Angels Take Manhattan: The Basement

Is this a joke?

Previous episode: Angels Take Manhattan: 2012

Next episode: Angels Take Manhattan: 1938

Game version played: 2.5.1 (GP-A)

The basement, where Rory met the chuckling cherubs. That was also in Manhattan, but in 1938 not 2012. Same place, different time. Blue Time fragments are likely but no rare drop. The backdrop is a series of arches containing shadowy figures. Shield that Brightwell & Hyman match, screw your courage to the sticking place and follow me.

My team is led by the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, who is accompanied by Jenny Flint, Madame Vastra, Porridge and Rory Williams who are all at Lvl.9. I anticipate that this mission will get Jenny to Lvl.10 and hence the next rank. That's confidence for you. It's also a sure way to lose a level, thinking on the reward rather than the task. Stay focused Allsop.

Wave 1 of 4 consists of a Blue Weeping Angel as faced in the last level, plus a Blue cherub which game-wise is a less dangerous version of full grown Angels. We also have Stone gems to add to the fun. I tried for 5+ combos where I could but the Stones make it difficult. It took me 4 rounds to kill the Angel, then just one more to clear the cherub. Knowing that the cherub is less sturdy I probably should have targeted it from the start.

Wave 2 is a single Blue Weeping Angel but this one is in chains. It's the wrist-snapping Angel that Julius Grayle imprisoned in his office. This Angel attacks in 2 rounds instead of 3 and can take a lot more damage than the usual. During our fight she hit me for 160 HP twice, forcing me to use Rory's Stand Firm power. Jenny also powered up but once again using her Smoulder power would have made things worse. Vastra's power was a different story and she let rip, though her Riposte of 150 points barely scratched the chained Angel. By now Porridge was ready to lay a bomb but the Angel was down to about 30%, so I kept it in reserve. The next round she fell so it was the right decision.

The waves are getting larger and next we have a trio of cherubs. This is a multi-coloured flight, 2 Blue and 1 Green. Aha! A chance to let Jenny have at them. I used her Smoulder power and targetted the Green cherub with the resultant Reds. It was a big hit and got Greenie down to 10% or so, as well as badly damaging the other 2. That set me up well and I cleared the cherubs in 7 rounds. I took a few hits but managed to stay near full health using available Pinks. By the time I was done I had the 11th Doctor flashing at maximum, plus Vastra, Jenny and Porridge all with special powers primed and ready for the 4th wave.

The boss wave doesn't feature a boss as such but it's no walk-over. It's the chained Angel flanked by a Green and a Blue cherub. There was no point saving attacks now so I 'unleashed Hell' as Russell Crow said. The 11th Doctor concocted a Fast Plan and aimed 1,000 damage at each opponent. The Blue cherub vaporised but the Green one survived due to his resistance to Blue damage. Next I let Vastra use her Riposte on the survivors which took Greenie down to about 10%. The chained Angel was at about 60% so I planted Porridge's bomb at her feet. I next used Jenny to Smoulder the Blue gems into Red to make sure of the Green cherub, which I targetted.

My first Gem attack killed the Green cherub and got the chained Angel down to 25%. In the next few rounds we traded blows. Rory healed me once and I had the Angel down to next to nothing when the bomb went off and blew her into gravel. A nice bruising battle though I still kept my HP well above 50% all the way through.

There were no drops but after the battle Jenny Flint did indeed reach Lvl.10. The surprise was that Porridge was also promoted to Lvl.10. Both of them ready to elevate to the 2nd rank. Oh yes!

Madame Vastra should give her a rise

This is a landmark in the game, but don't forget the basics. You still get an extra point for going up a level so make sure you assign it. Jenny's attributes have grown over her career, increasing gradually with each level. However her special power, Smoulder, has stayed the same. If you want that to increase, and for her to be able to progress further, then you need to upgrade her rank. Until you do she will be stuck on Lvl. 10 however much experience she gains. Of course there is a price to be paid.

To upgrade Jenny to Rank 2 the cost is 2 Red and 2 Green Time Fragments. Luckily I have them. All you have to do is press the Upgrade button on the Companion's Attributes tab. I did so and was treated to the same 'Brilliant' sequence that I saw when promoting the 11th Doctor. Jenny then immediately jumped to Lvl.11, though you don't get an additional attribute point that time. Looking at her Profile tab her Special Power is now called Flame, and it converts Blue gems to Red in 6 turns instead of 7. Her power has the same effect but you will be able to call upon it more often.

It's worth comparing the advancement of Jenny's power to her wife's for a moment. At these levels Madame Vastra's Riposte is becoming less useful as opponents get stronger. However Jenny Flint's ATK attribute keeps rising with every level even if you add no points to it. So she does more damage with each Red Gem. This means that her conversion power constantly grows in effectiveness. Direct damage powers by contrast grow effectively weaker. Something to ponder.

 Jenny's upgrade got me an extra star which took me to 9 in total, 1 short of a new Perk. Good job Porridge is ready to promote as well.

Ah! There's a problem. Porridge needs 2 Yellow and 2 Black Time Fragments to be upgraded. I've got both of the Yellow but just 1 Black fragment. Foiled. However there is a work around. In these situations you will see that the Max Level button in the Profile tab now says Instant Upgrade instead. If you press it you are offered the chance to go ahead with the upgrade by using 2 Time Crystals instead of the required Fragments.

This means I have a decision to make about Porridge, with three options available.

Firstly, I could use Time Crystals to promote him here and now, and I have earned 10 of these through normal play. In my main game I have many more, some of which I bought to unlock the Fan Area and support the developers. Crystals are not short cuts or cheats, they are part of the game and a reward for putting your money where your mouth is. However here it does seem expensive to use 20% of my crystals just to compensate for 1 missing Black Fragment.

