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80 Days takes a trip to Android, adds arctic route to itinerary
80 Days has more travel destinations than one vacation allows for, but should travelers bore of touring the streets of Venice or the sandy stretches of the Rub' Al Khali desert, a new route to the arctic will soon open, according to a related press release. The new, chilled destinations will share a December 16 arrival date with 80 Days' Android version, though a free update will add the new environments to the existing iOS version. Managing Editor Susan Arendt planned strings of vacations as Passepartout, itinerary planner of the wealthy Fogg, and found that 80 Days' choose-your-own-adventure journey holds "no clear right or wrong choices." While sorting the logistical travel details out provided entertaining obstacles, Susan added that 80 Days' strong writing "effortlessly strings together tiny vignettes to create a world on the brink of change, bristling with the excitement of possibility and the fear of the coming unknown." [Image: inkle]
On my iPad: 80 Days
My iPad is rapidly becoming one of my favorite gaming platforms. It's lightweight, has a nice big screen, and there's a wonderful variety of gaming experiences available for it. The app store, on the other hand, is a nightmare, and finding quality games in there just by poking around is nearly impossible. I find most of my favorite stuff via word of mouth or just plain dumb luck, which is a less than ideal methodology. With "On my iPad," I'll point you to some games that I've found to be worth checking out. They may be new or just new to you, but hopefully you'll discover something that you'll enjoy. The iPad's lush screen and touch controls make it an alluring gateway to interactive fiction, including the exceptional 80 Days from inkle. Based on that mainstay of summer reading lists, Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, 80 Days is a masterful example of the new generation of IF, blending dynamic presentations of text with gorgeous graphics and scene-setting music. It more or less follows the basic premise of the book, in which Phileas Fogg bets his buddies that he can circumnavigate the globe in the titular amount of time. You don't have to consider yourself a fan of literature or even reading, per se, to thoroughly enjoy the adventure, which beautifully intertwines strategy with the story's well-written narrative. You play as Passepartout, valet extraordinaire to wager-loving Fogg who, it must be said, is kind of a tool. While Fogg sits back and reads the paper, it falls to you to arrange travel, manage the money, and generally keep the journey moving forward. It's an uneven division of labor, but it does give you the opportunity to explore the small hamlets, bustling towns and back alleys through which your extraordinary journey will take you. As you walk the streets, you'll meet artisans crafting marvelous steampunk creations, you'll hear whispers - and shouts - about war and revolution, and you'll meet more than one intriguing lady. Whether or not you complete your trip in the target 80 days, you'll find much to enjoy on the way. The story unfolds in choose-your-own-adventure style, offering you different ways to react or respond to conversation and events. Your Passepartout can be reserved or roguish, curious or discreet, or a little bit of all of the above. There are no dead ends for picking the "wrong" answer, just different opportunities, which makes replaying 80 Days not only enjoyable, but desirable.
Around the world Tesla Roadster tour back on track after swift repair job
While we might not have enjoyed the full story arc just yet, we came within an electric whisker of seeing the electric Roadster's around the world trip derailed completely. The team at Tesla service in Munich, however, obviously love a fairytale ending -- which is why they pledged to fix-up the car in the fastest time possible. Just four days after that show-stopping accident, de Mestre is back in the game, and heading south to Barcelona. The journey won't end there though, as to make up some lost miles on the French Citroen team, he'll travel back up to Strasbourg, and in turn roll over the virtual 25,000 km finish line. Assuming no other problems along the way, we'll be mentally cheering the him along.
Tesla driver fails to complete world tour after crash on the home straight
An unfortunate traffic accident brought Rafael de Mestre's electric trek across the globe to an abrupt halt today, stopping his Tesla Roadster a scant 600 miles from the finish line. "Game over," the world traveler wrote on Facebook and Twitter, posting a picture of the damaged vehicle and assuring readers that he survived the ordeal. Since then, he's only offered a small update, lamenting the loss of his faithful electric carriage and sharing a short video of the accident's aftermath. Lend the dejected driver some moral support (or just engage in digital rubbernecking) at the source links below. Update: We initially reported that Rafael was just a kilometer from the end of his race when he crashed, but he in fact wiped out 1,000km from the line -- still very unlucky considering he'd traveled 24,000km unscathed.
Tesla Roadster driver now halfway around the world, catching up with Citroen team (video)
Human antagonists can bring far more stress to a journey than a ticking clock. Phileas Fogg learned that, and now Tesla Roadster owner Rafael de Mestre is discovering it too. He wants to be the first to drive a standard EV (i.e. not solar- or hydrogen-powered vehicle) around the world, and just like Jules Verne's hero he intends to do it in 80 days -- but he's not alone. Two Frenchmen in a little Citroen C-Zero (a sibling of the Mitsubishi i) have the same ambition, and although they've budgeted a comfortable eight months for their trip, they already have a three-month head start over de Mestre. As things stand, the Roadster is on a ship bound for China, while the Citroen duo are trundling up through Malaysia. Fortunately, de Mestra's figured out another bit of racing wisdom: the importance of demoralizing your enemies with YouTube clips like the one after the break.
