Damn Facebook Apps! (Part Two)

Here's the other two Facebook apps that I wanted to write about. I discussed FarmVille and Cafe World in part one, which is here.

Click any picture for a bigger, more legible version!

I'll start off with Happy Aquarium, by Crowdstar. Who doesn't love fishes? Well, besides people who don't love fishes, that is. In this one, you take care of a tank and whatever fish you buy. You can also buy creatures that fall under the category of "crawlers:" Crabs, starfish, snails, etc. These don't need any care at all, but you do have to feed the fish. You also have to scrub the tank periodically. These little chores give you experience which helps you reach your next level. Gaining levels unlocks other fish you can buy, as well as anything from decorations, to expanding your tank. Here's a picture of my tank:

 Once again, you can see neighbors such as Justine from Stupid is as Sister Does, my very own Nikki, and Shauna from Soon She'll Be Home.

Cool! I gained a level, and this time I unlocked... ummm... nothing.

You can also mate your fish. This is a way to make money, as you can mate them over and over, and either sell the offspring or the parents. When you mate them, which can result in success or failure, some Barry White-sounding tune starts up, and they swim around and around each other, until they become engulfed in a flurry of hearts, as you can see below...

Can't you just feel the love, baby?

You can "train" your fish as well. I think this causes you to receive more cash when you sell them, but I'm not sure. It's a game within a game, a simple side-scroller in which you must clear obstacles and pick up coins and food.

Seems simple enough, huh? Three of these obstacles come back to bite you if you click them too soon, and the mine will "kill" your fish when it explodes, if the fish is too close. Squids blind you, and poison make your fish swim around jerkily, making hazards hard to navigate.

Okay, now what to do with the coin and the plant with all the big-ass teeth? Thinking, thinking -- ACK!

You may have noticed I also have a turtle in my tank. You can get these from other players who post it into the Facebook newsfeed. There's also this cute lil squid that I want sooooo bad. The thing just looks so cute! Anyway, on to the next app.

Dungeons & Dragons Tiny Adventures, by Wizards of the Coast, is just that: tiny little adventures. This app is primarily text-based. You create a character out of a dozen or so templates (elf ranger, eladrin wizard, etc.), buy some minor equipment like potions of healing (which heals 20 hit points per pop), and go seeking adventure. The rest is mostly up to chance. I'm not going to start explaining Dungeons & Dragons to everyone, as that can be a whole series of blog posts in itself. The way the app works is this: Every 10 minutes or so, another encounter, or chapter, of the story is told, until the adventure is over. Then you choose another adventure to go on. There is no chance of your hero dying (at least as far as I know), and you have no way to decide what your character does during the course of the adventure. That is, except have him or her drink a potion at a certain time. That means checking up to read your adventure bit by bit. I expect that most do what I do. I just let the adventure run it's course, check the little box that specifies to automatically drink the potion of healing when I drop under 20 hit points, and go do something else for awhile. Here's a typical encounter, a bit more on the humerous side...

Gwong?

Hmmm, which adventure to choose? A trip to Slugslick Swamp seems like loads o' fun...

This is my character's inventory. You may notice I have two shields available, but nothing equipped. I need both hands to hold the Greatsword. Clunky thing.

Here is the "The Store." They could've thought of a more imaginative name, no? Notice that I have a "personal offer" which I've rejected because it can't be used by my character. Why offer me something I can't use? And look at the description of that thing...!

You can buff your friends, giving them a bonus to their attacks or some such, and you can heal them if they've been hurt badly. You can see Elizabeth from the blog, Ms. LizzyBeth's Entropy Checklist; and Dana from Dana's Blog of Intermittent Weirdness. Should I buff the half-goliath barbarian/half-demoness? Sure, why not!

This only scratches the surface on the apps that Facebook has available. The four I've reviewed are the ones I play most religiously. As I mentioned in part one, if you want to play these games with me (well, sort of), just add me as a friend on Facebook. I even have a handy badge for you in the right hand margin. Now I've got to check on my stoves in Cafe World, so pardon me, coming through, coming through...