Time Extend

I’m quite amazed by the outpouring of hate towards O2, the UK iPhone network provider, following their announcements regarding the new iPhone 3G s. Chiefly that existing customers must remain in their contract or pay a cancellation fee, and that tethering will cost an extra £15 a month. Finally there is anger at the apparant increased handset cost compared to the US. There are claims that o2 is being unfair, treating it’s customers poorly and not appreciating their customers loyalty.

Cancellation Fee

This is an industry standard thing across all maj0r networks (at least in the UK). When I left  orange to join o2 I paid £70 in cancellation fees to bail out early. Why? Because I agreed to pay 18 months of 35 pounds in order to offset the cost of my phone. It’s quite a simple concept, and I find it incredible that people expect that, because they own an iPhone, they should be exempt from a contract -they- signed 12 months ago (or less). They believe O2 should suck up the cost. Bizarre.

Tethering Fee

Sure, it would have been nice to have free tethering, but let’s be honest it was wishful thinking. We all know a laptop’s use of data will be considerably higher than an iPhone. Why have we been unable to purchase itunes content over the air? Or download large attachments in mail? Or large applications? Apple has limited the amount of bandwidth we use on our handset since it was first announced; it comes as no suprise therefore that we are expected to pay to be fiven free reign on bandwidth via our laptop. I’m not arguing whether the price is competitive, but it seems to be reasonable given you now have unlimited mobile data on any windows or apple laptop or deskop anywhere in the UK?

Upgrade Prices

This bit I can’t explain - incredible that o2 would just ignore apple’s lead. Interesting that @o2 hasn’t commented on this either…

 

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What are people’s thoughts? Am I missing something important about the cancellation and tethering fee?

Reviews apple, iPhone, iphone 3g, iphone 3gs, mobile, o2, pricing, tethering

Introduction

This isn’t really a review, rather it’s a dump of personal opinion. Assuming you’ve watched the above video, you’ll know that Rolando is a 2D platformer recently released for the iPhone . Perhaps “released” is the wrong verb, as this game was clearly designed from concept to deployment to be an iPhone application. The game involves the rescue of “Rolandos”, little balls of joyous fun, which can be manipulated via tilting, touching, poking and stroking them through levels towards an ominious black doorway.

Along the way you become acquainted with various assistants, such as the Royal Spikey Commando’s who act as handy assistants as you try to rescue kidnapped Kings, or trapped comrades. The game requires a little bit of thinking, but mostly just a sense of humour and a spare £5.99.

Pricing & Presentation

The price point, at £5.99, is an interesting one to pick. With the 99p - £1.99 price point being bombarded with some decent game titles, it would take a game which looks top quality to pursuade punters to part with the cash, and that’s perhaps where Rolando shines. It looks fantastic. The art style, attention to detail, quality of presentation and audio design is solid and consistantly high quality which delivers a genuinely premium game experience.

The Gameplay

Ahha! The critics wail, “But surely they’re just masquerading poor gameplay with glitzy polish?”. I’d be inclined to disagree with this ill-informed hypothetical critic. I wouldn’t say it was ground breaking or revolutionary, but the simple fun to be had from manipulating the main protagonists with such familiar actions mimics the joy you first experienced when you unwrapped your shiny new iPhone and spent a week just swiping your finger across the screen, before locking it again and starting over. The game features the swipes, tilts, finger pinches, and panning  we’re used to, but puts them in a fun, colourful context in which you don’t feel guilty for touching up your iPhone for 10 minutes.

The level design is confident, with simple tutorial levels introducing the key actions and characters, building into an interesting blend of puzzles and action/skill based gameplay. After passing the game across my friends a common complaint has been that the initial “tutorial” levels are too slow and not challenging, which breaks the flow of the initial pacing. Indeed, perhaps for “experienced” gamers that’s the case, but for your average iPhone owner I think the difficulty ramp is appropriate.

Conclusions

I love Rolando. A professional review would cite it’s criticisms; a (comparatively) high price point, a slightly “overly inspired” art style and gameplay mechanic (Loco Roco?) but I’m no professional, and this isn’t a review.

Rolando justifies a fair price point by delivering a polished and consistently high quality game experience not tailored, but designed for the iPhone platform. As an independent game developer I find it particularly exciting that a non-blockbuster franchise can justify a price point higher than a couple of quid. The future is bright for us! Congratulations to NgMoco for a solid title.

Games, Reviews game, indie games, iPhone, rolando, Rolando review