Secondly I could take my team and replay levels that offer Black Fragments as a potential drop. Working backwards the first opportunity is The Snowmen: The Great Intelligence. In my case this level still has Strax as a Rare drop. If I replayed it then I might get to fill that empty slot in my team roster while I'm looking for Black Fragments. I might also get Yellow Time Fragments which I am likely to need soon with Vastra at Lvl.9. I would also be guaranteed to collect experience for my team, and have fun replaying levels. There are other missions that offer Black Fragments but they are lower level without a Rare drop, and so less attractive.

The third option is just to play on. I might get a Black Fragment very soon and I would be earning higher amounts of experience in more advanced levels. I might also get more Rares. The drawback to this option is that Porridge will not gain any of that experience and will not get stronger. Each level will become tougher as he gets left behind. If I had other Companions in the TARDIS I could swap Porridge for one of them and let them gain the experience, though my team would be weakened significantly at first. I have beaten all levels so far reasonably comfortably, so I'm confident I could go on for a few levels yet.

Is this wise?

So my options are to pay up, circle back and build my strength, or to press on. In my main game when I first reached this sort of situation I circled back. Later on as my cache of Time Crystals grew and the number of needed Fragments increased drastically I have tended to pay up.

This time though I'm going to push on. That was the original intent when I started this series of posts, here. It'll be fun to see how far I get before I lose, and a nice challenge to play with what the game gives me for free. That's one of the secrets to enjoying a game I find, to adopt a style, character or strategy rather than just play to a  believed optimal strategy.

So on we go, with Jenny Flint at Rank 2 and Porridge stuck at Lvl.10. But not just now though.

While I've been writing these posts some promising ideas for future books and stories have blossomed and I can't ignore them any longer. There's also a couple of other opportunities that I want to explore so my journey through Season 7, or Chapter One as it is now called, will have to take a break. Getting my first Companion to Rank 2 seems like a good place to pause and I don't want to make the same mistake I did with Cryonite Cove and let things peter out. This blog will continue, though it will focus elsewhere for a time and will probably not be as frequent for a while.

Writing all of this has been fun, educational, thought provoking and a good exercise of the writing muscles. Thanks to all those who have read and commented through Twitter or elsewhere. An especial thank you to Tiny Rebel Games who have produced a wonderful game that is a worthy tie-in with my favourite ever television show, Doctor Who.

Angels Take Manhattan: 2012

Stone me!

Previous Episode: Sontaran Disturbance: USA

Next Episode: Angels Take Manhattan: The Basement

Game version played: 2.5.1 (GP-A)

The Weeping Angels. The best original monster of New Who and perhaps one of the greatest in the show's 51 year history. Original, fascinating and scary. It looks like we're about to face them in mortal combat. Prepare yourself for Angels Take Manhattan.

Do you think there was some analogy in Steven Moffat's mind when he demonised the Statue of Liberty in this story? The USA's symbol of freedom and democracy becoming a giant Weeping Angel. Is he saying that liberty has become a force for evil, that great horrors and destruction are wrought in order to preserve an impractical ideal? Perhaps the Moff feels that certain individual rights should be sacrificed in order to improve the common good.

Is he instead saying that if you take your eye off liberty for a second then we are all doomed? That freedom must be watched constantly. Blink and it becomes corrupted.

Was it a comment about the USA itself? Is he implying that the country which styled itself as the embodiment of freedom and democracy is now a monster? A monster that sends its enemies back to the stone age, or snaps their neck and steals their voices?

I doubt it. More likely someone said "Imagine if the Statue of Liberty was a Weeping Angel. That would be brilliant that would." Mr Moffat hears that and says, 'Och! That would be fine indeed. I'm away to write that up. Cheers pal." That's how The Angels Take Manhattan was born. Well it is in my mind anyway. Enough of this prattling.



Metaphor of monster?

Blue Time Fragments are signalled for this level so the Angels are likely to be Blue. That could be a problem as Green is my weakest colour. Rory will have to earn his keep in both dealing and healing.

My team is led by the 11th Doctor in his new monkly attire at Rank 2. Jenny Flint is at Lv.9 and Porridge, Madame Vastra and Rory Williams are at Lv.8. I still have an empty slot but there will be no chance to fill it in this adventure.

This is another level with a shifting background. It changes between the roof of the Winter Quay apartment building, with some interesting Skaro inspired graffiti, and the night skyline of Manhattan. Very pretty.

As the level starts the 11th Doctor warns us to be careful. He says that a lot in this game.

We first face one Blue Weeping Angel. It's taking 3 rounds to attack so it looks as if they'll be slow. The interesting thing to note is that one of the gems looks like a grey marble. It is in fact a stone gem. These appear in Weeping Angel levels and are a pain. They have no colour so can't be used to attack or heal. The only way to get rid of them is to combine them with other stones, at which time they shatter. Shattering stones count as a combination in your damage calculation so they are not completely useless. It pays to get rid of them as they mount up steadily. Don't make it your priority but if you can do it while making a good colour combo then do so.

This first Angel was reasonably tough and it took me two rounds to get rid of her though I took no damage. The stone gems make it difficult to rack up a decent set of combinations, which effectively makes the Angels more durable.



My slightly new-look team

Wave 2 of 3 was a brace of Blue Weeping Angels. The battle lasted 7 rounds and I learned that each Angel does 150 damage, as they both hit me before I could kill one. 300 points is not insignificant when you have just 874 to start with. 6 hits without healing and I'd be done for. Happily I got through the wave just 150 points down at the end, thanks to careful use of Pink gems. Jenny Flint was primed for use but turning Blue Gems Red when you're facing Blue enemies is not wise. There seems to have been a few levels where I've had to put her special power aside.

It was decent scrap but I prevailed, with a Blue Time Fragment as booty. We stepped forward to the Boss wave. And what a big Boss it is, Lady Liberty herself.

Fighting the Statue of Liberty is hard. She's as tough as nails, hits like a hammer and steals your gems. It took a Riposte from Vastra, a bomb from Porridge, Cunning from the 11th Doctor, and 9 attack-filled rounds to beat her down. She deals 300 points per hit but they are 4 rounds apart, so with Rory's help I was able to keep ahead of  the damage.

