Asylum of the Daleks: Intensive Care

My mate

Previous Episode: Asylum of the Daleks: Corridor 5L

Next Episode: Dalek Paradox

Game version played: 2.3

Intensive Care, filled with the most damaged of Daleks, those who survived the Doctor. This should be fun.

This level is labelled as a TV story, with Red and Black Time Fragments exactly like the previous two Asylum levels. However there is something else. A small Green portrait labelled '100% drop'. Beat this level and you get another team member, your first Green ally. By golly that picture is of Rory Williams, one of my favourite companions.

There are a few reasons why I like Rory so much. Firstly, he’s the companion I identify with the most. Like most Whovians I daydream of flying off in the TARDIS. However I know that my first encounter with the Doctor would involve running and death, plus a lot of feeling confused, stupid and terrified. The last thing I’d want afterwards is a repeat on an alien planet. The only thing that would get me inside the blue box was if the girl I loved was already in it.

Rory starts life as a dork who follows Amy Pond around like a lost puppy. However he ends up as The Boy Who Waited, the Last Centurion, Companion of the Doctor and Father of River Song. Why didn’t that go on his tombstone? Also I’m a bit of a romantic, and his devotion to Amy, who responds by giving up everything, even the Doctor for him, is just lovely.

His finest moment is the opening of ‘A Good Man Goes to War’, where Amy tells infant Melody of the hero that is coming to save them. Her tale, intercut with shots of the sonic opening doors, telling of a man who looks young but is hundreds of years old, who is not known by his name but a title, was masterful sleight of hand. When Amy says “This man is your father” I thought ‘What?!’ but it was okay, it was Rory all along. Dull Mr Male Nurse walks into the flag ship of the 12th Cyber Legion, stands on the bridge and coolly delivers the Doctor's message and a question from himself. He must have ice in his veins.

Arthur Darvill, photo pinched from Wikipedia

I also liked his relationship with the Doctor. Although he comes to admire and have affection for the Time Lord, he is never blinded by hero worship. He’s quite happy telling the Doctor off when he deserves it and he usually hits home with his barbs. I also prefer it if the Companions don’t have the hots for the Doctor.

One more reason for liking Rory is that he was played by Arthur Darvill. This chap is a good actor and a Brummie to boot (though he is a Villa fan). I suspect he’s rarely going to be out of work, even if he doesn't quite conquer the world like Karen Gillan seems about to. He suits a beard too, which is a mark of a good man.

So, that’s why I have to beat this level of DWL, to recruit Rory for my TARDIS.

Wave 1 breaks you in gently with one Red Drone Dalek. He’s a pushover and we’re into Wave 2 without breaking step.

Cool Cobweb Red Dalek is back with the ability to remove gems, plus a Black stun-equipped Puppet. Well those abilities only work if you live long enough to use them. My opponents didn’t. Next.

2 Cool Cobweb Daleks with a newcomer between them. It’s another New Paradigm jobby, but this one’s got an orange casing with a Green gem colour. It’s a Scientist Dalek. Let’s see if he fights better than he colour-coordinates. By this time the Doctor was ready to use his Cunnning ability and so he let fly. The Cobweb twins vanished in a puff of vapour, but Scientist survived. The professor is apparently made of sterner stuff, plus Blue is handicapped against Green. With a brief “Tsk!” I did my own dirty work, moved a few gems and saw him off. A Time Fragment fell as I confidently awaited Wave number 4.

Another new Dalek, Blue in both Gem and casing. It’s a Strategist, flanked by two Puppets. He’s a little tougher than the Scientist, but not enough for either him or his body guard to get a shot off.

Wave 5 is Boss wave, but it’s a team effort. The Scientist and the Strategist are back, but they’ve brought the Supreme with them. This scrap might be worth my time. The Strategist fell in the first exchange, but the Supreme then Distorted all my Yellow gems into Green, temporarily disarming Vastra. The Supreme then started to ready a new power called Rebuild. This is a power that summons another enemy to the battle. It only works if there’s an empty space to fill, but it can prolong fights and cause you problems if you’re not careful. If you see an enemy ready Rebuild or any other summoning power, it would be wise to target and hit them hard. Luckily in this level it takes 3 rounds to ready Rebuild so I wasn’t worried yet.

