Yeah, yeah, it’s been a few weeks since my last post.  Don’t worry, I will refund everyone’s money.

Since I’m currently addicted to three iPhone games, which take up my important writin’ time, it seems a good idea to do reviews of the aforementioned games.

Catan: The First Island

Yes, that Catan.  When the Catan blog posted that this game was going to be released in October to the App Store, I quite literally searched for the game at least twice a day, everyday, until the game was released somewhere around the third week.  Was the iPhone port worth my obsession?  In a word: yes, yes, a thousand times yes.  Ok 6 words.

The graphics, the interface, the sounds… everything has really come together well in this adaptation of Settlers of Catan.  The first version had a few issues relating to game speed like various animations taking too long, being notified of things that didn’t matter, etc.  In the update, the developer fixed all of those issues, plus added some additional UI enhancements like the ability to decline all trades automatically until your turn (which comes in handy!) With the faster UI, a single game can probably be played in under 20 minutes, although I haven’t taken the time to measure it exactly.  While there is an option to save the game on your turn, it appears that you can exit the game at any point and return to where you exited from, even if it isn’t your turn.

As for the AI, most of the reviews on the App Store claim the game is one big cheat because WAAA!! they never get the numbers WAAA!!! for their land and the WAAA!!! computers never trade with WAAAA!!! them.  Well, let me tell you, they are all wrong.  While the random number distribution isn’t always perfectly even,  it shouldn’t be.  That’s why we call it random, people.  Duh.  As for the computer not trading with them, they typically will avoid trading with you if you are in the lead or if you are trading stuff they don’t need.  Imagine that.

The only thing this game really needs is some online and Bluetooth multi-player.  I have yet to give the hot-seat multi-player a try, but it sure seems like it would be a pain.  So I preemptively review that portion of the game bad.  It’s sort of like the Iraq War method of reviewing that feature.  There are also still a few left over annoyances, like it takes a few too many clicks to perform a few tasks that are fairly common in the game.  However, the few nitpicks are far outweighed by the pure awesomeness that emanates from this game.  Catan is $4.99.

Get Catan at the App Store

Words with Friends

It may sound like an awkward moment, but Words with Friends is best summed up as follows: Scrabble with Push Notifications.  In the game, two players take turns laying letters on a board making use of double/triple letter and double/triple word score spaces.  As with Scrabble, letters with less frequency in the English language have a higher score value and vice-versa.

After an opponent completes their word, passes or swaps tiles, you get a Push Notification letting you know it’s your turn.  The use of these push notifications for asynchronous gameplay fits perfectly with this sort of game.

To start a game, you can choose from your iPhone’s contact list (which will search for the player by email), enter your opponents user name if you known or choose a random opponent.  There is also a local Pass and Play option.

Finally, the game does support a simple chat system which allows you to chat while playing.  However, the chat system does not generate push notifications.  If your opponent has posted something in the chat section, a small green notification icon appears over the chat button.

And best of all, Words With Friends comes in a fully-featured, ad-supported free version or a $2.99 without ads.

Get Words With Friends or Words With Friends Free at the App Store

Doodle Jump

The creator of Doodle Jump should be arrested immediately for drug dealing.

Doodle Jump is caffeinated crack in the form a downloadable game for the iPhone.  The gameplay is so simple, so innocent but after playing a few times, you also will be hopeless sucked in to this maddening addiction.

There’s no story, no complicated graphics, no amazing control scheme.  No, in this game you tilt the iPhone left or right to control the incessant jumping of The Doodler (at least, that’s what I call him).  You must tilt the screen to move the main character left and right to make sure he lands on a platform.  With each jump to a higher platform, the game scrolls upwards.  If you miss a platform and end up falling to the bottom of the screen, the game is over.

Complicating matters are several different types of platforms.  Some move back and forth on the screen.  Others disappear after you hop on them once.  And yet others disappear after a set amount of time.  There’s also monsters which you occasionally have to shoot by tapping on the screen.  And then there’s springs, trampolines, super shoes and other power-ups.  But the heart of the game is the tilting back and forth as you climb higher and higher to beat your previous high score which is a feat that will become increasingly difficult as the game progresses.

The real downside of the game is that you often feel an urgent need to throw your iPhone against the wall.  Resist that urge because that thing’s expensive.

Doodle Jump is only $.99 and should be purchased by all iPhone/iPod Touch owners.

Get Doodle Jump at the App Store