Sontaran Disturbance: USA

That's a dirty ha..No, no I just can't do it

Previous Episode: Time Attack: The Silent

Next Episode: Angels Take Manhattan: 2012

Game version played: 2.5

The name suggests that this level may be a sequel of sorts to Sontaran Disturbance: England. If so it may likewise be an easy encounter, welcome after the ordeal of our first Time Attack. Yellow Time Fragments are indicated so Yellow Sontarans are to be expected. Be cautious though, take nothing for granted.

There’s yet another Rare drop, but this time it’s a costume. It looks to be the monkish robes the 11th Doctor wore in The Bells of Saint John. The location is New Hampshire, USA. Why there? Why not?

My team is the 11th Doctor at Rank 2. Porridge, Madame Vastra, Jenny Flint and Rory Williams all at LVL.8. Geronimo!

We start by witnessing a discussion between two Sontarans. One wants to wait for backup, worried by the Doctor’s success in stabilising time. His senior officer, who has an eight pack instead of the usual six, reminds him that the Doctor and his companions have been allowed to suceed. This perplexes the grunt but he is told that Commander Vade the Defiant has his reasons. That’s interesting, a little bit of story. 

See what I mean

Looking at the background it seems that New Hampshire, USA is identical to Bexhill, England but without the rain. Curious.

I am irritated that the junior soldier is carrying a swagger-stick-like weapon, as used by General Staal in The Sontaran Stratagem. I saw that weapon as an indicator of rank, but I’m aware that is a bit anoraky of me so I’ll say no more.

The discussion ends, gems drop and the match begins. Wave 1 consists of a solitary Yellow opponent. It’s the swagger-sticked, six-packed Sontaran. My first strike killed him before he could start his ponderous 3 round attack. He was right to be worried. I prised a Time Crystal from his cold dead fingers.

Wave 2 is a simple double-up, two of the same Sontaran who also lasted but a single round. This may be my quickest level ever.

Wave 3 is a solo effort again, but this time it’s Mr. Eight-pack. My first attack almost killed him but he had Heal ready and used it to drag himself back from the brink. The next round was a carbon-copy of the first, but in the third I killed him. A pitiful performance from the Sontaran Empire, with not a scratch inflicted upon me.

Just before victory was signalled a grey portrait fell. I won the Rare drop! Typical. 5 chances to win a team member and no luck, 1 chance to bag a costume and it’s a bullseye. Tsk! Well a Rare drop is a Rare drop and it does make my team look less run-of-the-mill. The 11th Doctor takes up the habit and we move on.

Jenny Flint moved to Lv.9. A few more levels and we'll be at the next rank. I also won the No More Yellow II achievement for defeating 50 Yellow enemies. My first half-century. Satisfying.

Time Attack: The Silent

There's a countdown!
Stay cool, stay cool!

Previous Episode: The Silent Paradox

Next Episode: Sontaran Disturbance: USA

Game version played: 2.5

Time Attack eh? I wonder what that’s all about.

First things first though. We now have the 6th Doctor. What do we do with him? Up to now I’ve been playing with the 11th Doctor, rejecting the 10th for reasons discussed here. Can number 6 usurp his senior self? Naturally the 6th starts at Rank 1, requiring 3 Yellow and 3 Black Time Fragments for promotion. I’m short of that so he has to be assessed as he is.

His special ability is called Cavalier and is a poison ability. The Doctor has used poison on occasion in the show. I can remember the 4th and 5th Doctor doing so but not the 6th, though I could be wrong. However it does fit his sometimes venomous character.

Poison is a useful power as it continues to damage the victim after the first hit. It also affects a percentage of the subject’s HP rather than a fixed amount. At Rank 1 Cavalier damages the victim by 3% or 6% of their maximum HP for 5 turns, 15% or 30% in total. Being a percentage it is feeble against weak opponents but effective against the strong. At later levels you will value this power greatly. What about now though?

Let’s look at the last level, The Silent Paradox. The Blue Paradox started with 2200 HP, our toughest opponent so far. If the 6th Doctor got his full power attack in, which takes 60 combos to build, he would do 132 points damage each round, 660 in total. Compare this to the 11th Doctor at Rank 1. After 30 combos he would inflict 500 damage instantly. He could then repeat this after another 30 combos dealing 1,000 of damage to the Blue Paradox in total, just as the 6th Doctor started his 660. Poison also affects one target only, but the 11th Doctor’s power hits all opponents. If you are facing more than one enemy then the 11th Doctor’s power outdoes the 6th’s completely. In my case I have the 11th at Rank 2 so the advantage is even stronger.