These senior Daleks are slow on the draw so I still hadn’t taken any damage, allowing me to casually vape the Scientist next. The Supreme’s Rebuild counted down, but I did for him before he could call for help. Victory was declared and a grey portrait fell. Rory was mine.

My booty for the level was 1 Red Fragment and 1 Black, a Time Crystal and Rory. Vastra achieved Lv.4 so I upped her attack. This team is toughening up. I was also awarded the ‘No More Black’ achievement for defeating 10 Black enemies. 7/56 achievements done and I’m still just warming up.

With Rory on the team you now have all colours covered, so from here on expect the gem boards to be harder to combo. You’re about to play with the big boys and girls.

Asylum of the Daleks: Corridor 5L

Ooh look, a screen full of adventures

Previous Episode: Asylum of the Daleks: Graveyard

Next Episode: Asylum of the Daleks: Intensive Care

Game version played: 2.3

We’re pushing deeper into the asylum so expect things to get a little more intense. Asylum of the Daleks: Corridor 5L is marked again as a TV episode with Red and Black Time Fragments to be won. That suggests Red and Black enemies, so maybe Black Puppets and Red Daleks? Let’s see. 

Wave one is made up of 2 Red Daleks, of the Bronze variant. Identical to those you beat in the Graveyard so fear not. Still cool and cobwebbed these fellas should get their own wallpaper. I managed to bag them both with one shot and got a Red Time Fragment as reward. It’s worth noting that I’m replaying these episodes after hours of play at higher levels in my main game. I don’t remember how I did the first time, but there is a learning curve. I would have had more smaller gem combos and done less damage each turn. Genuine first time players will take a few more moves to get though each wave, but I’m sure you’ll still get this far without a loss.

Wave two is a bit more meaty, with 2 Dalek Puppets and 1 cool Dalek. These puppets are a bit different than the ones you met previously. They do twice as much damage but fire half as often, plus they only stun you for 1 turn. Personally I’d face off against these chaps if I had a choice. They still go down quickly enough so you will soon be expecting wave three.

Cool as der cucumber -
as Wulf Sternhammer would say

You don’t have to look far, they’re on you quicker than shale off a shovel. Hang on though, 2 Puppets and 2 Cool Daleks? That hardly seems fair, the odds are even for once. This is where you need to start looking for combos of 5 gems or more. Any less and you damage just one enemy at a time. Overkill does splash to the next enemy but it can still take a few turns to get through all of them. In the meantime they will have stunned and damaged you to an irritating level. Get a 5+ combo and all enemies are damaged, probably enough to see them off altogether. I managed exactly that and so got to the Boss wave.

The New Paradigm are back, but this time it’s no mere Drone, it’s the Supreme Dalek. His casing is white, but his gem colour is as Black as his mutated soul. He’s also extremely tough. I’d be impressed if you can beat him (her? It?) in one or two shots. I laid into him hard but he still managed to get a few good digs in. Not enough to put me in danger but my pride was hurt. He also managed to use his Distort power, which allows him to convert Yellow gems into Green. This is smart, as Yellow hits him hard and you’ve no Green team member. They don’t call him the Supreme Dalek for nothing.

If you do get a lot of Green gems in play then don’t panic. They still create combos despite doing no direct damage. They act as a boost to other attacks in the same round, count towards the Doctor’s cool down, and clear the gems from the board letting other non-Green gems drop in.

It took me three hits plus a charge from the Doctor to get rid of this Boss. He’s a tough nut, but not as tough as me and my team. After it was all over I had my Red Time Fragment and enough experience to promote Jenny Flint to Lv. 4 and Porridge to Lv. 3. I stuck with my strategy and boosted Porridge’s HP to 132 and Jenny’s ATK to 68.

Vastra lags behind

Just a minute though. How is that Jenny is on Lv. 4 while her wife Madame Vastra is still at Lv. 3? Vastra took part in the tutorial before Jenny was recruited, so surely she should be ahead if anything. How does that work then?

The answer is ExperienceTracks, ably explained by the wiki. Vastra progresses along Track 4, so needs 2626 experience points (XP) to reach level 4. Jenny Flint is on Track 2, so needs just 2298xp for 4th level. Why? Well I assume it’s a balancing mechanism, so that some characters can have higher starter attributes and stronger powers, but have to pay the price through slower advancement. On the other hand it could be just to mix things up. I’m not the type to trawl over powers, stats and Experience Tracks to see if it’s all fair. Enjoy the game and don’t worry too much about the mechanics.

