I never played Catan before, but lept at the buy for the iPhone. This has been one that I've wanted to get into for a long time but could never convince my wife that it would be fun to play. (She's somewhat more inclined to stick to big-name board games). That said, I'm very happy with the purchase.
I stayed up late last night playing. Here are my impressions. Any issue I brought up is a nit. In summary, I love the game and it was well worth the $5.00 I spent.
*The tutorial is well thought out but by the end of them you really wish the computer wouldn't introduce himself each and every time. The information was good and really helped to learn the basics of how to play. It maps very closely to the tutorial available at the main Catan site.
*Gameplay seems very smooth. I agree with INCyr that the zooming in and out is somewhat slow and relatively unneeded. The computer AI is well thought out and will probably be a challenge once I get into the higher levels. Remember, I'm only a novice.
*The game board dominates the main view. When performing any action, there's a side button to press which brings forward a 'flower petal' with buttons to choose from. Sub-menus, when appropriate, are also represented that way. It is a very efficient and easy to use interface.
*Building and buying development cards could be tweaked. To build or buy, you enter into a new interface similar to a cover flow, without the 3d effects. Your choices are shown and change every time you swipe left or right. My thoughts were that it was a somewhat slow way to choose, but it worked. I would love to see it so that your choices are all on one page. It would really speed up gameplay.
*Batteries seemed to be hit a little hard - about 2-3 hours of playing left me at 50% with a 95% starting point.
*In-game animations of the hexes is a little weird. When hexes animate it is like the screen shifts. Almost like a graphics issue. Not sure if I'm a fan of how its done.
Do I like it? YES. Was it worth it? YES. I would buy it again for $10.00. Will I support DLC in the form of expansion packs with new functions/features? YES.
This is fun - I recommend getting it.
|