As opponents get tougher then Poison attacks catch up, but for now it doesn’t earn 'sixie' Doctor a place on my team. Of course if you refer to him as ‘sexie’ then who cares what I think? Put him in and enjoy.

He is the first Yellow Doctor, appropriate as he did show an un-Doctorly cowardly streak once or twice. You could use him to build a nice Yellow team, with Vastra, Yellow Adipose and Punishment Soldier if you have them. It would be an aggressive team that could be interesting to play, and start you off on the Exterminate Yellow achievements.

See? 235 seconds left on the clock.
I don't know what all the fuss was about

For me though I’m sticking with the 11th Doctor in this journey through Season 7.

Back to Time Attack: The Silent. We have a potential drop, a Green framed girl that I don’t recognise. Once again we’ll have to win her to know her. Yellow Time Fragments are likely to drop so we will probably face some Yellow Silence again. The time and place are still in line with The Impossible Astronaut but this time we are facing a metal door. Maybe it’s the entrance to the Silences’ control room from Day of the Moon.

My team is once again the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Jenny Flint and Porridge at Lv.8, Vastra and Rory at Lv.7.

As the level starts we face 3 Silence as expected, but what is different is the counter ticking down at the top left of your screen. It starts off saying “You still have 500 sec”. I’m guessing that Sec means seconds, rather than indicating the leader of the Cult of Skaro. From this you can quickly deduce what a Time Attack level is. If you don’t clear the level before the counter runs out then you’re beaten.

The timer encourages you to hurry, so the tendency is to seize the first half decent opening you see instead of finding the optimum move. In the first wave I certainly fell into this trap and the first 3 Silence died the death of a thousand cuts instead of being blessed with a swift death.

I also find that I use special abilities less often in Time Attacks, especially convert powers where I like to consider the colours of opponents and the make up of the board. In the second wave, against 3 other Silence, I finally got to plant Porridges bomb and see it go off. It made a nice bang.

In Wave 3, versus 3 Silence once more, the central Silent got ready to retaliate with a bomb of his own called Arc Blast. Fortunately I’d let the 11th Doctor build his A Fast Plan ability to maximum and I used it to blow them all off the board before it detonated, winning the level with 235 seconds to spare.

Once again there was no Rare Drop. 5 chances and no wins. Just saying. I did earn the experience to promote Vastra and Rory to Lv.8.

I love Time Attacks. They are a proper challenge and certainly get the heart beating. You’ll come across a few of these in your DWL career so it might be wise, as well as enjoyable, to practice. 

The first thing is not to rush. The doomsday counter makes it easier to say that than do it, but you usually have time for sensible play. Be prompt, not frantic. Snatching at the first 3 gem combo you see is less effective and can even take longer. An extra second or two might mean that you do as much damage in one move as you would in 3 rushed attacks.

Another tip for Time Attacks. As soon as you’ve completed your gem move, start looking for the next one.

After your move is done a series of events is set in motion. New gems drop and additional combos fire until the board stabilises. Damage points are then calculated and boosted, which is afterwards inflicted on enemies who are then marked down or removed from the board. Sometimes Time Fragments or crystals drop. Then the bad guys get their attack. This can all take 5 seconds or more, during which time you can’t move. But you could be using it to examine the board.

Watching the chain reaction that your move initiated is fun but you can’t influence it, it’s dead time. Let the game do its thing while you work out your next move.

Artie- Definitely a boy

There are other strategies. For example relying on a team of Tanks may be unwise. You want to finish the enemy quickly rather than engage in a battle of attrition. Don’t go too far as you still need durability, but adding a few damage dealers to the team should be considered. You could also turn off the Skill cut-in animation. That might save you a second or two but it hardly seems worth it.

Your first Time Attacks may be difficult but stick with it. It's not as if you can go round them.

Now about that Rare drop. I described it as a girl, but when you get lucky you’ll discover that ‘she’ is a ‘he’. It’s Artie Maitland, one of Clara’s charges who were taken to Hedgewick’s World in Nightmare In Silver. He was played by Kassius Carey Johnson. Sorry Kassius. You’re definitely a chap but your DWL portrait looks a little feminine.

Artie is a Balanced character with the special power of Sneaky. Sneaky converts Green gems to Pink, which can be mighty useful if you are in a tight spot. You are likely to be taking more damage by now so he may be a useful team member. When levelling him up my advice would be to boost his HEAL, so that you can take maximum advantage of the Pink gems he creates.