Asylum of the Daleks: Corridor 5L is the first episode in the game where the opposition starts to get durable. Nice. 

Asylum of the Daleks was the opener for the 7th Season of New Who, Matt Smith's last, and I thought it was a solid start. Jenna-Louise Coleman’s debut as the annoyingly attractive Soufflé girl was unexpected, and I enjoyed being puzzled about how they were going to explain it all. The Ponds were good value as ever and I crushed on  Anamaria Mainca. I have a thing about noses you see.

I think that the Daleks need a season off, but here they did excel and deserve their star billing. It was like a design gallery in the Asylum with all of those different makes, shapes and colours. Like most people I was especially delighted to see the Special Weapons Dalek, now there’s a model I’d like to build. Rory’s ‘Eggs-Eggs-Eggs’ Dalek encounter was wonderful and I doubt if we’ve seen the last of the Dalek Puppets. They look quite ridiculous but are creepy at the same time. They also allow the Daleks to indulge in infiltration and other subterfuge. The atmospheric Asylum set was well used and it elevated the Daleks to their scariest since Dalek. 

Having Oswin delete all record of the Doctor from the Daleks' memory was interesting, but it seems to have been a bit of a waste of time story-arc-wise. By the time they meet next, the Daleks have re-learned all about him. It seems the only point of the exercise was to have the whole Dalek Parliament chant "Doctor Who?" at the end of the episode. Still, no harm done. 

A significant episode in the history of the show and a good set up for the departure of the Ponds and the Eleventh Doctor. Is it really nigh on 2 years since this first aired? 

Asylum of the Daleks: Graveyard

Okay team, look inconspicuous

Previous Episode: Nightmare in Silver: Mr Clever

Next Episode: Asylum of the Daleks: Corridor 5L

Game version played: 2.2.1

Pastures new are spread before you. Hedgewick's World of Wonders is left behind, but ahead lies a planet that even the most ruthless race in existence fears to visit. But Brave Heart, Tegan. You have the dark power of the Black Gems at your fingertips and the Emperor of the Universe at your side. It’s time to enter the Asylum of the Daleks.

Before you do anything, make sure that your team includes Porridge. It would be a shame to win him then leave him and his bombs in the TARDIS. 

The level starts in a dim, misty, cable-strewn room. A Dalek lurks caged in the shadows, while another seems to be undergoing repair, or is perhaps just getting dressed. More concerning, you are faced with an animated, desiccated corpse, dressed in polar gear with a Dalek eye-stalk protruding from its forehead. A Dalek Puppet, who is also your first Black opponent. Yes the bar at his feet looks silver or grey, but it’s Black believe me. Select him and you see that Madame Vastra, Yellow, gets a boost with no one being penalised. Your board will now almost certainly have Black gems upon it, so with five colours to juggle you’ll have to work a little harder to get those combos. The Puppet also has a new power called Terrify. Learn to recognise the symbol. Terrify is a Stun power. Another annoying attack as it stops one or more of your team joining in the fight. 

What in the Nine Hells is THAT?

If stunned, a team member gets a little icon on their portrait and they slowly flash. For example if this puppet manages to survive your first attack, which is unlikely, then it may Stun Porridge. This means that he wouldn't be able to plant a bomb if otherwise able, and also that Black combos do no damage. HP still contribute to the team total though. In this battle the stun lasts 2 turns and only one of your team is stunned. It isn’t disastrous here but best to kill them and avoid the nuisance.

Unless you really mess up then the Puppet should be toast before he hits you, which brings on wave 2, a brace of puppets. Still no problem. Grant them the True Death and prepare to face the Doctor’s most famous foe of all. The Daleks.

Your first encounter with the Daleks is with one very cool, cobwebbed, damaged bronze Dalek. When I say ‘bronze’ I am referring to the design or variant rather than its gem colour. The Bronze Dalek is the design that appeared when the series returned in 2005. This is perhaps my favourite design of Dalek. The bronze casing, the bolts, protective struts over the speaker lights etc. all make it look strong enough to shrug off an anti-tank shell. The original Dalek looked great on Black & White 1963 television, but as colour came in and picture quality improved they started to look as if they couldn’t stand up to a well placed Nerf hit.

So although this is a bronze Dalek, its gem colour is Red. Look for the Blue combos and give it what for. It’s an easy enough task to see this asylum inmate off so you’ll soon be facing the fourth and final wave.

