Can I just digress here and say that is one of the greatest titles for a smartphone game I've read in a long time? Before I even start the game I'm ready to enjoy it! [steady on - Ed]
Being a sequel, there's a question over how much knowledge you need of the first title (Dirk Dagger and the Fallen Idol, reviewed here). Well I can report that you don't gain anything from having played Dirk Dagger 'One' – because the game starts up and helps you through the first puzzle with a well balanced approach. Newbies will be up to speed by the time they take to the skies.
It all starts, in typical noir fashion, with an apparent end of the story – Dirk with a pair of concrete shoes at the bottom of the river in New Heaven, before cutting back to “earlier in the day” and an exciting mission to try and catch the neighbourhood cat who is stuck up a tree.
So we've had the cool name, a hook of an opening scene, and a rather James Bond-esque end to the cat catching scenario that opens up the full adventure in this graphical point and click escapade. The first five minutes of The Nuclear Zeppelin are bang on the money, and are a great example in a mobile game of how to get your users excited.
Those of you who have played the first Dirk Dagger will know what to expect – a point and click adventure where you explore your current location by panning left and right, your cursor highlighting elements of the scene you can interact with (e.g. pick up a crowbar, highlight a locked door, then select the crowbar from your inventory to open the door..)
Just as in the first Dirk Dagger, the game is presented in a comic-strip style 2d environment, and I think it's all the better for it. The story would not be better represented in a 3d environment, and as you don't really move through the world, but kind of stand and look around, this approach allows for more class to come through rather than nifty 3D animations taking away from the plot.
But also like the first Dirk Dagger game, the game lacks a certain sense of, well, being an in-depth game! Much like the choose-your-own adventure books, there's not a huge amount of choice in this design of game. You have to go down the route the designers have decided is the correct way. Yes, you do have mini-game challenges along the way (such as beating a Tramp at 'scissors paper stone'), and you have choices when you are talking to other characters, but the game will pull you back to the right track as required.
Which is fun in a way. If you're expecting this to be a hard as nails adventure game then you're going to feel seriously short changed. If you're looking for a mix of storytelling and interaction and are happy with the limited input mechanism of the game (which does keep the choices own and almost negates the “what do I do next” feeling some games can have) then Dirk Dagger and the Nuclear Zeppelin is going to be a worthy purchase.
If you've experienced the first Dirk Dagger game, there's very little here that will change your opinion of the game. It really is a case of a bigger, better sequel by adding in more of what made the first so popular. I would suggest making good use of the demo to decide if you like this style of game. I'd also strongly consider the “one week” licence as that's probably enough to complete the game – there's not much replay value here, to be honest.
And why should there be? This is a bite-sized adventure game that you can easily pick up for five or ten minutes to solve just one situation and making it feel like an old black and white Flash Gordon series. Or you can go on an epic adventure à la Lord of the Rings and do it in one sitting. The game is accessible enough and has a good enough plot that it should keep adventurers happy, no matter how they prefer to play.
-- Ewan Spence, Oct 2009.