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.

March of the Cybermen

Haven't we been here before?

Previous Episode: The Snowmen: The Great Intelligence

Next Episode: The Red Castle

Game version played: 2.5

It seems we’re done with The Snowmen. The next level is named March of the Cybermen. It’s not a TV level and we can win Green and Red fragments. There’s no thumbnail portrait, so no chance to expand our team. It also looks like we’re back on Earth’s moon, just as we were for Dalek Paradox.

I'm using the same team but they're a little tougher this time. I have the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Porridge at Lvl.6 and Rory at Lvl.5. My perks are still Increase Heal +5% and Increase Blue Damage +5%. They’ve served me well so far so let’s see if we can keep this undefeated run going.

Well first we get a flash saying Time Distortion. Does that mean we’re facing enemies we’ve bested before? Maybe, as wave 1 consists of two Green Cybermites and a Red Cyberman equipped with Lock. It all looks very Nightmare In Silver. Maybe they’re stronger this time round, as my first attack killed only one Cybermite, winning me a Green Time Fragment. I took 20 points of damage in return and one gem was locked. I still had 717 HP left so I didn’t worry. I did better in the next round and killed the Cyberman and the remaining Cybermite. It was a profitable round as each kill got me a Fragment, 2 Green and a Red in total.

Wave 2 features 2 Green Cybermats. I got them both before they had a chance to strike but I was unrewarded this time.

Wave 3 tops things off with 2 Green Cybermites and 2 Red Cybermen. I was curious as to what damage they might do with a full salvo. However I didn’t find out as I killed them quick and clean. Another victory, hooray for me.

Don't look at me like that.
You'll just have to wait.

Well that was unexciting. Still I got 2 Green fragments and a Red. Rory went up to Lvl.6 and Jenny Flint went up to 7. Before I know it she’ll be at Lvl.10 which will be something.

I had a squint in the TARDIS and found that the 10th Doctor was ready to upgrade to Rank 2. He needs 3 Red Fragments and 3 Green Fragments. It’s decision time again. Promote the 10th Doctor or not?

I’m not playing this Doctor at the moment so the increase in his abilities will matter little. If I do upgrade him then I will get another star, giving me 8 in total. That’s nice but I need 10 stars to get the next perk, so again there’s no immediate benefit. It will also use up 6 valuable Time Fragments. I’ve got bags of Reds so that’s fine, but I’ve only just gone from 2 to 4 Green. Welcome to the resource management aspect of Doctor Who Legacy.

As I said Jenny Flint is at Lv.7. She’ll need 2 Green Fragments when she reaches Lv.10, which might take another 5 or 6 levels. Rory is a bit behind at Lv.6 but he’ll need 2 as well. Porridge and Madame Vastra need other coloured Time Fragments so they’re less of a concern. Obviously I could win more Green Fragments by the time they are needed. However I’ve played 12 levels and only won 4 so far. It would be reasonable to expect the drop rate to increase as we go but I might still fall short.

The Doctors are expensive to upgrade when compared to the Companions, so I’m going to keep the Fragments in my back pocket for now. The 10^th Doctor stays at Rank 1.

The Snowmen: The Great Intelligence

Previous Episode: The Snowmen: The Latimer Residence

Strax in casual wear at Lv.20

Next Episode: March of the Cybermen

Game version played: 2.5

One more Snowmen level to go, and it has a Rare Drop. It’s a Red-framed portrait of a Sontaran in a butler suit. Bless me it’s Strax.

Strax is of course the non-terrestrial third of the Paternoster gang, played by Dan Starkey, but then Mr Starkey must have played 90% of New Who's Sontarans. Strax must have been a popular character because the show resurrected him, literally, for The Snowmen. I’ve spoken of my affection for this character in various posts and my love of Sontarans generally in Doctor Who Legacy – Tutorial. Before we talk about Strax as a potential team member we’d better try and win him.

My Team was 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Madame Vastra, Porridge and Rory Williams at Lv.5 and Jenny Flint at Lv.6. I have 1 empty space as I only have 4 companions to choose from. The Snowmen: The Latimer Residence is a TV level with Yellow and Black Time Fragments to win.

So where are we this time? We land in a chamber floored with a carpet that would go a treat in my minimalist steam-punk dining room. There is also a big sphere of energy on a raised dais, surrounded by energy pylons behind a control panel. That is a nice carpet.

Wave 1 is the three Yellow Snowmen again. Ponderously slow they inflicted no damage before I melted them. It was a shame to get the carpet damp but what can you do?

