Spore origins review

I bought Spore origins on iPhone 2 weeks ago, a few days after it came out. I finished the game in a few hours so I want to write a little about the game.

The game was ported to the iPhone in 2 weeks so I guess they did not necessarily have time to put many features into the iPhone. For anyone who doesn’t know, Spore is a EA/Maxis game.

If anyone knows about the full version for PC, the iPhone version covers only the “cell” stage where you’re this little tadpole like creature swimming around eating worms to grow bigger. As you eat more things you can “evolve” by adding parts to your creature to increase 4 attributes – speed, perception, armour and attack.

There are 3 different parts for each attribute and use up an evolution point when you add them to your creature. Once you have one of these on, it doesn’t matter how many more you add it will not use evolution points and will not add more to your attributes. Meaning, in the end your creature will have the bonuses of the 12 parts and nothing more, which kind if sucks if you want more attack or defence, you can’t.

Every 5th level, you go through a maze rather than the usual eating things to grow. You must get to the end alive as there are creatures that can hurt you along the way.

There are a total of 30 levels. Once complete, you can no longer edit your creature. Once a level us complete there is no going back and replaying any levels to get a higher score. The only replay value it has is you get to create a new creature. Or you can play the endless game, but seriously it is just a fancier version of Snake.

In terms of controls, it is quite good but you do end up moving around with the phone as you cannot see the screen if you tilt it away. (so you end up moving up and down and look overall very silly on the train or bus)

For a $12.99AUD game, I think it rates a 3. Higher of the game was cheaper. Honestly I am disappointed about the lack of replay value and for this price I expect more.

Here are some screenshots: (sorry game is played sideways hence the non rotated images)

This post was written:

Stickers/Playground custom iPhone (icon) theme pack

I spent numerous hours last night customising some icons for my newly pwned iPhone. I spent a long time over the previous day or two looking at themes available from websites and wanted to choose a nice one to use on my phone. I wanted one that not only looked nice and clean (for usability) but something I can probably easily customise on my own computer so that I can have a consistent icon pack on my phone.

Since these themes were free, and a few people liked it, I thought I’d upload my pack for people to download and use on their own phones. If you do end up using it, do leave a comment as I’d like to know. If you want any icons made, also post a comment and if I have the time I might be able to make some that are not included.

Download the original icon pack
Download the original background

To download: http://www.filesco.com/download.php?id=766007461 (someone host my file for me please!)

[Entry not written on iPhone]

Ouch stomach ache?

I received an email today, it was a newsletter from Witchery (a clothing brand) telling me about new things or something. The image attached below was a part of the newsletter. The first thought I had was “ouch stomach ache?”. Seriously, what is our modelling world thinking? That holding our stomachs in pain to make our arms and stomach look skinny is attractive? Think not!

Dentists and hygiene

I went to the dentist on the weekend to get my teeth imprinted for some invisalign braces. There’s something that really bothers me about dentists and I can’t quite figure out.

Whenever you go to the dentist they take out the nicely packaged tools that tell you they are clean. Then the dentist and his assistant (who is always a female it seems) will take out some nice new gloves to protect their hands. Then they will start to do their thing with your teeth.

They will pry open your mouth with their fingers and drill your teeth until your gums bleed. Then they will wipe the saliva and blood off with their fingers. Then, the thing I don’t understand, they will reach up and adjust the light with their hands that are covered in your saliva.

Do they through all the hygiene precautions and then leave this pothole? Some dentists pit some plastic wrap around the handles which I assume they change for every patient. But what about the dentists without the cover? Do they just put that saliva onto the handles and then transfer it onto the next patient?

How do the dentists keep the light handles clean between each patient without plastic coverings?

(I had to rewrite half this post since it didn’t save the first time for some reason. Not happy)

The view where I wait for my train home everyday.

NSW public transport fares not very fair

On the bus this time on my way to Bondi westfields. It has been a long time since I’ve used buses as a method of transport as trains are more convenient since I started working. (omg typing so hard on this bumpy bus) the last time I did take the bus was last year when I was still a student.

So I got on to buy the ticket and from campsie to bondi costs around $5.80 adult one way. That’s almost as much as a return by train. And you wonder why people dislike taking public transport. Takes longer and costs more than a car. I admit though, not having to drive and get road rage at drivers is definitely a con to crappy public transport. But if you want to increase our fare, first improve the service to justify the increases. I see no improvements in the services ling after all the increased fares.

Guess there’s nothing that can be done about this due to the little population of NSW where the government will only lose money from the transport system unlike in countries that depend on public transport to get around like china. Just gotta grin and bear. I wonder how the rail rebuild is going.

The view from my seat.

City etiquette – or lack of

One ‘species’ of people really baffle me – people in the city. It doesn’t matter what kind of job they do or what they’re doing in the city, it seems their behaviours change in the city. I admit mine changes. I almost can’t keep up with the people around me in the city.

What am I talking about? The city rush seems to catch onto everyone in the city especially in the peak hours. If you stop momentarilly or even just walk a little slow, the person behind you will probably swear at you and make your day overall crap.

If you do not react within one second of the lights turning green, people behind you will start honking. People will also force themselves into an intersection on green and then get stuck (which they know they will) and then block one or two lanes trying to drive into their sides.

Where’s all the manners and etiquette gone? No one ever offers their seat to the elderly or the pregnant anymore. I see people sitting on the disabled/elderly/pregnant peole seats and then make the poor 80 year old looking man/woman standing right in front of them. Some even sit there and look at them standing then go to sleep or pretend they didn’t see.

Sad world we live in. To think that people these days are so ill mannered. I so need to escape the city.

View from spot I wrote this post.

Testing on iphone

So I’m sitting here in maccas near townhall writing a test blog entry. Just so I know what it will end up looking like on my blog when published. I gotta say I love iphone’s keyboard feature where it corrects you for typing all over the place. It speeds up typing so much and something I love the iPhone touch keyboard for over other phones including phones with a physical keyboard.

Since I’m on the topic of iphones I might as well give my opinion on it. I have currently set up my double click/tap home key to open my iPod. This is convenient because I can be typing as I am now and then double click/tap the home button and the simple iPod controls will pop up and I will be able to press next without having to minimise my current application.

The major complaint I have about the iPhone – amazingingly – is not so much the features but rather the physical build. It has a metal rim around the edge of the phone, and I get electric shocks from it all the time which is so damn annoying. I am sometimes too afraid to touch my iphone with the fear of shocking myself. My work office tends to be very dry and with out a plastic mat under my rolling chair it means I get charged quote a bit.

I would also like the phone to be attached to a wrist strap as the phone is quite chunky I feel like I’m going to drop it all the time especially if I want to use it a high place or maybe near water. Also a strap can help with getting the phone out of my pocket or finding it in a full bag.

Some guy sitting near me just asked me if I was using an iPhone and whether it had a built in iPod. Lol anyone?

Signing off now.

– Raye (no I don’t mean rate when I type raye. When you learn iPhone?)

Testing photos. Attached a photo I just took from my seat.

Posts from my iPhone

The point of this blog is not to write long winding blog entries from a computer, but rather a range of comments that I sometimes want to make on the go when the only method of blogging is using the WordPress app from my iPhone.