My Sevans Dalek

The cool cobweb Dalek is back, but this time he has a Red New Dalek Paradigm mate. Oh dear. Does anyone like the New Paradigm design? I like the colour coding which gives their society more structure and complexity. I also like them being taller, on eye level with the Doctor. However they just look so plastic. Give them angles, a muted metallic sheen and they’d look much better. Still it does seem that the show has listened to feedback and will keep the bronze Daleks as foot soldiers. The red New Paradigm Dalek is classed as a Drone so should have taken their place, but perhaps now they’ll be officers.

Both of these Daleks are again Red so the 11th Doctor is in his element. We’re still early in the game and the difficulty level is low so I expect you to make swift work of Skaro’s finest. In my game I got a Red Time Fragment after Exterminating (couldn’t resist) them in one turn. I also got three Achievements. ‘Allons-y!’ for winning 5 matches, ‘Time Lord’ for making 100 gem combos and ‘No More Red’ for beating 10 Red enemies. This took me up to 6 out of 56 achievements.

Although I got through the level so quickly that Porridge didn’t get a chance to use his bomb, he still earned enough experience to reach level 2. He has an impressive 105 HP making him a Tank. His power isn’t affected by his attributes so it makes sense to build his HP and make your team more durable. This goes double for me as I chose to bulk up Vastra and Jenny Flint’s ATK ability.

My overall review of this level, still easy but a welcome change in scenery and opposition.

The Black Dalek conquers the back garden

What to say about the Daleks? Would the show have got as far as even 1965 without them? What’s the appeal? Are they actually scary? For me I prefer stories focusing on them being the embodiment of racism instead of simply another monster bent on ultimate power. Like many of the best villains their rationale for committing atrocities has a twisted logic, only when there is one species left in existence can there be a final and lasting peace.

My wife wrote a paper on Dalek design for her degree, and it’s hard to think of any monster before or since that looks anything like them. The show tried with the Mechanoids but they didn’t catch on.

Long ago I bought a Sevans model kit of a Dalek and spent weeks building it. I painted it as the Black Dalek in Remembrance of the Daleks. I still display it at home and it is one of my proudest possessions. The Sevans kit was famed for being difficult to build and although only a casual modeller I was very pleased with the end result. I wish a similar model kit was available now. What do you think?

Doctor Who Legacy Fan Area

You can't say they didn't warn you

About a week ago, for a little over £6 I bought access to the Fan Area of Doctor Who Legacy (DWL). I also got some Time Crystals and a cosy feeling from having supported my favourite game. After reflection and hard playing I can say that this was a bargain.

DWL is a free to download, free to play mobile game. In order to make money it follows a long established business model. Players buy in-game currency that can be swapped for extras, short cuts and access to exclusive areas. I’ve blogged about this in my Pirate Galaxy Blog here and here so I’ll try not to repeat myself. In summary I think this is not only perfectly fair, but it supports the creation of new games. It is also a model that allows us to play before we pay.

So how does DWL execute this strategy? First of all it has to make it clear to players that they have the option to spend their hard earned. Some games do this in a way that spoils the pleasure of the playing. Constant entreaties to spend, spend, spend are akin to having a collection tin shook in your face every ten minutes. Thankfully DWL is quite laid back with no in-game ads or annoying pop ups. The store is clearly marked and you can’t miss it, but it’s no annoyance.

Secondly the game has to make whatever they’re selling an attractive option. If you buy over 6 Time Crystals in one go then you get access to the Fan Area, which is 23 exclusive episodes/adventures ranging from easy to expert. All levels are immediately accessible, so you can jump straight to ‘Strax has a bad dream’ at the top of the list if you wish. Some of these levels have unique versions of companions with a 100% drop rate. The top 6 episodes also drop the three types of Time Fragments that are needed to get Rank 5 for Doctors, or past Lv. 40 for Companions. This is a great advantage if you have several characters maxed out but still haven’t got far enough in Season 5 to make these available. Getting into the Fan Area was the main incentive for me to pay and it was well worth it.

Ooh pretty

Cash buys you Time Crystals, which can be used in many ways. I currently have 59 in my main game, 15 of which I paid for. There's lots of way to spend them in DWL, but most don't tempt me. 

