THE
ROOM (iPad GAME)
When it comes to video games, I have one
basic rule. I need to get something out
of it. This realisation came to me midway through my first play-through of Angry Birds, when it occurred to me that
I had just spent the better part of an hour aiming a small red bird at exactly the right angle in order to
knock over some pig things, and it had been no
fun whatsoever. I splashed some water on my face, deleted it off my phone
and never ventured near it again. Just say no, kids: at first it’s all fun and
games but after a couple of days you’ll be glassy-eyed and strung-out,
desperately in need of another hit despite the fact you stopped enjoying it a
long time ago.
So a game (especially a mobile game) has to
give me something. It can be as simple as a fun time playing it, but it could
also be a vocabulary boost (Words with Friends), a general knowledge boost (any
trivia game) or involving single and multi-player campaigns (Great Big War
Game). What I never expected to find in a mobile game is exactly what The Room delivers – a four-hour puzzler with genuine atmospherics.
When playing The Room, you’re instantly
transported into a creepy world that hangs around the edges of your ultimate
goal; a large, puzzle filled mystery box. To go into any more real detail would
spoil the surprises the game has in store for you, but the way the game plays
with our notions of reality is interesting and at times even unsettling.
In the end, it’s an iPad game, so any lofty
ambitions are undone by the natural restrictions of the format and the budget.
But it’s a spooky game that gives it a red-hot go, and it’s the one mobile game
I’ve played this year that’s genuinely stayed with me. I can’t wait for a
sequel.
Honourable
Mention: Great Big War Game – a completely
addictive war strategy game with phenomenal depth considering the price.
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