setting and mood, is that for the most part, I can’t repeat encounters I have with the NPCs. The decisions I made when talking to them stick.

I completely geeked out when I got to my ship. My very own starship! It’s beautiful and fully equipped. I just want to hang out in it. It makes me really hope that STO will implement the ability to walk around your bridge and ship interior. There’s nothing that could make the sci-fi dork in me squee louder.

Mass Effect 2 was developed by Bioware and released January 26, 2010 by EA. It can be purchased for the Xbox 360 and PC for around $50.

After enjoying the crap out of the iPhone tower defense games GeoDefense Swarm and Field Runners, I just had to try Defender Chronicles. It gets great reviews on the app store, and I’ve heard a lot of good things, like that it combines the genres of RPG and tower defense. Awesome! Right?

Well, I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. I hate to start off with the negative, but I prefer to relate my first impressions as they unfolded. For those of you unfamiliar with tower defense games, I’ll give a brief run down of this sub-genre of real time strategy. Enemies enter a map from one and often several points on a map. Their goal is to get past your gate (and often more than one gate), and you have to prevent them from doing so by placing defensive towers on the map. The towers zap, shoot, explode, or otherwise unleash destructive forces on the mobs. You can usually buy these towers with money that you earn whenever you kill an enemy, and there are usually a few towers with various abilities and ranges to choose from, along with upgrade options for each. In the case of Defender Chronicles, the towers take on the form of archers, mages, and warriors (and perhaps yet unlocked classes).

So my biggest disappointment with Defender Chronicles is that I have to place the towers, or in this case, “defenders,” on predetermined spots. I realize there must be other TD games that do this, but I haven’t played them yet. Placing towers in positions that force the enemies into a long maze is a key strategy in GeoDefense Swarm and Field Runners, and one that I really enjoy. So taking that choice away from me in Defender Chronicles just left me a little…bored. All I have to do is figure out which defenders to build in which predetermined spots, and when and how much to upgrade them.

The game quickly gets harder a couple levels in, and I must admit that hooked me a little. I could feel the tower defense addiction sucking me in! So I’ll give it that. And the RPG elements are nice and add some customization. For instance, as I level up, I can put skill points in the the different defender types, which would affect my choice for what I should build. And when I finish a map I get some messages telling me about cool stuff I unlocked. I haven’t explored any of that “cool stuff,” but unlocking any kind of stuff is generally pretty addicting for me.

I doubt I’ll finish the Defender Chronicles, but now that I’m used to the fact that it really is a different take from the other TD iPhone games I enjoyed, I’ll probably play a few more levels.

Of course, I’ll have to try Plants vs. Zombies now, which was finally released in iPhone form yesterday.

I recently got a windows laptop and was all excited to try Steam for the first time. On Christmas day, I gave myself a little present and downloaded Steam, along with the RPG Torchlight, which was running a special of only $4.99. Between WoW and STO and life, I haven’t had much time to play it, which is why this is just gonna be a “First Impressions” post.

The first the thing I noticed as I entered the game as a scantily clad vanquisher (kind of the marksman/hunter class) is that the visual design is slick and heavily World of Warcraft influenced. It’s cartoony and very fun to look at, and very impressive for the low sale price of $4.99. Essential things like skills, quests, inventory and the like are intuitive to find and navigate, and have a nice little interface in which they slide in on the right and left sides of the screen.

The story didn’t interest me too much. Something about Ember, blah blah blah. Good thing I was watching Glee at the time. But a quest got me quickly in a dungeon, where I discovered that this is a pretty standard fun dungeon hack ‘n’ slash romp. The enemies weren’t difficult, which made for a fast pace. Go go go, loot loot loot. Oh, and you get a pet! I chose a cat and named him Bink. Bink fought for me and did another really cool thing. He carries his own backpack worth of stuff for me, and when it gets full, I can send him to town to sell it all and come back! Pretty sweet.

I should mention that I’ve read that this game is a lot like Diablo 2. I can’t make my own judgement call on that, since I confess I’ve never played Diablo 2. Just thought you should know that a lot of people are making this comparison. The only comparison I can make is that it’s similar to Dungeon Hunter for the iPhone. Which, go figure, I’ve also heard compared to Diablo.

