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Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid (iPhone)

Every bit as good as the original Rolando. It’s harder to accidentally de-select Rolandos, but the fairly pedestrian 3D takes it from an outstanding flat look to “just” a good simple 3D look. The strong characterisation of the characters includes charming spats and different abilities (beyond royals and the sergeant) and is a welcome surprise.

I’m not completely through it yet, but from what I’ve seen so far, ngmoco and Hand Circus have produced the Super Mario Bros. 3 to the original Rolando’s Super Mario Bros., and they did it within six months. This is tremendously impressive.

iPhone In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic

I’m still trying to settle on a comfortable cap size, but they do deliver good sound in the (relatively) low volume scenarios that I use them. The remote’s volume controls work over a connector ring that’s only got a matching receptacle in this generation of iPods and iPhone 3GS and won’t work in earlier iPhones or the original iPod touch (the middle button for playback works though). The remote works fully in the unibody MacBook Pro with no discernable delay.

I’m not sure how the mic performs. They block out sound better than the old, plain, vintage iPod In-Ear headphones. The remote buttons are easily distinguished and slight volume button slipups are ignored as long as the middle button is pressed. Definitely a good value.

Sonic the Hedgehog (iPhone)

The game lags slightly at times; distressingly so, but not actually enough to affect gameplay beyond giving you enough pause to introduce a slip up entirely of your own making.

I bought this to test the theory that on-screen buttons don’t work that well. After putting some effort into it (maybe three hours of gameplay), I could make it to Marble Garden Zone (the second zone), act 2 before game over. I routinely make it at least to Labyrinth Zone (the fourth zone) when playing on a real Mega Drive or in an emulator.

1. The controls are bad and imprecise because of the lack of tactile feedback and the small touch zones. (You’re continuously pushing down and moving in small increments on a piece of glass. Slipping enough to stop moving in a critical moment is inevitable.)
2. You can get used to them with some practice.
3. They’re still bad.

If this were any other game, chances are you wouldn’t waste your time and money trying to get used to the controls. You’d just get mad.