A while back I bought a couple of extra team slots. This allowed me to have one for each colour, plus one for my A-Team and one for my apprentices. Each slot costs 2 crystals so this was not a big expense and I’m not planning to get any more.

You can randomly roll a character from each season which would soon burn through the Crystals. I did this once early on but winning the characters in the game is half the fun. Again not a reason for me to swap cash for Crystals.

The Specials tab in the store is tempting and there you can buy specific characters or groups, such as all 5 colours of Adipose. This is an efficient way to fill up your TARDIS and I have considered it. Like I said though, where’s the fun in that? 

Fed up with having to earn experience for Companions? Maybe you've won a cool Companion and want to fast track them into your Elite. If so then Time Crystals will get them there in just a jiffy.  

At the bottom of the Specials are the Time Fragment deals. These are good and I have invested a few Crystals there. I do like to grind my way to a target, but there comes a point when it just stops being fun. When I find I'm no longer enjoying myself I go shopping. However the new increased drop rate makes this less of a chore and so I’m less likely to spend. This is the dilemma that Tiny Rebel Games (TRG) must have. Make progression in the game too hard or too expensive, and people will stop playing. Make it too easy and why should people pay? Then the game isn’t profitable and further development dies.

Man I could do some damage with that.

You can use Crystals to extend a match when you have been defeated and I bet a lot of people do this. Being felled on the verge of victory is hard to take. I did continue once by accident, but it just seems too much like cheating to me.

There is one more item on the Time Crystal menu that does interest me, and that is the S-Perk tab. This screen holds delights that would tempt the most jaded of pallets. For instance you can reduce all enemy damage by 10%, heal 50 HP for every hit you score on an enemy, and even double your damage when you make 10 combos. I’ve dabbled with the Expert levels and made no impression, here may be the weapons I need. This is where my Crystals will go.

Even if the Fan Area, S-Perks, character rolls or Time Fragments don’t tempt you, I’d still encourage you to put some money into DWL. Think of the games that cost £40+ and were left on the shelf after a few hours play. Now think of how many hours you’ve spent on DWL. Shelled out a few $ on a film and wished you could get those two hours of your life back? Why not donate the same amount to Tiny Rebel Games? 

Support the game and keep it living. After that you can buy my book. 

What? I deserve a plug too.

Nightmare in Silver: Mr Clever

This looks promising

Previous Episode: Nightmare in Silver: Stalemate

Next Episode: Asylum of the Daleks: Graveyard

Game version played: 2.2.1

The last episode was interesting with new powers to face, but none of your team levelled up. Maybe Act 3 of Nightmare In Silver (NIS) will fix that. Let’s put these Cybermen to bed.

The scene of the battle will be Natty Longshoe’s Comical Castle, where Clara and the Punishment Platoon holed up to fight off the Cybermen. The art is nice and spooky, is that a Dalek on the hoarding alongside the bridge? Nah!

We can see that this is another TV episode where you can win Black and Red time fragments. I’m hoping for Black as that cupboard is bare. The portrait of a chap in a leather flying helmet with '100% Drop' written above it looks promising too. Select the episode and confirm your team, which for me is the Eleventh Doctor at Rank 1, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint both at Lv.2.

The carnage begins, and once again you only have Blue, Yellow, Red and Pink gems to match. First up you are faced with a Red and a Yellow Cyberman. The Yellow chap has the Lock ability but you’re a veteran of that so you know what to do. For me this first wave was no issue and I was rewarded for their destruction with a Time Crystal, taking my total up to 3. 

Wave 2 consists of three Green Cybermites. No special powers but one attacks every round so show no mercy. Again I saw these off quickly, this time getting a Green Time Fragment as bounty. 

Wave 3 next, and you have two Red and a Yellow Cyberman wanting to upcycle your brain. Two of them have Lock so they may clog your board up a little but you're tough, you can handle them. 

The final wave sees the return of Mr Clever, who obviously survived the beating you gave him in the last episode. He's better tooled up this time, able to attack or use his Mine power every round. Mine works just the same as Grab did in the previous episode, removing all gems of one colour from the board. In my match the Doctor was now ready to use his Cunning, and even though Blue is weak against Green, Seven-of-Nine-Doctor was soon just a memory. 

As Mr Clever is vanquished, you will see a greyed out portrait fall. The Doctor steps forward and introduces Ludens Nimrod Kendrick Cord Longstaff the 41st, also known as Porridge. Pleasantries are exchanged and the episode ends. 

