Ratings and Reviews by jakomo

Reigns was a good proof-of-concept. Her Majesty picks it up, and runs with the ball. The writing is spikier, the events are more interesting, difficulty is seemingly dialled down a little.

A genius concept, perfect for on-the-go smartphone users (just swipe left or right to make binary choices). Stylish art, fun and jokey writing, but punishingly difficult throughout. There is a long-term meta-game that spans multiple lives, but it is very under-clued and somewhat unfair to achieve.

I expected a straightforward football management game with some sense of narrative. I didn't expect it to have such a sharp wit, coupled with a biting cynicism about the game. Clueless owners, moronic players, corrupt agents and two-faced press all play a part. As the manager, you are the lone voice of sanity in a world gone mad. Much more interesting than I had anticipated.

Played on Android. There has since been a new release, "Swipe Manager: Soccer 2018". I don't know if this is a sequel, or the same game but made free-to-play with ads.

This Android app collects all 20 volumes of Joe Dever's classic gamebook RPG series into one fantastic game.

The series was always leaps and bounds ahead of its nearest competitor (the Fighting Fantasy series) by virtue of telling one continuous story. Your character, "Lone Wolf", is a Kai Lord: a cross between a Shaolin monk, a ninja, and a Tolkienesque ranger: Book 1 is largely spent running away from the bad guys, but you gain new skills and abilities with each book, and by Book 20 you are trading blows with demi-gods. The world of Magnamund is really well thought out, a step removed from the generic D&D lands of the mid-80s, and the writing is definitely more evocative than the norm.

This Android version is nigh-on perfect: all the finicky dice-rolling, stat-keeping and inventory-managing is done for you, it plays just as well as the paid gamebooks from Tinman, Inkle, Cubus etc, but is nevertheless completely free. You can pay for optional extra bookmarks, but don't need to as if you get killed you are only sent back to the beginning of that book. If you're an Android user, install this immediately!

A very simple choice-based comedy skit: thou must saveth thy princess from thee dragon. Naturally, things don't go to plan. Plays in a browser window and is over in a flash. Very linear, but guaranteed to raise a smile.