So the thing I really can’t stand about Torchlight and has me whining whenever I launch it, is the point and click. I target with the mouse, shoot spells with the mouse, and even move with mouse – but not in my preferred method of mouse moving. (Which is my favorite MMO way – push both buttons and steer. Or hold the ‘W’ key and steer.) I actually have to point to where I want to move. And my left hand is just laying there on the keyboard, useless and bored. I’m wondering if this is how Diablo works and how all dungeon hack ‘n’ slash games work, and you’re all wondering why I’m surprised or annoyed. But look, even Dungeon Hunter on the iPhone has me using both hands – my left thumb for movement, and my right thumb for selecting attacks. I just feel so inefficient using just the one in Torchlight. There are some actions you can use the number keys for, but none of them are essential, all-the-time actions, and either way, I automatically shoot any enemy I click on.

That being said, usually after a few minutes of playing, the fun of killing and looting drowns out the whiny voice in me. Not entirely, but mostly.

Oh, and the fishing is kinda cool. Not super fun or anything, but the fish themselves are nice little prizes – you feed them to your pet so it can gain new temporary abilities. There’s also enchanting and gemming and who knows what else I haven’t gotten to explore.

I’m excited to hear that the game’s developers, Runic Games, are already in development of an MMO version of Torchlight. If the MMO can retain the wonderful design, relative low cost, and casual-friendliness that the single player game has, I certainly would want to try it.

Torchlight is sold as a digital download for Windows for $19.99 – but keep an eye out for sales if you’re interested in it.

World of Warcraft was the only MMO I’ve ever played – until this weekend. I’ve been anticipating the launch of STO for a while, and even guested on an STO Radio podcast in the fall. But I completely dropped the ball about getting a preorder in so I could play the open beta, which ends today. I frantically ordered and downloaded the digital deluxe version from Steam on Friday night, and got a few hours of play time in this weekend. Why the rush? Well I’m interested in the lifetime subscription preorder deal, which expires Feb 1st, the day before the game officially launches. It’s $239 for the ability to play as long as the game is around, and includes two more character slots (STO is stingy with those – only 2 to start with!), and – the real kicker – playable liberated Borg. Of course, there’s no guarantee that they won’t offer the Borg as an available species later on. But it certainly is tempting, especially if the game has staying power. Playing for 2 years would mean a monthly price of $10 instead of the $15 they’ll charge for a normal month-to-month subscription.

But does it have staying power? Unfortunately I really wasn’t able to assess that in my first few hours of play. I can tell you I want to play more. A lot more. I might as well tell you up front, I’m a fan of the franchise. Trekkie, Trekker, whatever they call it these days. I admit I haven’t seen every episode of every series – except The Next Generation. Data, Captain Picard, goofy beardy Riker – I’m all about it. I watched every episode as it came out with my family and best junior high school bud, and then again on reruns. And even though I admit that the last movie featuring the TNG crew was pretty terrible, it still moved me to tears. I’m telling you this because I really have no idea if someone new to the franchise will appreciate this game. In fact, I’m kind of skeptical they will. (But what do I know? Check out Kyle Horner’s Non-Trekkie Guide to STO on Massively.)

I started the game with a series of quick tutorial missions that taught me how to move around, shoot my enemies, use kits (which seem to be belts that give you fun new abilities), and deal with space combat. A lot of it was basically, “Go over there and press ‘F’,” since that’s the key to interact with things like consoles or devices. But it was quick and fun and was telling a story, and I didn’t mind that I basically just had to press ‘F,’ or sometimes ’1,’ ’2,’ ’3′ to shoot some Borg baddies. It was a great preview to what I hope will be good story content.

The real fun for me started with the space combat. When I first heard this would be a huge part of the game, I was skeptical. To me Star Trek is about the characters and exploration. Not so much on the shooting stuff. But wow. I’m blown away. Cryptic really managed to capture the Trekiness of starship tactics. It’s all about allocating power between different parts of the ship, balancing your four shields for maximum defense, and exploiting your enemies’ weaknesses. There’s a lot I have to learn about it, but so far it feels like I’m making similar decisions the crew of the Enterprise were forced to make. And topped off with a space battle soundtrack, I’m living the show.