Now this episode does deliver significant goodies. Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint now both have enough experience to reach Lv.3. When levelling up I gave them both an extra point on ATK, which is not generally accepted wisdom in Jenny's case, but it's my game and I don't care.

Warwick Davis, looking young
Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

I had my Time Crystal and Green Time Fragment to fondle of course, but the real prize here is Porridge. He's a Black character so you now have 4 of the 5 available colours covered. Check his stats and you will see that he has very high HP at 103. This makes him a Tank character. Remember that your team pools its HP, so having a Tank on the team means that you all last longer in a fire-fight. 

Porridges special ability is called Shift at this level, and when used Porridge lays a bomb against one enemy. This detonates after 5 turns, doing a very respectable 1000 damage. In the next few episodes this will vaporise any opponent, and in higher levels leaves them badly wounded. A key weapon in your arsenal. 

If you leave it to Porridge, then he'll place the bomb against the strongest remaining enemy. However if you target one opponent then he will mine them instead. Getting the biggest bang for your buck takes some tactical thinking. If the bomb is laid on a weak opponent that is first in the line of fire i.e. on the left of the screen, then that opponent is likely to be dead before the bomb goes off, in which case it is wasted. Often the best thing to do is wait for the start of the next wave and bomb the baddest one facing you. The cool down for Shift is a hefty 10 turns, so you may even want to think about saving it for the final Boss wave. Abilities don't go stale so you can keep Porridge primed as long as you like. Don't waste him. 

Porridge was played in NIS by Warwick Davis who comes across as a cracking bloke and has a sci-fi/fantasy CV many would kill for. His comedy acting is bob on, making Life's Too Short so cringeworthy that I couldn't watch it. I hope that isn't the last we'll see of the Emperor. I'd love to see him turn Clara's head and get the girl.

Nightmare In Silver: Stalemate

Previous Episode: Nightmare In Silver: Closed For Business

Next Episode: Nightmare In Silver: Mr Clever

Game version played under: 2.2

There, next to the plant at the back

You are blooded. You have faced the Cybermen and left them shattered and smoking in your wake. Nothing can stop you. Push on.

From the Play Episode screen you can see that your next mission is again on Hedgewick's World of Wonders, but this time you seem to be in the Punishment Platton's barracks. Is that a cuddly Dalek in the background? A mascot perhaps. Again this is a TV story, and you have the chance to win both Green and Red Time Fragments.

In my case my team consisted of the Eleventh Doctor at Rank 1, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint both at Lv. 2. This early on you would probably have exactly the same unless you've rolled for characters in the store.

The episode starts with the appearance of a single Red Cyberman, the Doctor shouts to get down and the battle begins. With a bit of targeting you soon establish that Blue is strong against Red enemies, so the Eleventh Doctor will be effective here. You won't see any Green or Black gems on this level so making matches should be simple.

The first Cyberman is well armoured but weak and I soon finished him off, only for the Doctor to declare that the Cybermen were upgrading, and you'd better be careful. Pah! I scoff at their upgradability. Another Red Cyberman attacks, but this chap has the Lock power. What does that do? Best to you kill him before you find out. I tried, and even had the Doctor's Cunning ability to help, but 2 rounds later the Lock power was unleashed.

Lock has two forms but it will be a while before you come across the other. In this version, random gems are locked in place for a number of turns. This is annoying and stops you from moving said gems, either directly or by dragging others through them. Nothing to panic about, just take a few extra moments to plan your move. The gems' colours are still visible, and if they form part of a pattern then they still contribute to a combination. As well as boosting damage this also causes them to vanish from the board, being replaced with unlocked gems.

I soon had #2 beaten, and I laughed at his shouts of Delete as he bit the dust. The wingnuts were at last learning, and they then sent 3 Green Cybermen into the fray, including our old friend the chess player. Now the Eleventh Doctor is at a disadvantage against these, but luckily Red is strong against Green so it was Jenny Flint's time to shine. Two of these blighters had Lock and they each attack on a different schedule. One attacks each turn, one every other turn and the last every third. This offset attack routine can be nasty. In this combination, if they were to survive long enough, every 6th turn you get hit by by all three at once. If you fail to spot this coming up it can be painful.

In my case I soon had them whittled down by one, and Jenny Flint then started to Smoulder for the first time. This let me convert Blue gems to Red, which Jenny then used to blast the last two off the board. Lovely.