At 18 rounds this was my longest level yet. The enemies' damage is high if infrequent, and the stone gems are an effective handicap. My advice would be to heal your wounds quickly as Pinks appear less often, and it won't take many hits to knock you over.

I gained a Blue Time fragment from this battle and another achievement, Time Lord Chancellor for making 500 gem combos. Another plaque for the TARDIS wall. Experience-wise I got Vastra, Porridge and Rory to join Jenny Flint on Lv.9. Maybe the next level will get Jenny to Rank 2. Fingers crossed.

Sontaran Disturbance: USA

That's a dirty ha..No, no I just can't do it

Previous Episode: Time Attack: The Silent

Next Episode: Angels Take Manhattan: 2012

Game version played: 2.5

The name suggests that this level may be a sequel of sorts to Sontaran Disturbance: England. If so it may likewise be an easy encounter, welcome after the ordeal of our first Time Attack. Yellow Time Fragments are indicated so Yellow Sontarans are to be expected. Be cautious though, take nothing for granted.

There’s yet another Rare drop, but this time it’s a costume. It looks to be the monkish robes the 11th Doctor wore in The Bells of Saint John. The location is New Hampshire, USA. Why there? Why not?

My team is the 11th Doctor at Rank 2. Porridge, Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Rory Williams all at LVL.8. Geronimo!

We start by witnessing a discussion between two Sontarans. One wants to wait for backup, worried by the Doctor’s success in stabilising time. His senior officer, who has an eight pack instead of the usual six, reminds him that the Doctor and his companions have been allowed to suceed. This perplexes the grunt but he is told that Commander Vade the Defiant has his reasons. That’s interesting, a little bit of story. 

See what I mean

Looking at the background it seems that New Hampshire, USA is identical to Bexhill, England but without the rain. Curious.

I am irritated that the junior soldier is carrying a swagger-stick-like weapon, as used by General Staal in The Sontaran Stratagem. I saw that weapon as an indicator of rank, but I’m aware that is a bit anoraky of me so I’ll say no more.

The discussion ends, gems drop and the match begins. Wave 1 consists of a solitary Yellow opponent. It’s the swagger-sticked, six-packed Sontaran. My first strike killed him before he could start his ponderous 3 round attack. He was right to be worried. I prised a Time Crystal from his cold dead fingers.

Wave 2 is a simple double-up, two of the same Sontaran who also lasted but a single round. This may be my quickest level ever.

Wave 3 is a solo effort again, but this time it’s Mr. Eight-pack. My first attack almost killed him but he had Heal ready and used it to drag himself back from the brink. The next round was a carbon-copy of the first, but in the third I killed him. A pitiful performance from the Sontaran Empire, with not a scratch inflicted upon me.

Just before victory was signalled a grey portrait fell. I won the Rare drop! Typical. 5 chances to win a team member and no luck, 1 chance to bag a costume and it’s a bullseye. Tsk! Well a Rare drop is a Rare drop and it does make my team look less run-of-the-mill. The 11th Doctor takes up the habit and we move on.

Jenny Flint moved to Lv.9. A few more levels and we'll be at the next rank. I also won the No More Yellow II achievement for defeating 50 Yellow enemies. My first half-century. Satisfying.

Time Attack: The Silent

There's a countdown!
Stay cool, stay cool!

Previous Episode: The Silent Paradox

Next Episode: Sontaran Disturbance: USA

Game version played: 2.5

Time Attack eh? I wonder what that’s all about.

First things first though. We now have the 6th Doctor. What do we do with him? Up to now I’ve been playing with the 11th Doctor, rejecting the 10th for reasons discussed here. Can number 6 usurp his senior self? Naturally the 6th starts at Rank 1, requiring 3 Yellow and 3 Black Time Fragments for promotion. I’m short of that so he has to be assessed as he is.

His special ability is called Cavalier and is a poison ability. The Doctor has used poison on occasion in the show. I can remember the 4th and 5th Doctor doing so but not the 6th, though I could be wrong. However it does fit his sometimes venomous character.

Poison is a useful power as it continues to damage the victim after the first hit. It also affects a percentage of the subject’s HP rather than a fixed amount. At Rank 1 Cavalier damages the victim by 3% or 6% of their maximum HP for 5 turns, 15% or 30% in total. Being a percentage it is feeble against weak opponents but effective against the strong. At later levels you will value this power greatly. What about now though?

Let’s look at the last level, The Silent Paradox. The Blue Paradox started with 2200 HP, our toughest opponent so far. If the 6th Doctor got his full power attack in, which takes 60 combos to build, he would do 132 points damage each round, 660 in total. Compare this to the 11th Doctor at Rank 1. After 30 combos he would inflict 500 damage instantly. He could then repeat this after another 30 combos dealing 1,000 of damage to the Blue Paradox in total, just as the 6th Doctor started his 660. Poison also affects one target only, but the 11th Doctor’s power hits all opponents. If you are facing more than one enemy then the 11th Doctor’s power outdoes the 6th’s completely. In my case I have the 11th at Rank 2 so the advantage is even stronger.

As opponents get tougher then Poison attacks catch up, but for now it doesn’t earn 'sixie' Doctor a place on my team. Of course if you refer to him as ‘sexie’ then who cares what I think? Put him in and enjoy.

He is the first Yellow Doctor, appropriate as he did show an un-Doctorly cowardly streak once or twice. You could use him to build a nice Yellow team, with Vastra, Yellow Adipose and Punishment Soldier if you have them. It would be an aggressive team that could be interesting to play, and start you off on the Exterminate Yellow achievements.

See? 235 seconds left on the clock.
I don't know what all the fuss was about

For me though I’m sticking with the 11th Doctor in this journey through Season 7.

Back to Time Attack: The Silent. We have a potential drop, a Green framed girl that I don’t recognise. Once again we’ll have to win her to know her. Yellow Time Fragments are likely to drop so we will probably face some Yellow Silence again. The time and place are still in line with The Impossible Astronaut but this time we are facing a metal door. Maybe it’s the entrance to the Silences’ control room from Day of the Moon.

