ToG #242 – Titan Quest and Imbroglio

In this episode we catch up a bit, we talk about some game updates, some upcoming games, and some interesting news items that are part of the mobile gaming world.

We then touch upon a few games we did not try before launching into games we did try.

Todd talked briefly about 2 games he tried…Mekorama (Free – pay what you want, iOS, Martin Magni) and Leap Day (Free, iOS, Nitrome). Mekorama is a bit of a mash up of Captain Toad’s Treasure Tracker (WiiU) and Monument Valley. It seems fun and both Todd and Jared like it, but it might need better camera control. Worth trying if you like modern puzzle games. Leap Day is a “new level a day” platformer that sees you inside a bit of a tower-esque level. You auto-run left to right and control your jumps up. It can be fun and rewarding but also very frustrating. It all depends on what you like so try it and take things from there.

Jared – Titan Quest ($6.99, iOS, DotEmu) – this classic PC Action RPG (think Diablo II) comes to iOS and it is an extremely faithful and full-fledged port. Everything that was in the PC game is basically in this one and it all looks good and controls nicely on the touch screen. Jared is digging it so far and may talk about it more, but if you have been craving a good ARPG then this should be on your very, very short list.

Todd – Bejeweled Stars (Free, iOS & Android, EA) – Todd has a bit of a soft spot for Bejeweled and he had to try this one. As it turns out, the game takes all of the normal “matching” found in a Bejeweled game and sets it in a world comprised of short levels. There are many challenges to be had and many free to play aspects to dig into (limited lives, items that you create but that take real world time to make, various currencies, etc.). None of this is too onerous; but it takes away from the fun. No more crazy score chases. No more almost losing in the game only to frantically find a match and keep moving forward, no more leaderboards. It is just short levels that are tailored in such a way that you are bound to need special items to complete them. It was fun at first but it eventually wore out its welcome. Grab it if you want to relive a bit of the Bejeweled magic…and then delete it when you get tired of its free to play mechanics.

Jared – GodFinger 2 (Free, iOS, Jiggery Pokery) – More Godfinger more of the time. Jared has not really played enough of this “sim” yet, but he likes what he is playing. It is worth looking at if you enjoyed the first one but the jury is still out on the longevity of the game overall.

Todd – Imbroglio ($3.99, iOS, Michael Brough) – During the course of the podcast, Jared taught Todd that “imbroglio” is an Italian word meaning: an extremely confused, complicated, or embarrassing situation. Todd was embarrassed by his terrible pronunciation of the word, but the “confused and complicated” bit also make a bit of sense in describing the game itself. This is essentially a rogue like where you control 1 of 4 characters on a 4 x 4 tile grid. The twist is the tiles on the grid are actually weapons and they each have a color, an ability, and a power. You make your way around the board trying to collect 1 gem at a time. You have to battle monsters that will fare better against one color weapon or the other, so you need to plan ahead and try to attack from a position (tile) of power. It is actually a deep and rewarding little system and there is a lot more to take in than you might think at first. Overall, this is a very intriguing game and worth the price; especially if you are interested in charismatic rogue-like games.

And that about does it for another episode.

Check us out on Twitter…

The show is: @TofG
Jared is: @TheQuacko
Todd is: @toddias