Wave 2 is more intimidating, Three Big Blue snowmen. They used a combination of the Black Ice power and straight forward attacks. They lasted for four rounds but I remained unscathed. I did get a Yellow fragment but that lovely carpet was by now looking rather the worse for wear.

Wave 3 is the Boss wave. On the left we have a small Blue Snowman which we haven’t seen before, and on the right a glowing glass pyramid. The 11th Doctor isn’t happy to see the pyramid and identifies it as the Great Intelligence (GI). The battle started with me frying the Snowman which ruined the carpet completely. What a downer. The GI took only minor damage.

They're mounting up

In the next couple of rounds I took 80 points of damage (pah!), but with the help of Jenny’s Smoulder power I got the GI down to about 40% of his total. Then Vastra and the 11th Doctor started to flash and I knew I’d won. I let Vastra go first and her Riposte did double the usual damage, 300 points of Yellow against the Black GI. It hurt but did not finish the villain, so the Doctor concocted A Fast Plan and inflicted 500 points. That comfortably bested the GI and won me another Time Crystal. Unfortunately there was no sign of Strax so that’s 0 out of 2 hits on the Rare Drops.

Booty for the level was good otherwise. I got a Time Crystal and a Yellow Fragment, plus I won No More Blue I for defeating 10 Blue enemies. That’s 9 out of 56 achievements. I also got enough experience for Porridge and Vastra to get to Lv.6. I gave Porridge extra HP, and Vastra more ATK.

Well I didn’t get Strax, but you may have been lucky or replayed until he dropped. If so how does he stack up as a possible member of the TARDIS team? Well the Commander is Red, as is the 10th Doctor and Jenny Flint. With Strax that’s at least three Red characters That my be enough to play a few levels with Red only and score some of the Exterminate Red achievements. It would be an odd team with just two healing characters and a converter but it could be fun.

Healing character are those equipped with a Heal power. With Strax, Rory and the 10th Doctor you could have three candidates for your team. In my main game I play with just one Healing character. If you have a vacant slot in the team then it makes sense to add Strax alongside Rory rather than leave it empty.

Now you may also have the Adipose (Yellow) in your TARDIS, and other characters if you’ve spent some Crystals. So winning Strax might mean you have to choose between your companions, probably between Rory and Strax. If not now then later in the game.

So Rory versus Strax, Human versus Sontaran, nurse versus nurse. Which way to go? Well Rory is the only Green character you’ll have without Crystal investment, but you have Red already well covered. Surprisingly Rory also starts with higher stats than Strax in all abilities, another win for Mr Pond.

Their Healing power is identical in all but name, called Bandage for Strax and Stand Firm for Rory, so that’s a draw.

What a lovely carpet

Where Strax does win out is in his experience track. Strax is on track 1, the quickest of all whereas Rory is on track 3 (there are 6 in total). This means that Strax, given equal opportunity, will get to higher levels faster than just about everybody. Rory does have a head start so it would take a few adventures for Strax to overhaul him, but he would catch up quicker than you may think.

So one reason you may choose Strax over Rory is if you are prepared to have a slightly weaker team now in order to get a stronger one sooner.

I’d go with Rory mostly due to the colour benefit. If I had won all of the Rare Drops up to now then my team would be, The 11th Doctor, Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, Porridge, Rory and the Adipose (Yellow). The Yellow Adipose would be good support for Vastra and I’d pick Rory over Strax.

My team isn’t quite large enough yet but it isn’t holding me back. For others the team building will now be getting interesting. The game moves on again.

The Snowmen: The Latimer Residence

"Laurel and Hardy Statue" by Hilton Teper
Outside the Coronation Hall Theatre, Ulverston,
Cumbria, UK
Under Creative Commons Licence 3.0

Previous Episode: The Snowmen: Backstreets of London

Next Episode: The Snowmen: The Great Intelligence

Game version played: 2.4.1

The Snowmen was the 2012 Christmas special, shown in the break between the two halves of season 7. It’s a significant episode in the show’s continuity, being the proper start for the Impossible Girl arc and featuring the return of the Great Intelligence, an old, old foe of the Doctor.

When preparing to write something about this episode I had to use the marvellous TARDIS Data Core to remind myself of the storyline. That’s not a good sign and I’d have to say The Snowmen is not one of my favourites.

I like the paternoster gang and it is a good looking episode. Strax’s battle with the memory worm is predictable but still funny. When you see Laurel & Hardy approach a large cake you know what's coming, but the pay-off still cracks me up. 