My team is once again the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Jenny Flint and Porridge at Lv.8, Vastra and Rory at Lv.7.

As the level starts we face 3 Silence as expected, but what is different is the counter ticking down at the top left of your screen. It starts off saying “You still have 500 sec”. I’m guessing that Sec means seconds, rather than indicating the leader of the Cult of Skaro. From this you can quickly deduce what a Time Attack level is. If you don’t clear the level before the counter runs out then you’re beaten.

The timer encourages you to hurry, so the tendency is to seize the first half decent opening you see instead of finding the optimum move. In the first wave I certainly fell into this trap and the first 3 Silence died the death of a thousand cuts instead of being blessed with a swift death.

I also find that I use special abilities less often in Time Attacks, especially convert powers where I like to consider the colours of opponents and the make up of the board. In the second wave, against 3 other Silence, I finally got to plant Porridges bomb and see it go off. It made a nice bang.

In Wave 3, versus 3 Silence once more, the central Silent got ready to retaliate with a bomb of his own called Arc Blast. Fortunately I’d let the 11th Doctor build his A Fast Plan ability to maximum and I used it to blow them all off the board before it detonated, winning the level with 235 seconds to spare.

Once again there was no Rare Drop. 5 chances and no wins. Just saying. I did earn the experience to promote Vastra and Rory to Lv.8.

I love Time Attacks. They are a proper challenge and certainly get the heart beating. You’ll come across a few of these in your DWL career so it might be wise, as well as enjoyable, to practice. 

The first thing is not to rush. The doomsday counter makes it easier to say that than do it, but you usually have time for sensible play. Be prompt, not frantic. Snatching at the first 3 gem combo you see is less effective and can even take longer. An extra second or two might mean that you do as much damage in one move as you would in 3 rushed attacks.

Another tip for Time Attacks. As soon as you’ve completed your gem move, start looking for the next one.

After your move is done a series of events is set in motion. New gems drop and additional combos fire until the board stabilises. Damage points are then calculated and boosted, which is afterwards inflicted on enemies who are then marked down or removed from the board. Sometimes Time Fragments or crystals drop. Then the bad guys get their attack. This can all take 5 seconds or more, during which time you can’t move. But you could be using it to examine the board.

Watching the chain reaction that your move initiated is fun but you can’t influence it, it’s dead time. Let the game do its thing while you work out your next move.

Artie- Definitely a boy

There are other strategies. For example relying on a team of Tanks may be unwise. You want to finish the enemy quickly rather than engage in a battle of attrition. Don’t go too far as you still need durability, but adding a few damage dealers to the team should be considered. You could also turn off the Skill cut-in animation. That might save you a second or two but it hardly seems worth it.

Your first Time Attacks may be difficult but stick with it. It's not as if you can go round them.

Now about that Rare drop. I described it as a girl, but when you get lucky you’ll discover that ‘she’ is a ‘he’. It’s Artie Maitland, one of Clara’s charges who were taken to Hedgewick’s World in Nightmare In Silver. He was played by Kassius Carey Johnson. Sorry Kassius. You’re definitely a chap but your DWL portrait looks a little feminine.

Artie is a Balanced character with the special power of Sneaky. Sneaky converts Green gems to Pink, which can be mighty useful if you are in a tight spot. You are likely to be taking more damage by now so he may be a useful team member. When levelling him up my advice would be to boost his HEAL, so that you can take maximum advantage of the Pink gems he creates.

Artie is your third Green potential Companion after Rory and Punishment Medic, all of whom have a healing bias. If I had won all the drops up to now then I’d still be using the 11th Doctor, Porridge, Vastra, Jenny Flint, Rory and Yellow Adipose. If you found that your style of play leads you to taking a lot of damage then you might want to have Rory and Artie together. This would give you a team with the recuperative powers of The Flash.

Just to make it clear, I love Time Attacks. A welcome new play mode for Doctor Who legacy. 

Ascent of the Governess

Who's that girl?

Previous Episode: The Red Castle

Next Episode: The Silent Paradox

Game version played: 2.5

Here’s something new. The art for the next level, Ascent of the Governess, cycles through different images. In this case they are all backgrounds from The Snowmen episodes. It looks as if we are continuing our retrospective of DWL so far.

As well as Yellow Fragments we have another Rare drop to hope for. We see a Green-bordered blonde woman, again in military gear but this one is saluting. Is it another member of the Punishment Patrol? Let’s crack on and find out.

My team is 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Porridge, Vastra and Jenny Flint at Lvl.7 and Rory at Lvl.6.

We start off at the bottom of the stairs in the Latimer Residence, facing the Big Blue Snowman and one of his Yellow Snowmen mates. Feeble opposition, they melted under my first attack.

Then there’s another new thing. We appear to take a couple of steps into the hallway, and then find ourselves outside in the snow. That was different. A simple effect but it does pull you into the game.

We aren’t alone in the snow for long, being joined by three Big Blue Snowmen. They did manage to convert some of my Blue gems to Black, but being typically slow they all died before they could lay an icy finger on me. We stepped forward again to return to the room with the marvellous carpet.

Chionoandrophobics beware
(Look it up)

The Boss wave starts, with me hoping I could land that saluting soldier. To do so I first had to best the Yellow Ice Governess. I hit her hard but she survived and Syphoned all my Pink gems, marking them with a negative. That wasn’t very nice. Now any Pink combos would be 10% less effective. This is the first Weaken ability we’ve had to face. It’s most dangerous when used, as it is here, against your Pinks. In later levels it can prevent you from healing at all. Nasty.

Luckily my team was still hale and hearty so I didn’t need the Pinks. It wasn’t a good time to mess about though, so I smashed the Governess before she could inflict any actual damage. She fell, but the saluting blonde did not. Blast! 0 out of 4 Rare drops.

Not a great return from this level. No Rare, no Time Fragments, and only enough experience to promote Rory to Lvl.7. As usual I boosted his HEAL ability.

This level is not very challenging but it does add some nice graphical flourishes to the game. Importantly a successful Rare drop also provides you with your first specialist Companion.

