EA Games = EPIC FAIL

When EA Games released The Simpsons: Tapped Out, they wasn't planning on it being so popular it seems. The Farmville style game was downloaded by thousands and earned a place in the top 5 free apps. With this came issues as many users couldn't even connect to the game and were seeing this lovely rascal pictured below.

Horror!!! I was one of the lucky ones to grab a copy before they removed it off the app store and they have released in app updates so we lucky few can play joyfully as we build up our Springfield towns. Like most Zynga/Facebook/crap games, doing this takes time, unless you pull you wallet out and throw it into the faces of EA. You'll paying upto £69.99 for 2400 doughnuts that'll speed up the process of your characters doing jobs, your houses being build and even buying items you aren't ranked high enough to buy yet. If your not minted like they seem to think we are you can buy 12 doughnuts for £1.49 which won't really get you an awful lot to be honest. 

Well it's back to the drawing board for EA because until they discover why their servers can't handle so many users they'll just have to rip off the other users lucky enough to snatch a copy before crashgate. Woops!! It's like MW3 release day all over again!

Tales of Monkey Island - Changing adventure games for the better, one day at a time!

Telltale Games and Lucasarts have released their 5 part episodic story of everyone's favourite Pirate Guybrush Theepwood as he once again battles the evil voodoo pirate LeChuck. Armed with the Cutlass of Kaflu and the ingredients needed to take LeChuck down, he sets sail to rescue his kidnapped wife Elaine. 

When arriving things don't go to plan with the voodoo root beer ingredient so in true Monkey Island style you have to improvise what you have around you. But being Monkey Island and all that, things just aren't that easy! The spell doesn't work and it creates a massive explosion sending Guybrush to the un-escapable Flotsam Island with a hand infected with LeChuck pox! Nice! It's up to you to cure the pox, change wind, defeat a Pirate Hunter, defeat a Mad Scientist, escape a Manatee (yes a Manatee), avoid jail time, save Merpeople and a whole lot more! Sound fun? 

The games graphics were stunning on my iPhone 4s and the interface was easy to use. The puzzles are challenging at times but easily accomplished with some lateral thinking. The additional characters have personality which is rare in a lot of modern day games! There are also some blasts from the past of the previous games so if you're a fan of the franchise you'll be pleased. The story line literally had me gripped to the game to the point I didn't want to put it down. There were highs, lows, laughs, tears and a hole load of shocks! This game is a must have for all gamers and you will not be disappointed with your purchase as it's worth EVERY penny.

Point and Click Adventure Games on the iPhone

Since my first encounter of 'The Secret of Monkey Island' on the Amiga in 1995 I have a been a huge fan of Point and Click Adventure games. When I discovered this very game again on the App Store of my iPhone 16 years later I had happy feelings rushing back to me similar to that of an overweight child chowing down on a piece of cake. 

iOS devices have revived a once dead genre of gaming and it's back for us to drool over as we re-live our childhoods and get lost in the very games we've missed all these years. Here I have created a list for you to browse over and see if there is something you've missed when browsing the App Store yourself. My list is made up of Lucasarts style Point and Click Adventure games which in my opinion are the best of the genre.

The Secret of Monkey Island - Special Edition

A youth named Guybrush Threepwood arrives on the fictional Mêlée Island, with the desire to become a pirate. In order to do so he visits the head pirates of the island who set him 3 tasks that he must accomplish with dangerous/hilarious consequences. The interface can be a little hit and miss but it's a must have for classic gaming junkies!

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - Special Edition

Guybrush Threepwood mighty pirate wants to prove he is the mightiest of all and sets sail to do so in the quest for the treasure that is Big Whoop. Little does he know he's going to be hit with a blast from the past. Hilarious dialogue and stunning hand painted scenery make this game winner for my collection.

Hector: Badge of Carnage

Straandlooper and Telltale games have teamed up in this hilarious trilogy based on our foul-mouthed slob of a protagonist Hector in the fiction town of Clappers Wreake. A terrorist with a sniper rifle has hostages and is willing to execute them unless something is done to clean up their corrupt and drug riddled town. The police decide to put the best man on the case. HECTOR! Episodes 1, 2 and 3 are all available on the app store now.

Broken Sword: The Shadow of Templars - Director's Cut

Set in modern day Paris George Stobbart is on vacation when a cafe he is sightseeing at is blown up by a man in a clown suit. George emerges from the wreck unharmed and sets upon solving the crime with the help of photo journalist Nico Collard. If you enjoyed the original then this game is for you. Set with new scenes, puzzles and Game Center and stunning graphics and interface!

Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror - Remastered

Nico Collard receive a call about a Mayan artefact from a Professor in Paris. With her Boyfriend George Stobbart she arranges to meet the professor at his mansion where they are ambushed by a pair of South American Goons. Nico is kidnapped and George is tied to a chair in a burning wreak. Can you help George escape and save his love? 

Beneath a Steel Sky - Remastered 

Another 90's classic from Revolution set in Australia in the future. Help Robert Foster escape from guards of and evil corporation hunting him down and uncover the truth of their motives. This game was very enjoyable and was another Amiga game from my youth which still holds it's retro feel with an easy to use modern interface. 

Flight of the Amazon Queen

This Indiana Jones like classic is set around Joe King, a pilot hired to fly celebrity Faye Russel to the Amazon rainforest for a Movie she is working on. When they arrive not all is what it seems. I found this game rather buggy in areas and was annoyed to find towards the end of the game it had glitched so I could not complete it. 

Simon the Sorcerer

Simon's "Chippy", discovers a chest in the loft of his house containing a spellbook titled "Ye Olde Spellbooke". Simon throws the book onto the floor in contempt, but a portal opens above it. Chippy goes through the portal and Simon follows. After entering the portal, Simon finds himself in another world. After escaping from some goblins who intended to eat him, he discovers that he has been brought on a quest to rescue the wizard Calypso from the evil sorcerer Sordid.

Simon the Sorcerer II: The Lion, the Wizard and the Wardrobe

In the game, the father of a peasant boy, Runt, burns his book of magic and throws it into the centre of a pentagram on the floor, inadvertently bringing Sordid back to life as a spirit. He transfers his spirit to a robotic body, and sends a magical wardrobe to retrieve Simon from his own dimension. The wardrobe mistakenly brings Simon to the door-step of Calypso's Magic Shop. Upon returning to consciousness Simon learns that, in order to return home, he must find the wardrobe's power source, called mucusade (a pun on Lucozade).

Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb

In a far future, mankind is extinct and Earth is populated by several tribes of speaking, human-like animals, living in a medieval world.
The game begins with the protagonist, Rif of the Fox Tribe, being falsely accused of having stolen the Orb of Storms (a technological relic of humankind which is able to predict and control the weather). In order to prove his innocence and free his girlfriend Rhene, who is being held hostage by the Boar King, Rif is determined to find the real thief of the Orb. 

City of Secrets

Our protagonist Moles the Mole and Rex the Dog are ice fishing when they stumble upon a secret world of moles. Rex is put in prison and Moles is on a mission to break him out. Stunning fluid graphics with a Disney Pixar feel to the game. One to look out for!

I hope this list will help you on your quest for Point and Click Adventure games. I have searched high and low for this list and now you can do with it what you will. It's been an emotional rollercoaster and I think I love you... really.