Logo Change - Azkend

It's time to change the logo not because Gears of War 3 has been released but more the fact it has been delayed & I don't want to have to look at that logo until September. I am now also in two minds about if I will buy it on release. Which only leaves me with 1 game I will purchase on release Batman Arkham City. Thus I have now had to amend the rules on the logo from games I will purchase on release to the last game I have completed. This way the logo will hopefully change more often. Currently I'm playing GT5 which I'm not sure how you can say you have completed I suppose after I have finished all the A Spec events? I'm not wasting my time on B Spec aka simulated pile of crap. I just don't see the point. It's not a game mode it's a glorified batch script. On the iPod Touch I'm currently playing Sorcerer of Fortune & Slingo Supreme so I am likely to finish either of these two before GT5.

Azkend - Completed

Azkend was released on the PC in 2007 but back then I was too busy finishing off the tail end of Playstation 2 RPG's or playing another mission on Mech Commander 2 on the PC to even notice it.

Since buying my first 2nd gen iPod Touch in 2008, I have downloaded many paid & free games in the last 3 years. In fact as of today I have 512 !! apps on my itunes.
The majority of these downloads I have not even played so recently I decided to create 3 folders on my iPod Touch called To Test, Keep & Rubbish.

Every week I will install 12 apps onto my iPod Touch and test them so I can delete the ones that are rubbish. Whilst testing the first batch of games I came across Azkend which looking at my purchase history I paid 59p, currently it is £1.79 on the app store.

"What we found in those ruins in far asia was not merely a relic. I wish I had considered the consequences ..."

Press Start & you are greeted with some lovely pan pipe music. You have two modes Adventure or Survival. Survival has you facing increasingly tough challenges to earn stars from the talismans. The adventure mode has a nice story line along the way to tell you about the relic. Whilst playing the game you earn new talismans by competing a set of levels. If you manage to complete a level with 50% of the time remaining you will earn an expert star. This is quite easy to do initially but soon gets tougher & you have to decide which one talisman you will use to help you achieve the gold star. What I found frustrating was if you completed a level there was no way to go back and retry that level the story just moved forward to the next level. Thus when I completed the game I had only gold starred about 40 levels.

The game offers approx 60 levels and does give you the option to start again but I feel it needs an update to allow you to select a level to play. Azkend is your "Bejewelled" match 3 tiles type affair but because of the Talisman power-ups & the challenge of competing for a gold star gives this game some variety. You are not just going for a high score challenge like other match em up games, there is a story along the way & you have to earn the talisman by competing a set of levels. You are also presented with vision challenges at set points along the way & these have you matching the image show to the viewpoint you are looking at. It is a simple look and touch affair which you can easily complete by touching everywhere on the viewpoint. The purposes of these is that it gives you extra seconds to complete the next set of levels.

The games does have a nice save & exit feature after each level so you are not forced to sit and play a set of levels to get to a checkpoint.

When you finally reach the temple you are given the choice to return the relic or not?
I won't say what I chose & what happens but by giving you this choice the game is giving you the chance to play the adventure again to see the other outcome.

With over 6 hours gameplay & 513 apps to play ( I purchased another free app whilst typing this post)  I don't think I will play again.

There are many "Bejewelled" type games released on the appstore & I am sure you have your favourites but for the 59p I spent I thoroughly enjoyed the 6 hours gameplay it provided. Is it worth £1.79? Probably not so if you do want to buy it best wait till it goes on sale again.

But more importantly I am still on target for my challenge of completing a game a month. Yes it's only a 6 hours game but this month that was probably all I could manage.

I have not yet deleted the game from my iPod Touch so I can go and enjoy the trials of the survival mode.