The saluting blonde is indeed a member of the Punishment Platoon, the Punishment Medic. She is a Green Balanced Companion, and what makes her interesting is her special ability, Antivenom.

Up until now your Companions and Doctors have been able to heal, convert gem colours or inflict damage, either directly or via a bomb. This character does something different. Punishment Medic can cure any poison attack affecting you and your team. Yes I know venom and poison are different things but if it bothers you then I suggest you direct your energy at some of the world’s many bigger problems.

Poison delivers consistent, unavoidable damage to your team, requiring no attack other than the first. It’s a killer. Antivenom wipes this attack off the board and is often a life saver, making the difference between victory and defeat.

I appreciate the sentiment,
but the Doctor hates salutes

Naturally this special ability is only of use when battling poison equipped enemies. Otherwise it can seem like a wasted team slot. The only level so far where we faced Poison was Sontaran Disturbance – England. Even then you may well have killed the Sontaran Commander before he could deploy it. However even when there’s no poison in play Punishment Medic still contributes to the team through her abilities. She is still an asset and would be gaining experience.

You could keep her in the TARDIS, only adding her to the team when you fail a poison mission. However without regular opportunities to gain experience she will be a lower level than the rest of the team, offsetting the benefits of her Antivenom.  You can replay a few earlier levels to bring her up through the ranks but that’s hardly proactive is it?

Either approach works, but as I’m trying to get though Season 7 with as few defeats as possible I’d add her to the team. You rarely know in advance when you’ll be facing poison so best to be prepared and build her up. When winning levels starts to get harder then you may want to replace her with someone whose ability is more widely beneficial.

If I had all of the Rare drops available by now then I’d replace Yellow Adipose with Punishment Soldier. As well as providing protection against poison this would boost Green damage, which is a bit weak with Rory being a dedicated healer.

However Punishment Soldier didn’t drop for me, so I’d better avoid Spectrox Toxaemia for the time being. 

The Red Castle

"Castell Coch " by Steve Collis from Melbourne, Australia -
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 

Previous Episode: March of the Cybermen

The Red Castle- With Dalek Billboard

Next Episode: Ascent of the Governess

Game version played: 2.5

Doctor Who Legacy boosts its environmental credentials by recycling another background. The Red Castle is set in Tongwynlais, Wales but the castle looks exactly like Natty Longshoe’s Comical Castle on Hedgewick’s World of Wonders, the backdrop to Nightmare in Silver: Mr. Clever. A quick Google search revealed that Tongwynlais is overshadowed by Castell Coch, which translates into English as Red Castle. Compare the art to the photograph. Yes, Castell Coch was used as a location in Nightmare in Silver. It also featured in Jouney’s End and The Vampires ofVenice. It seems a little churlish to moan about DWL reusing art when the show revisits locations.

The Red Castle level is not TV and we can nab Red and/or Green Time Fragments. There is also another Rare Drop opportunity. The portrait is Yellow and shows a woman in a military helmet and goggles. It could be LadyGaga but that seems unlikely. We’ll have to win her to find out who she is.

My team for the level is The 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Jenny Flint at Lvl.7 and Madame Vastra, Porridge and Rory Williams at Lvl.6.

Wave 1 of 3 brings us a Yellow Cyberman with a Lock power, flanked by two Green Cybermats. This first wave wasn’t a complete walk over as I took 40 points of damage, got a gem locked and it took three rounds to clear. The Cyberman left a Red Time Fragment behind him.

Wave 2 had three Yellow Cybermen. I did better this wave and killed them in two rounds without taking damage. Again I got a Red Fragment as reward.

The final Wave was all Green with two Cybermites and our old mate the chess playing Cyberman, let’s call him Kasparov for short. Kasparov was readying a Reboot power, which would summon reinforcements should one of the Cybermites fall. We’ve seen this kind of power before and it can lead to a grinding, drawn out battle. My tactic was to target the Grand Master straight away otherwise I might have been there all day.

I hit Kasparov for about 50% damage, then Jenny Flint’s Smoulder power readied itself. Perfect timing again. She turned several Blue Gems to Red, setting up a nice series of combos in my next round. The Green Cybers all took double damage and were gone in a flash.

Victory was declared but once again no character dropped. For me that's 0 drops out of 3 chances now. I’m cool with that. Rare means 10% chance at most in my mind. I don’t know what the actual frequency is in the game, if anyone does let us know in the comments.

My reward for the level was two Red Time Fragments and enough experience to promote Vastra and Porridge to Lvl.7. I boosted ATK and HP respectively.

Punishment Soldier at Lvl.20
Lady Gaga, definitely

Although I didn’t get the drop this time, I have won the Lady Gaga lookalike in my main game. The Companion is Punishment Soldier. The DWL wiki says ‘he’ but she looks like a lady to me. The Punishment Platoon appeared in Nightmare In Silver, generally as cannon fodder though a few were named individually. This Companion seems to be a generic soldier rather than one of the specific characters.

She’s Yellow and classed as an offensive character due to her high ATK. Her special power is Focus Fire which hits all enemies for 100 damage. This is a bit puny compared to Vastra’s 150 points of Riposte damage, but the Punishment Soldier fires every 8 turns instead of Vastra’s 9. Like Strax, Punishment Soldier is on Experience track 1 so she’s one of the fastest progressing Companions, much faster than Vastra on Track 4.

Is she worth a slot in your team? Well if I had all of the Rare Drops possible by this level then I’d have Yellow Adipose, Strax and now Punishment Soldier. Up to now I’ve recommended Yellow Adipose plus the 11th Doctor, Jenny Flint, Vastra and Rory. Firstly would I bump Yellow Adipose for Punishment Soldier? No. Yellow Adipose is good support for both Vastra and the Punishment Soldier if selected, so I’d stick with fatty.

