iPhone Friday - MONGIL: STAR DIVE - Nice Fluid Combat, Fun Characters, And Not Overwhelming

For this week's iPhone Friday i tried MONGIL: STAR DIVE from NetEase on my iPhone 14 Pro. 

I would've played this game sooner if it wasn't for my previous laptop breaking. i had always been curious about how the game would combine character summons with monster collecting and using. Whilst there is an additional data download at the start, there's little to complain about with the opening to MONGIL: STAR DIVE.

The tutorial is perhaps where things could be improved, but even here i thought that it went at a good pace and the initial tutorial about moving characters was tied very well into the story and world. as things unlocked through this playthrough, there were additional tutorials for each new thing including showing us an on screen button that previously had a red dot on it but i hadn't checked out as yet. combined with the relaxing, but not slow, pace of the game i would say the opening to MONGIL: STAR DIVE is very approachable as even though it's a big game it never felt overwhelming. as i played, it was easy to keep going.

I was genuinely surprised by how funny i found this game. i'm not say it's like watching a comedian, but the way the characters interacted with each other when the spoke was funny, some of their facial expressions matched perfectly the tone of the voice acting, and for the two main characters i started with it really came across that these are people who have been working together for a while.

In some respects, i feel that the game's combat has been undersold on the app store page and even with the in-game tutorial. the combat is fluid without feeling too fast, there's spectacle and restraint in some of the larger attacks, but what i really enjoyed was the teamwork on display. switching character to character didn't mean only 1 character on screen at a time, it meant that initial character i picked could continue for a little bit whilst this new one jumped in and attacked or i could bring in the healer to heal the first character i was before that character jumped away. i never noticed the combat stuttering because it was too much for my phone.

The overall performance of MONGIL: STAR DIVE was great. i was surprised by how fast the loading was at times. it really made it pleasant to play and keep on playing. the game has struck a good balance between visuals and performance. i've played some games that focused on great looking characters or great look world with a compromise on either the other or performance. with MONGIL: STAR DIVE, i never felt wowed by anything looking stunning, but everything looked like it had the same level of detail and the world felt cohesive.

I had a great time with MONGIL: STAR DIVE and i would highly recommend it.  

Version 1.01.10 Played

iPhone Friday - Where Winds Meet - It Looks Great With Fluid And Fun Combat, But It's Story Is Slow

For this week's Mobile Friday i tried Where Winds Meet from developers Everstone Studio on my iPhone 14 Pro.

When you start Where Winds Meet you really have to play it on Wi-Fi as the game will, without any warning, immediately start downloading extra content. Even when you start playing, there's extra content that can be downloaded at the character creation section and you even have the option to download the 12GB+ data for other regions in the game. it might be worth spending the time now to install everything rather than using up your data as you go.

For me, the other annoying thing about this extended look at the game is it's story. it starts with a great cinematic intro where we're able to join in with, and then it's over and we're with 2 other characters. it's never mentioned, or if it is i completely missed it, who exactly we are in relation to the two other characters we were just playing as. Is the girl we're with the baby from the previous sequence? the story progressed so slowly in this video. our initial goal of getting home wasn't completed. I didn't even finish the side goal we were to do before that. this slow progress really felt slow whilst playing it. i could feel how slow it was. it wasn't helped by how annoying the girl was. i found no redeeming qualities of her and every interaction with her pretty grating. 

The developers did a great job of bringing a console like combat experience to phones. it feels smooth, fluid, and is a spectacle to be hold. But there are soo many icons on the screen that my phone's screen felt really crowded and throughout this video, when i had unlocked it, i was accidentally pressing the tai-chi button.

Version 1.0.4 Played

Mobile Friday - Destiny: Rising - A Great Looking Shooter, Good Tutorial, But Some Control Issues

For this week's Mobile Friday i tried Destiny: Rising from developers NetEase Games on my iPhone 14 Pro.

I've played both console Destiny games, tho admittedly not for a long time, and what i enjoyed about them the most was the gun combat. i really enjoyed online multiplayer, too. the game's story wasn't something i was concerned about. i have completed the story on disc for both, but i don't really remember it. for me, i wanted to try Destiny: Rising to see if they could replicate that gun feel the console games had.

After a good hour with the game i can say that they don't quite get there. that's not to say what's in Destiny: Rising is bad, it's actually good. but it doesn't quite reach the highs of the console versions. i played this hour in hand held mode, but Destiny: Rising is playable with a controller too. there's a lack of feedback from the phone when shooting, the rumble the console controllers have is far better and precise than anything my phone has. Playing on my phone also meant i needed much more aim assist that i would on console, to the point where Destiny: Rising kinda feels a little weird to play at first. that feeling went away after some time, but what really kept tripping me up were the on screen buttons.

On the right side, you control the camera and on the left you control your movement. the left side isn't much of an issue, but the right side has many buttons of differing sizes and throughout this video i kept on touching buttons by accident when i was trying to move the camera. for the start of the game, it's not an issue. but by the end and the boss battle i did, it really got frustrating that i was pressing buttons by accident and not having enough camera control for what was happening on screen. There are two possible solutions in the game, use a controller or adjust the placement and size of the buttons on the screen.

At the start, i wondered if Destiny: Rising would have additional downloads. the game's size is near 4GB so it could've gone either way. unfortunately, there were two additional downloads and the game never asked for permission to do the download. the combined size of them was less than 1GB but still, it's using data and not everyone has an unlimited data plan.

There are plenty of positives from Destiny: Rising. the presentation makes it feel like part of the Destiny universe. the graphics, like last week's Kaiju No.8 game, are great on the characters and fine everywhere else. i found the tutorial useful, and if you have played this elsewhere there's even an option to skip it. i felt like graphically, the game is closer to the PS3 generation, but there are aspects of it that do feel modern. it's up there as one of the better looking games on iOS.

I would recommend people give Destiny: Rising a try. whilst it's part of that universe, it still introduces the world and what's happening in a way that new players will have a good idea of what's happening whilst existing Destiny fans will be able to get more lore and expand on what they already know. i found it quite accessible and there are plenty of ways to customise the experience for how you want to play. the basic controls without any changes are fine but i do feel like they're better suited for larger phones than mine. But it's always online and over time that'll eat into your data limits so perhaps it's best played over wi-fi.

Version 1.0.6 Played