GAMING
4.Far: Lone Sails
Price: £3.99
The washed-out, desolate landscape
of Far: Lone Sails suggests a world
in which bad things have happened.
But there’s also an element of the
fantastical and magical as you attempt
to cajole a rickety, gigantic vehicle
across the barren seabed, littered with
the detritus of a dying civilization.
Your ride is discovered almost
immediately, and it’s a beautiful,
baffling contraption. The massive form
is reminiscent of an upturned boat,
and yet it has two massive wheels on
its sides. You leap about its innards
like Mario, smashing switches to make
the great beast rumble into action.
The game omits to tell you pretty
much anything: it’s down to you tofigure out what’s going on and what
to do. Fortunately, there are many
moments of contemplation as you
move through the landscape, taking
in its strange sights.
Punctuating this journey are
various challenges. The first finds
you installing huge sails on to your
vehicle, which can sometimes be used
instead of fuel. Later on, you’ll need
to make repairs.
On iPhone, the controls are
cramped (use a physical controller
if you can), but in widescreen you
do have the advantage of additional
seconds to spot upcoming obstacles
or rare collectables. iPad is arguably
the better option, though, the larger
canvas letting the visuals properly
wow. Either way, the game’s a delight
and suitably different
from other arcade
adventures you’ll have
played before.5.Five Dates
Price: £5.99
Full-motion video – FMV
to its friends – doesn’t
have a great reputation
in video game circles.
But rare titles buck
the trend, including
Her Story (mentioned
4.