iPhone App: Rogue
= 3 stars
Kill or be killed in a scary dungeon where the graphics are ASCII characters. Port of the old-school UNIX game of the same name.
The Good
- Uses color (yeah!) ASCII graphics, just like the original. Your hero is represented by an “@” symbol, monsters various capital letters, tunnels with a “#”, etc. Events occur in text only. Yes, this is cool as far as I’m concerned.
- Because the iPhone lacks an old-school keyboard, commands are given using multi-touch gestures. Tap the screen at any side to move in that direction. Swipe from the middle toward any direction to attack. Double-tap in the center to view inventory. But gestures get more complex than that: draw a capital “W” starting in the upper left corner to wield a weapon, or an “E” to eat food, etc. The gestures are listed via a “commands” button which pops up a scrolling menu. Thankfully, the game is turn-based so you have some time to decide your next move. If you have no desire to remember the gestures, you can launch them from the scrolling menu instead.
- A new, randomly generated map for each game.
- Even with simple graphics and being turn based, things move surprisingly quickly.
The Bad
- Very tiny screen — the whole map is shown at once without any zoom in or scrolling. The characters are literally squint-worthy.
- The multi-touch gesture / scrolling menu set-up is a bit awkward.
- Crashed on me several times.
- Extremely limited appeal to old nerds — most likely limited appeal to those with no memory of the original.
Conclusion
I downloaded this game out of sheer nostalgia and was actually surprised to find it still pretty playable, game-wise. The biggest downers are its poor use of the screen real estate and an awkward command system. But my complaints only have so much weight because: this app is free. Let the questing commence.
iTunes App Store Link: 