Wave #4 then charged into the fray and I had 2 Red Cybermen to deal with. With impeccable timing the Doctor's Cunning came to fruition and they didn't last long. As they died a Time Crystal fell.

It's a start

Lastly, the Boss shows up, none other than the Eleventh Doctor himself. This is him in his partial cyber-state, the self-styled Mr Clever. He looks like a less curvy, yet more modestly dressed Seven of Nine. Mr Clever is Green and has the Grab power. This allows the enemy to steal all the Gems of one colour from the board, which are then replaced by other colours. Sometimes this can actually help if you have an unhelpful board in front of you. In this match Mr Clever stole all the Blue gems, which wasn't very clever as they are weak against Green. He should have taken the Red.

By this time Madame Vastra's Riposte was ready, and with back up from the others he was soon sent packing. Victory!

Time to check the booty, which in my case was a single Time Crystal. The experience gained wasn't enough to get anyone levelled but it all counts. However I did get 2 Achievements rung up which is always welcome. I got No More Green I for beating 10 Green Enemies, and Exterminate I for using ally abilities 5 times. I already had Time Tot for making 25 gem combos.

Nightmare In Silver: Stalemate is an unspectacular episode but you are introduced to two new powers and you take on tougher opponents. A nice escalation in your introduction to the game.

Neil Gaiman - taken by Manfred Werner

Now to the actual television episode Nightmare In Silver (NIS). My first feeling after watching this episode was one of disappointment, but after recently re-watching it I thought it was good. The first watch problem was that my expectations were high, as this was the second Doctor Who episode written by Neil Gaiman.

His first was The Doctor's Wife, a quality episode, perhaps my favourite Eleventh Doctor story. I was hoping for something equally original, written by a man who obviously 'gets' and loves the show. NIS is a significant episode as regards Cyber-lore but I wouldn't call it original, and I'm not keen on the direction the Cybermen have taken.

The new Cybermen look great. Sleek, lithe and lethal. This race has always improved itself and it's the basis of their origin, both the original Mondas and the new Lumic versions (what?). My problem is that after NIS they have become too much like the Borg. The Cybermites are like big Nanoprobes, assimilating victims and joining their minds to the Cyberiad, which is basically the Borg hive mind. Borg and Cybermen are of course both Cyborgs, and this similarity was used to good effect in the Doctor Who/Star Trek cross over Assimilation2, which by the way is a good read.

The Borg are a great sci-fi creation, body horror at its best. They came after the Cybermen but have probably eclipsed them in geekdom fame. Making the Cybermen more like them rather than more distinct from them is not a good move.

One last moan. The Cybermen can now disconnect parts of their bodies which is handy (sorry) and the Borg can't do that, but the need for the human brain is the one thing stopping the Cybermen becoming robots. If they can now remove their heads and then walk about and fight, then it can't be that vital. I think NIS is an upgrade too far.

Now I've got that off my chest, I think the NIS story is good. I want to live in a reality where Warwick Davis is the Emperor of the Universe. Matt Smith is given a Smeagol/Gollum scene to show off in and he does it well. I've always enjoyed 'base under siege' stories and this one ticks that box near enough. I was also pleased to see gold used to temporarily foil Mr Clever. It's nice to see that weakness back, and with a bit more of a logical explanation.

I also liked the odd ball collection of misfits that was the Punishment Platoon. They were a more engaging military unit than some of the efficient, faceless, ray-gun fodder that we've seen in the show recently. I do think that the self confidence Clara showed when the Doctor put her in charge was so fearless that it bordered on insanity. She's full of herself that one.

So overall NIS didn't live up to Neil Gaiman's debut, but that was hard to beat. I'm nervous of what's happened to the Cybermen, whether that's Steven Moffat's plan or Mr Gaiman's. Still I have faith in both of them so there's a good chance I could be proven wrong. I hope I am, and that it isn't the last we've seen of Neil Gaiman on Doctor Who.

Doctor Who Legacy 2.2

Nice and Blue

You’re just getting the hang of the game and what do they do? Release another upgrade. The new patched version 2.2 of Doctor Who Legacy has been available for a week now. I like it.

The first thing you’ll notice is the new icon and start screens. I wouldn’t say I prefer the new look to the old but it’s nice to have a change. A facelift every few months is no bad thing.