There is an argument for replacing Vastra with the new girl. If you’re still winning levels comfortably then you might be able to stand the loss of 50 points of direct damage plus the attribute points Vastra has earned. You could then select Punishment Soldier in order to reach to higher levels quicker. However Punishment Soldier starts with stats of 43 HP, 13 HEAL and 55 ATK. With my Vastra now at Lvl.7 she has 94 HP, 22 HEAL and 142 ATK. That's a lot of attributes to give up. 

Why not try a few levels with different team members? Bring some variety to your life and see which team make-up you like. The 'best' team doesn't have to be the one that makes it easiest to win.

The Snowmen: Backstreets of London

Pass the salt

Previous Episode: Sontaran Disturbance: England

Next Episode: The Snowmen: The Latimer Residence

Game version played: 2.4.1

The 11^th Doctor is swanning around in his new Stetson, and with Doctor #10 he has decided that our next stop is London, England, 1892.

With The Snowmen: Backstreets of London we’re back to a TV episode with Yellow Fragments to win. There’s also a little portrait of a Yellow Adipose. However for the first time this will be a Rare drop instead of automatic. We’re not being spoon fed any more. My selected team for this level is the 11^th Doctor (Rank 2), Porridge (Lv. 4), Madame Vastra (Lv. 4), Jenny Flint (Lv.5) and Rory (Lv. 3).

We arrive on a snowy cobbled street, with a warm cosy, glowing window on the left. Hang on. That silhouette in the window, it looks like a …

Never mind that now, we're being attacked by a snowman. 

He has a simple body but it's topped with an evil-looking head, with attack eyebrows and fang-filled mouth. Worst of all he’s Yellow, and as we all know yellow snow is bad news. 

Maybe this one was built with the wrong type of snow because he was reduced to slush in an instant. He has some mates though and the backup is comprised of two more Yellow Snowmen. They’re thirsty for revenge but slow, taking 3 turns to attack. The cold must have slowed me down as well as it took me a few rounds to see them  off. One even bit me for 40 damage. ‘Twas but a scratch but I was annoyed that they got through.

The final wave sees two Yellow snowmen flanking one big Blue snowman, sporting a smile that would give a Great White pause. These blighters must be tough as they all survived my first attack. Big Blue used his Black Ice power to convert all the Blue gems to Black. That stopped the 11^th Doctor doing any damage that round, but it did supply Porridge with ammunition. Black is strong against Yellow so the two wingmen were then out of the game.

Big Blue converted some more Blue gems to Black, but it was futile gesture. He melted like a snowflake in Hell and I won a Time Crystal.

The level was over and I gained enough experience to level up Porridge, Vastra and Rory. I increased their HP, ATK and HEAL respectively. However no Yellow Adipose dropped to join my team and there were no Yellow Fragments either. Humph!

So the game has presented us with another choice. Do we carry on through the storyline to The Latimer Residence? Or do we replay the Backstreets of London for one more shot at the Yellow Adipose?

Playing the level again gives you the same experience and the same chance of a drop. Keep it up and eventually you’ll get your own sentient lump of fat. Your team will also gain levels but the rate of progress will be slower than if you played on. This level earns 1,339 XP, but the next level provides 2,014 XP, the one after that 3,195 XP. You’d have to play Backstreets of London four times to beat the experience earned by playing through the next two levels.

My approach is to keep going up through the levels. When I get to difficult levels that are harder to beat, I go back and play for the remaining rare drops. This boosts experience and wins team members with new skill and colour combinations.

Of course knowing something about the Yellow Adipose might help you make a decision. Well he/she/it has the Lipogenesis ability, allowing it to convert Black Gems into Yellow. It has balanced abilities, so it is almost a Yellow Jenny Flint. When levelling up I boost its ATK ability to make the best use of the Yellow gems it creates.

Ooh he's so 'ickle.
Born from my back fat don't you know

If you do get Yellow Adipose before moving on then slip it straight into the team. Unless you’ve bought extra Companions you’ll still have a space and it makes no sense to leave the slot empty. Yellow Adipose would partner well with Madame Vastra, boosting the number of gems she’ll be able to attack with.

The Adipose first appeared in Partners in Crime but they have cropped up a couple of times since, toddling around as background colour. I admit they are cute and they make me chuckle. Being made of fat puts a disgusting spin on them that balances out their appalling sweetness. They’re also different to most other Who monsters, innocent beings literally living off the fat of others. The temptation to bring them back one day, along with their fully grown parents, must be strong for the show. I wouldn’t mind a percentage of Adipose merchandise.

New Who beats Classic Who into a cocked hat when it comes to humour. The first incarnation had satire and irony, with the odd comedy scene thrown in like John Cleese in the Louvre. Most of the Doctors have been able to clown or tell a gag. However some episodes of New Who are clearly intended to be comedies first and foremost, with action and adventure to keep up the drama. Even the scariest episodes have laughs to reassure you that it’s all going to be okay. I’m with Joss Wheedon "Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke.”

The Snowmen: Backstreets of London is quick and simple, but the introduction of Rare drops gives the game one of its most addictive attractions. 

Sontaran Disturbance: England

Squeeee!

Previous Episode: Dalek Paradox 

Next Episode: The Snowmen: Backstreets of London

Game version played: 2.4

You’ve won the 10th Doctor, so the first thing you should do is add him to your team right? Well, probably not.

The obvious thing to do is put him in that remaining space in your team roster. Unfortunately the game won’t let you do it. Go on, try. Only one space is capable of holding the Time Lord, tap on the first space and you see the list of available Doctors. Select #10 and he swaps with #11. Tap one of the other spaces and you just see the Companions. There’s no way to get 2 or more Doctors in your team. Wah!

Well get over it. That’s the way the game works. You have to decide if you want the perfect 10, or to turn it up to 11. Now if David Tennant is the love of your life, if the 10th Doctor is your Doctor, then nothing I say will convince you to do anything but boot that bow-tied buffoon out and replace him with the real deal. However game-play wise it’s hard to argue for that option.