Another aspect I’m loving is the skill customization. Again, I’m barely scratching the surface of the game, but it seems like you can really fine tune your character, your bridge officers, and your ship with all kinds of weapons, skills, kits, and the character traits you choose at the outset of the game.

As for my gripes, there’s an overall lack of the epic treatment I expect from an IP like this one. Not any cut scenes to speak of, except a brief voice over from Leonard Nimoy as I arrived in sector space. Maybe they’ll spice it up after release, or maybe I haven’t gotten far enough. When I arrived in the Sol space station, I was running around trying to find an admiral’s office to get orders, and discovered a bank and an auction house (the exchange). I realized that this station serves the same function as a city in WoW. But it’s kind of…boring. When I first set my little gnome foot in Ironforge, I oohed and aahed. Maybe it’s unfair of me to compare a space station to an ancient mining Dwarf city, but I was disappointed just the same.

Also, I hate bumping into people. I vastly prefer the WoW way of being able to run through other characters. I don’t care if it doesn’t make any reality-based sense. It’s convenient. How do other MMOs handle that?

So…..I still haven’t decided if I’m going to take the plunge on the lifetime subscription. I’m about 67% in favor of doing it right now. I’ll let you know what I decide. In the meantime, look! It’s a poll! Vote up. And if you’re interested in starting the game, it looks like Massively has been doing some nice coverage and guides. Adam Holisky from WoW.com even started a Star Trek Online: 101 feature.

I received the latest in Nintendo’s beloved Zelda series for Christmas and launched right into it. The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks so far has me engaged and looking forward to picking up my Nintendo DS, which is a rare feat these post-iPhone days. This is a marked improvement over the previous DS title in the series, Phantom Hourglass. I’m not even sure I’ll ever finish PH, due to the repetitive nature of having to return to the same temple after completing each dungeon. Spirit Tracks also has a tower you have to frequently return to, but you don’t have to repeat the parts you’ve already completed, making all the difference.
Spirit Tracks is a little talky in the beginning, which I usually get impatient with in games, but I actually enjoyed the story and humor. The cut scenes are very well directed and acted, proving that you can still have compelling storytelling even with limited graphics. The art style is like Wind Waker. Short adorable big-eye characters. The action is 3-D top down, and you direct “Link” (his name is actually whatever you choose, but we all know who he really is) around with the stylus. I’m really not a fan of moving and attacking with the stylus. I get used to it, and for the most part it works fine, but I can’t help but feel I’d have more control if I could just move him with the D pad and attack with the buttons, like the good old days. Otherwise the gimmicky goodness of the DS is well utilized. You have to draw to solve puzzles sometimes, and you’ll find yourself blowing into the mic a lot, which is a little awkward in public.
So far I’ve completed the first temple, which was very fun and surprisingly short, but I can tell there’s a lot to the game. I still haven’t acquired a stamp book, which I am frequently reminded of by the many stamp stations throughout the land. No doubt a side quest, which the Zelda series is usually known for handling pretty well. I’m looking forward to exploring the side-quest aspect of the game more, especially if it means I can get a faster train engine. I’m very glad for the change of transportation (no more huge expanses of sea!), but the train is pretty boring so far. The fastest speed is slow as mud, and there’s no challenge to getting rid of any baddies in my way – simply pull on the whistle to scare them. Perhaps the developers wanted the transportation in this game to be easier than in the recent titles, but if I have to chug along, at least make it interesting. But I think I’m just not far enough into the game. The trailer I posted above shows Link shooting enemies from his train, so obviously it gets more interesting.
Otherwise, I’m thoroughly enjoying the latest Zelda romp, with its fun and challenging puzzles and engaging temple design.
The game does feature a multiplayer option, but I haven’t tried it yet. Looking forward to it, as I really enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures.

The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks is published by Nintendo, produced by Eiji Aonuma, and playable on the Nintendo DS and DSi. It was released in North America on December 7, 2009.
Two NPC comics featuring this Zelda game: Downtime and Declaration.