Second thing you’ll come across is the daily log-in bonus. This is nice, and I’m sure it will tempt the punters to keep coming back. You’ll notice that there’s no Black or Yellow Time Fragment bonus and only 1 Red, though that is the first of the sequence so it probably balances out. There are still plenty of chances to earn all Fragments in the game, but it seems that Black and Yellow characters will find it tougher than others to upgrade.

The first time I logged into the 2.2 it instantly awarded me three or four Achievements. I knew that the game was ignoring some of my heroic milestones, so they must have ironed out some bugs. However I still haven’t got Exterminate Red I, when I do have Exterminate Red II & III. Exterminate Green looks busted too. For the record I have 43 out of 56 Achievements, though it should be 45.

Oh the Horror!

There are a few changes in the Setting menu of the Options. You can turn off the ‘flash’ of the characters eyes when you use their abilities. I like that feature so I've left it on. More dramatically you can change the look of the gems on the game board.

There are five skins to choose from, the first being Christmas. This isn’t new, but now you can have it permanently on. Why you’d want to I don’t know, as it's uglier than a litter tray's contents. The Van Gogh skin also becomes an option, and is interesting but murky. I find it hard to tell the difference between Blue and Black gems in frantic moments.

The brand new skins begin with Beast, based on the script seen in The Impossible Planet and The Satan Pit. It’s not so bad, the colours are clearly distinguished and it isn’t garish. Dalek is next, a simple design which makes my eyes go a bit funny with all those grills lined up in rows. Master is perhaps my favourite of the skins, looking like the Toclafane spheres from The Sound of Drums and Last of the Time Lords. The way each colour gem is orientated slightly differently makes the board look quite chaotic, subtle. Ood is another simple inoffensive design which I could tolerate, with the gems looking like the Ood telepathy ball. Lastly we have the Silence skin, based on the 5 bar gate tally marks used by the Doctor and his companions to record a sighting of the Silence. I love the scene in Day of the Moon when Amy is exploring Graystark Hall, she sees her palm is flashing, and that her hands and face are covered in tallys. Then she looks up and sees a horde of Silence roosting on the ceiling, oooh! Shiver. Karen Gillan knows how to sell a scream. Anyway the Silence skin looks much like Beast, only a bit scruffier.

Welcome back Sir

Of course each to their own and the range is quite varied, so most should find one they like. The default skin is still there, and you don’t have to use any of the new ones so there isn’t anything to complain about.

A new ‘cheat’ has been added which allows you to upgrade a character using Time Crystals rather than Time Fragments. Cheat is a bit unfair, more of a shortcut. I have several characters at the maximum level for their Rank but am short of Fragments. I was happy to grind for a while but the novelty was starting to wear off. The Fragment drop rate is significantly higher now so maybe this will be less of an annoyance once things balance out. You accumulate a few free Crystals as you play, so you could just look at them as super fragments, rather than in game cash if you’re squeamish. It does seem cheap to upgrade, 4 crystals for a Doctor, even less for Companions, with it seeming less at higher levels. I was quoted just 1 Crystal to upgrade Jenny Flint to Rank 5. Tempting. I resisted, for now.

One of my favourite changes to the game is the time metre that appears above the gem you’re moving. It counts down your allowed 5 seconds, turning red as time runs out. This stops you having to mutter, “One elephant, two elephant, three elephant…”, attracting worried glances from your fellow bus passengers.

Cancel? Or Confirm

The biggest change to the game is the new Rank 5, and the dual colour ability that it provides. To get to level 5 you need some of the new Time Fragments, Rassilon, Omega and Infinity. I believe these start to appear in the later levels of Series 5 and in the Expert area. I haven’t won any yet, so best not to comment. It all sounds very cool and I'm keen to get there. If you have any experience of Level 5 then let me know. Even the wiki’s cupboard is bare on this subject so far.

The last significant addition is the Challenge Levels. This just holds 2 episodes so far, with more to be released in a steady drip. In these you need to have certain Characters before you can play. For the first you need the Eleventh Doctor, for the second you need the Tenth Doctor and Rory Williams. I’ve played them and they’re fun, dropping Time Crystals when you first play. These first levels are easy so you should be able to rattle them off.

Once again I’d say that Tiny Rebel Games have come up trumps. New content, more options, and a facelift plus bug fixes. Lovely. The only things I don’t like are purely optional, and so avoidable. Bravo!