The first strike against the 10th Doctor is his game colour. He’s Red and you already have Red Jenny Flint. The 11th Doctor is Blue and you have no Blue Companion. Choose the Red Doctor and you become unable to deliver Blue damage. Yes it is true that at LVL.1 Jenny can ‘Smoulder’ Blue gems to Red every 7 turns but this doesn’t make up the difference.

The second strike is the special ability. Rank 1 Doctor #10 Heals allies for 200HP after 15 Combos and 500HP after another 15. Unfortunately you have recently recruited Rory who is also a Healer, though not in the same league. The game is still playing easy and you could manage without any Healer for a while yet, you don’t need two. Take the Healing Doctor and you lose the Damaging Doctor.

The Sontaran production of
'The Full Monty' was not a success

The last and most important thing to remember is that this is a game. You are here to have fun and if you want to play every single adventure with the 10th Doctor alone then good for you. Have at it and send me a screen grab.

The 10th Doctor was played by David Tennant. It’s easy to underestimate how important he has been to the show. With hind sight there was a good chance that the 2005 reboot of Doctor Who was going to be at least a moderate success. However I doubt anyone expected it to be such a smash. Then Christopher Eccleston pulled the rug out by leaving after one series. Would this be another false dawn like the TV Movie, destined to break our hearts? Never fear, the skinny Scot was here.

Tennant loved the show and was determined to wring every last ounce of joy from his time in the TARDIS. Watching him you just knew he was having the time of his life. He knew exactly who the Doctor was and he totally ‘got’ it. Like all of the Doctors in New Who he is a talented actor so there was no problem there, but his super power was his charisma. He was a hit with the ladies, and his geek-chic coolness worked for us boys.

The success of series 1 was surpassed by the 10th Doctor juggernaut, driving the show to become one of the BBC’s flagship shows. Poor old Doctor #9 is now almost overlooked.

At times the 10th Doctor was too cocky, and it became possible to dislike the popular and cool man who was great at everything. David Tennant occasionally seemed bigger than the show, and may have stayed 1 season too long. This is just nit-picking though. He was the most successful Doctor since Tom Baker.

It’s hard to pick a favourite 10th Doctor episode. Blink was a masterpiece but he’s barely in it. I loved Tooth and Claw, but Human Nature and The Family of Blood were better stories and Tennant acted his socks off. If forced I’d have to plump for Midnight, delightfully creepy and a tense ‘base under siege’ story.

In the game, from here on there is at least a choice of Doctors. The team I play with may not be the same one that you used. Not an issue, seeing how someone else got through a game is part of the fun. My team for this level is 11th Doctor, Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, Porridge and Rory Williams. 

Sontaran Disturbance: England is not a TV episode and it is likely to drop Yellow Time Fragments. There is another 100% drop, but this time it’s a costume for the 11th Doctor, the Stetson outfit from The Impossible Astronaut. Our first costume change.

The level takes place in Bexhill,England, with a serene view of green fields and blue sky. Not the place you’d expect to find a squad of heavily armed alien clones from a high gravity planet, but just such a group stands before you. The Doctor identifies them as one of the Sontaran teams going back and changing time. You’d better stop them before they can create more paradoxes.

Wave 1 is a solo Yellow Sontaran. I must have got him right in the probic vent because he went down like a sack of spuds. That kill got me a Time Crystal. Wave 2 is made up of two of the same Sontarans. It took just 2 turns to kill them but no reward was forthcoming.

Then before you know it you’re at the final wave, a Green Sontaran Commander. He can heal himself a little which did keep him in the fight for two rounds but that was all. He died, presumably for the glory of the Sontaran Empire, and a grey portrait fell. The costume.

Putting on an outfit is simple. Go to the character in question’s profile tab and you’ll see a ‘New’ flash. Click on ‘Change Outfit’ and you’ll see that one of the previously greyed out options is now available. Select it and the character portrait is changed. There is no game bonus for the different costumes and no stars for collecting them, but I do enjoy the collect-ability. You can change them at will so feel free to dress your team for each occasion.

There was enough experience awarded to get Jenny up to LVL. 5 and I again boosted her ATK. I had the Time Crystal and the costume but no Time Fragments from the match.

And we’re done, rather quickly. Still you need some calm time so that you can recognise ‘exciting’ when you meet it. No complaints, let’s move on and see what’s next. 

Dalek Paradox

Brilliant indeed

Previous Episode: Asylum of the Daleks: Intensive Care

Next Episode: Sontaran Disturbance: England

Game version played: 2.4

In all the excitement of winning Rory I forgot to look at what he offers. Well he’s your first and only Green of course, so he'll stop you wasting those emeralds that are sure to start falling. He has 68 HP, 35 ATK and 33 HEAL making him your first Healer too, going by the Legacy wiki character type. A Healer’s main role is to convert Pink gems into healing HP. Invaluable once the opposition gets genuinely dangerous.

Then there’s his Power called ‘Stand Firm’, which is apt for the steadfast Rory. This heals your team by 100 HP. That is a small proportion at this point but it can make all the difference. So as well as using those Pink combos to keep you in the game, once every 10 turns Rory can repair your HP regardless of the board. You shouldn’t rush to use this power once it’s charged. If you have less than 100 damage then in most cases it would be a waste. If there is Pink about then use that first. I always feel better when I have a fully charged heal in reserve.

Excited about finally getting to play with all gem colours? Yes me too. Make sure Rory is included in the team. Now we can look at the next mission. Wait. What’s that in the TARDIS? Something’s flashing. Why is the 11th Doctor pulsing like that? What’s it say? Upgrade? Grud on a Greenie. More excitement.

Why is my 11th Doctor ready to upgrade? Well the Doctor doesn’t accumulate experience like the Companions. He depends solely on Time Fragments, so if you’ve got the right colours you can upgrade him any time. Rank 1 Doctor # 11 needs 3 Red and 3 Blue, and I’ve got those. Where from? You may well ask.

For the purposes of this blog I log in and play 1 level at a time, occasionally but not often on consecutive days. This means I get a lot of Red Fragments at the log in bonus, sometimes 2 Blue. Most new players will start the game and go deep before they log out, gaining less early Fragments.

