Exclusive to iPhone and iPod touch, 1112 is the first (real) adventure game to hit Apple’s touch platform. If you’ve ever played the likes of Monkey Island or Hotel Dusk, you’ll have a good idea at where this game is headed …
With it’s rich hand-drawn (animated) environments, 1112 [App Store] takes you on a journey of the life of Louis Everett, a 30-something antiques dealer of Jalonsville, New Jersey and his wife Anna of 28, a stubborn but quite intelligent character who knows what she wants. Episode 01 throws you into a world in which you have to figure out whats going on. Starting in Louis’ house, the game presents a few clues as to where to start off. Progressing through the game, you will meet new people, have to find certain objects, have to find objects to find other objects, complete various tasks, call people to find out more information on a certain topic, frantically search rooms and environments and more.
Unlike Monkey Island or Hotel Dusk there is no real way to ‘die’ or end 1112 without physically finishing the game itself. This was a big want from fans as other adventure titles see multiple choices for each action, and choosing the wrong option somehow ends the game. The developer says he and his team have tried to avoid this while also providing multiple ways to do certain tasks, and explains that choosing the wrong option will have a consequence, but the choice you make won’t end the game prematurely.
A few things to note: There are current problems with English translation. The developer stated he had hired an English translator a few months back to fully translate the dialog of the game from his native language. Unfortunately, it seems the translator wasn’t very good at her job, with users complaining of nonsensical sentences appearing during game play.
As noted by Noah of Touch Arcade:
“You should stop abuse your medications.
The same as usual, I have to make the breakfast then usual preparation to go to work.
The end of what? You’ll figure that yourself later.
Let’s talk about this after the breakfast.Wow, you guys weren’t kidding. Here’s how those sentences should have been worded:
You should stop abusing your medications.
The same as usual, I have to make breakfast, then the usual preparation to go to work.
The end of what? You’ll figure that out for yourself later.
Let’s talk about this after breakfast.It almost seems as if an English online translator was used. Bleh.
This game needs a dialog update BAD!”
The developer is aware of these bugs, and says an update to the game will be making it’s way to the App Store shortly.
Although the game is the first of it’s kind, its a bit lack-luster in places. As noted by a few users, it is missing a few key features that other adventure titles on the market today have, including:
- Chapters
- Interaction with every item
- Real-world scenarios
It does have a few features which sets it apart though. For example, turning your iPhone portrait brings up Louis’ ‘iClone’ (his aptly named mobile phone). From here you have full control to call people from his contact list, check your inbox, manually dial a phone number of your choice (virtually) and other mobile-like functions.
I think we can all see that a lot of effort has gone into 1112 (both graphically and behind the scenes) to get it ready for the App Store, there’s no doubting that this is one of the most polished games on the store to date – graphically, and priced at £4.99 for Episode 01, with Episode 02 coming as a separate app sometime in Feburary 09, and five more episodes thereafter, I can’t help but think the developer is onto a win win here.
Though a little buggy, with translation problems, and lacking game play, compared to other adventure titles on the likes of the DS, PSP and other hand-held platforms, 1112 shows exactly how it’s meant to be done.
Game play time is said to vary from 1 through to 7 hours, and the replay value of this thing is pretty high – as obviously you want to beat it – of which I havent …. yet.
As far as it goes, the full solution as to how to complete 1112 Ep 01 hasn’t been leaked just yet, and I can imagine it’s only a matter of time until it is – and before you ask, no I will not tell you the code to the safe, or how to turn the boiler on – Where would the fun be in that? 😀 Although, I will advise you to try visiting the bathroom, and the answer may just stare you back in the face.
For more spoilers, tips, tricks and hints about the game, Arn has setup this thread over at Touch Arcade specifically for 1112 spoilers.
Reviewed at: v1.0.0
Download size: 112MB
Released on: 24th Nov 2008
Retails for: £4.99
Compatible with: iPod touch Gen 1 & 2 / iPhone Classic / iPhone 3G
Get your Copy: 1112 Episode 01
Visit: The Official Site
Leave a Reply