However The Snowmen doesn't grip me. I'd love to have the skills to build a copy of the Snowmen, but they won't make you feel uneasy when passing the real deal in winter. Clara is killed, but we’ve only just got to know her and she’s died once already. The plot device of Dr Simeon needing the DNA from the drowned and frozen governess is a bit weak. The Great Intelligence/ Dr Simeon has no qualms about killing, so if he wants some frozen DNA to build an ice army from why not drown some poor muscle-bound victim in a tank at his own place. Much simpler and you could pick your own soldier blueprint.

I’m not bothered by the complete lack of scientific plausibility behind his plan. People describe Doctor Who as science fiction but let’s not kid ourselves. It’s Fantasy dressed in SF clothes. Yes they build on valid ideas and theories such as multiple universes, time travel, a meteor impact wiping out the dinosaurs etc. but basically it’s pure make believe. The Doctor is a wizard with a magic cabinet and a wand. Do I care? Not a jot.

Fish that live in the clouds? Preposterous. People riding through the skies on a shark-drawn carriage? Priceless.

Could the Earth have previously been populated by a race of intelligent humanoid dinosaurs who were capable of space flight, yet we've never found any trace of them? Don’t be daft. Do you want to watch something called Dinosaurs on a Spaceship? Do I ever?

The Snowmen didn’t feel like a Christmas special either, despite the obvious seasonal trappings. In my mind the Crimbo episodes need to be big, spectacular and mostly stand-alone. It’s one evening when the whole family sits around the telly wanting something entertaining. I reckon Christmas 2012 probably sounded like “Why’s Doctor Who in such a mood? He wasn’t this miserable in my day... blah, blah, blah”

“What? Who’s Amy Pond? That nice red-headed girl? Where did she go? Back in time? Well he’s got a time machine hasn’t he? That doesn’t make any sense. When this was in Black & White...yack, yack yack.”

“Soufflés? What’s the big deal about soufflés? If she’d said jelly babies then I might... drone, drone, drone.”

The Snowmen isn't helped by having to bridge between the two parts of season 7, neither of which built up a full head of steam. 

Still it isn’t terrible, and an average Doctor Who episode is still better than most telly. I liked the TARDIS being parked on a cloud, and the 11th Doctor seemed to finally find some dress sense. The Doctor fits well into Victorian London and I can believe he’d take a sabbatical there. The Impossible Girl was an interesting mystery with a satisfying conclusion. No real problems, just not a classic. 

Freezing black ice. A driver's nightmare

Let’s get on with the game. The Snowmen: The Latimer Residence is the 10th level of Doctor Who Legacy so give yourself a pat on the back for getting this far. It’s a TV episode with Yellow Time Fragments to win. I played with the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint, and Porridge all at Lv.5, and Rory at Lv.4 leaving one empty slot in the roster.

Wave 1 of 4 kicks off inside the hallway of a posh looking house. There’s a strange portrait under the stairs at the back. I must remember to look more closely, after I’ve beaten off the three Yellow Snowmen attacking me. Once again they’re durable but slow, and I defeated them before they could inflict any damage.

Wave 2 comes with a health warning, and something that looks like a Weeping Angel charges at you down the stairs. It is in fact the Ice Governess. She is also Yellow, with a Stun attack called Freeze! Stuns are a pain and she looked quite scary so I shattered her into a thousand pieces before she could move. I got a Time Crystal as reward.

Wave 3 features the return of the Big Blue Snowman with his Black Ice power, able to turn Blue Gems to Black. He’s brought his two Yellow oppos with him. The three of them lasted a couple of rounds but did no damage, and I scored a Yellow Fragment when they died.

The final Boss wave is now upon us, and we have the Ice Governess plus Big Blue Snowman to deal with. I gave it my best shot but both of my enemies were still standing after my first attack, the Ice Governess just barely. She stunned the 11th Doctor which meant that I couldn't use the Blue gems on the board. Jenny Flint was ready to convert Blue Gems to Red which was good timing, but the Snowman had just turned my Blue gems to Black so there was no point. Well played Snowman, well played.

Despite their cunning strategy, I killed them both next turn.

The battle was won, again quite comfortably. Booty was A Time Crystal and a Yellow Time Fragment. The experience won got Jenny Flint up to LVL.6 and I boosted her ATK, Rory got up to LVL.5 so I boosted his HEAL. With these increases my team, using the 11th Doctor, now has overall stats of 

HP: 701, ATK: 487, Heal 162.
Colour totals are Blue: 177, Red: 97, Yellow: 109, Green:44, Black: 60

We're a fifth of the way through Season 7. Still having fun? I know I am.

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.