I did wonder if it was fair to upgrade 11 just yet, as most players won’t have the Fragments this early. However everyone will get different drops, log in on their own schedule, and can buy and invest Time Crystals however they choose. You can buy 4 Fragments of either base colour for 2 Crystals, and can get 2 of each for 5. Easier still you can select Instant Upgrade and promote the Doctor directly for 4 Crystals. I’ve earned 4 Crystals so far in this game, so most players will be able to upgrade the 11th Doctor one way or another by now. Personally I wouldn’t spend Crystals this early as the fragments drop regularly enough and you’re unlikely to be struggling, but if you’ve got the Fragments, go ahead. Advancement is one of the pleasures of experience based games.

Internal argument settled, I selected Upgrade for the Eleventh Doctor. First of all I got a chance to change my mind, ‘Are you sure?’ Yes I’m sure. I’ve spent 10 whole seconds considering the mission statement of this blog and the ramifications thereof. I selected ‘Yes’ and a portrait of the Doctor appears with ‘Brilliant’ written across it. A single star appears, and then a second one pulses into join it. As a character advances you earn an extra star towards your total. This took me to 6 stars in total, one for each companion plus 2 for the Rank 2 Doctor.

4 more stars for Perk #3

Before I could check on the Doctor’s new powers, I was alerted that a new perk had been unlocked. Crikey it’s like Christmas isn’t it? First things first though. Let’s see what the new and improved 11th can do. On the Attributes tab we can see the two stars, plus that we need 8 Red, 8 Pink and 8 Blue Time Fragments to get him to Rank 3. I already have the Red but the others will take some work. Moving over to the Profile tab we see that his ‘Cunning’ special ability has become ‘A Fast Plan’. He now does 500 damage to all opponents after 30 combos, and 1,500 after 30 more. This is meaty damage. Even Porridge’s bomb only does 1,000 damage at Rank 1. Red foes beware.

So what about that Perk then? Go to Team and from there to Perks. You’ll see that you now have ‘Colour Enhance I’ active. Tap on it and you’ll see that you can get a 5% damage bonus for one of the character colours. Time to make a choice. Look in your team roster and look at the total damage for each colour. The bonus is a percentage, so obviously if you choose your strongest colour then you will get the most points, which for me would be Blue. Another option is to shore up your weakest colour, Green for me. This would make you more rounded but deliver less points. You could just pick your favourite character or colour and go with that. Don’t worry about it too much. You can change your perks at any time without penalty. If a mission goes sideways, go back and change your perks. I chose Blue for now to get the biggest bang.

Right then. I’ve Perked up, the 11th Doctor is upgraded and Rory is in the squad. Let’s see what Dalek Paradox is all about.

You have the chance to win Blue Time Fragments and Red. Blue hasn’t been up before and this is the first level that isn’t identified as a TV episode. Who knows what you’ll face. Well, Daleks obviously, unless that’s the paradox.

There’s another portrait here too, labelled 100% drop. It’s Red, let’s look a little closer…Oh my life, it’s the 10th Doctor. My cup runneth over. Allons-y.

Look at all the pretty colours

Into the fray and we’re on the Earth’s moon again, this time for real I assume rather than on Hedgewick’s World of Wonders. How are breathing? Are we suited up? No time to wonder about such trivialities as the Doctor is talking. His sonic screwdriver is detecting a paradox up ahead. It must be closed to stabilise time itself. There are strange readings from his past so there’s a need to be careful. Anything could be in there. Right Ho Doctor, consider us warned.

Wave 1 glides into attack and it’s a Blue Strategist Dalek, joined by a newcomer. It’s a Yellow New Paradigm Dalek, the Eternal. Just what is the Eternal all about? Well apparently nothing, at least not yet. It was thrown into the New Paradigm mix as a long term investment, so that it can be used as a future as yet unimagined plot device. Good thinking. Note that Rory i.e. Green is strong against the Strategist i.e. Blue. The relationship between the colours is being filled in. Well if this Eternal had any surprises for me then they were not manifested, as I blasted him and his Blue Buddy into atoms first shot.

Waves 2 & 3 are made up of more Daleks, nothing you haven’t faced before. They were tough enough to return fire and inflict minor damage, but nothing to write home about.

Looks like a 70's rock album cover

Feeling confident I waited for Wave 4 of 5, but then saw a ‘Warning’ flash up. Huh! Up until now that’s only been seen before the final Boss wave. Something Wicked this way comes. It’s a Reaper.

Vastra quite reasonably asks what the Reaper is, the Doctor explains that they hunt through time and space looking for paradoxes. They are not to be trifled with and can’t be destroyed, but once the paradox is closed it will vanish, if you can just get past it. These beasts only appeared once in the series, in Father’s Day, but one actually managed to kill and eat the Doctor. Take a bow Reapers, you are the stuff of legend.

Defeating the Blue Reaper took a while. It has a stun ability which put a couple of Companions temporarily out of action and it can take a lot of damage. However with a few big hits and a Riposte from Vastra I managed to beat it.

Sexy

There was another Warning, and then a Blue Paradox appeared. All crackly and energetic, this is a good looking opponent. I’d been saving Porridge’s bomb for this so the timer was set. The first rounds consisted of me doing small damage to the Paradox, while it kept warping my Green gems to Blue. This could have gone on for a while but I then managed to inflict a significant hit, and heal myself back to 100% using Pink gems.

Just then the Doctor started to flash. Oh yes! A chance to use his new ‘A Fast Plan’ ability. I let him off the leash and the Paradox collapsed under the onslaught. Victory.

Dalek Paradox was a decent contest with new enemies and another step in the story. The rewards were good. I got the ‘No More Yellow’ achievement for beating 10 Yellow enemies, and Porridge went up a level to 4 where I boosted his HP to 152. This was Rory’s first scrap and he obviously learnt a lot. He went straight to level 3 so I had 2 points to award, both went onto HEAL.

Last but not least I got the 10th Doctor in the TARDIS, but that’s quite enough excitement for one day. I think I need to go and lie down.