Artie is your third Green potential Companion after Rory and Punishment Medic, all of whom have a healing bias. If I had won all the drops up to now then I’d still be using the 11th Doctor, Porridge, Vastra, Jenny Flint, Rory and Yellow Adipose. If you found that your style of play leads you to taking a lot of damage then you might want to have Rory and Artie together. This would give you a team with the recuperative powers of The Flash.

Just to make it clear, I love Time Attacks. A welcome new play mode for Doctor Who legacy. 

The Silent Paradox

Number 6. No Colin Baker
 not Patrick McGoohan

Previous Episode: Ascent of the Governess

Next Episode: Time Attack: The Silent

Gamer version played: 2.5

Another paradox adventure. Does the mean we get another Doctor? Yes. There's no mistaking that mop of curly yellow hair. It's the 6th Doctor. Okay...number 6. What to say, what to say...Well there's a lot than can and has been said, much of it unfair and unkind.

I've never come across anyone who names the 6th Doctor as their favourite, and I admit that he's a fair way down my list. He was an unlikeable character who barely qualified as hero in some adventures, battling to save his neck or prove his superiority rather than for the good of others. He did warm as the show went on, but much of the time I wished that someone would slap the superior look off his face.

He was the Doctor though, be in no doubt. His arrogance, prickliness and contemptuousness have surfaced in almost every incarnation. It's easy to see particular similarities with the 1st, 9th and the current 12th Doctor. The trouble was in this persona it wasn't tempered by enough humour, bravery, nobility or even obvious affection for his companions. He joked about people falling into an acid bath, used a gun and even killed in hand to hand combat. He wasn't very nice.

However I do think that he is one of the most interesting Doctors, and perhaps the bravest attempt to push the boundaries of the character. I also think he looked a treat. That hideous outfit was something else and Colin Baker was probably the best looking man to play the part. David Tennant later had sex appeal and Matt Smith had a gawky charm, but C.Baker was a handsome chap.

The other thing counting against number 6 was the state of the show at that time. Poor old John Nathan-Turner had tried to pass on the baton of producer several times, but the BBC kept him in place. He had done good stuff for Doctor Who but it was past time for a change behind the scenes. Budgets were cut, the show was suspended for 18 months, and it was moved from Saturday tea time to go against Coronation Street. It was if someone was deliberately trying to kill the show. Conspiracy theories abound.

Some of the 6th Doctor stories are terrible. Particular scenes, such as the 'tree' throwing its branch around Peri to save her in The Mark of the Rani, drove me behind the sofa in embarrassment. Some of the acting, not Colin Baker's I hasten to say, barely warranted the description.

Colin Baker was also famously sacked by the BBC. That was unjust as the problems were elsewhere, and it ended the character's journey prematurely. If he'd had more seasons I think he'd have won people over.

I don't indulge in the vast number of audio Doctor Who adventures. If I bought one I'd be hooked, and I can't afford (both time and money-wise) another obsession. However it's worth noting that Colin Baker has been voted the greatest of all the Doctors in this medium.

A small icon for a big personality

Usually I name a favourite adventure for each Doctor, but for the 6th I'd chose the court scenes throughout The Trial of a Time Lord. His tirades from the dock against the callous, arrogant, self-righteous Time Lords illustrate best of all why the Doctor turned renegade, stole a TARDIS and left Gallifrey with his granddaughter.

With that off my chest it's time to play the game. My team was the 11th Doctor at Rank 2, with Porridge, Vastra, Jenny Flint and Rory all at Lv.7, still my only companions. Yellow and Blue fragments are likely to drop.

We have a new background this time, all dark and creepy. We're in Florida on 8th April 1969 so we must be beneath the warehouse in The Impossible Astronaut. The 11th Doctor is worried, warning us that this paradox is guarded by The Silence. He points out that they should be further in his past, probably due to the Sontarans messing up the timeline. I assume he's referring to the fact that these events happened in Season 6, not 7.

Two Yellow Silence drop in preparation for wave 1, but before it kicks off proper we get a bit of in-game advice We're told that if we find a level too difficult we can replay earlier adventures to boost the team's strength. If that isn't a warning that the game is about to get more difficult then I don't know what is.

We also receive a tip about playing with different allies. Well it would be nice to have the choice wouldn't it?

The first wave finally starts. With the signpost to stiffer opposition still preying on my mind I killed them quickly and avoided any damage. Wave 2 was hot on their heels, made of three Yellow Silence. The one in the middle was sparking up, ready to attack in just one round rather than two. Perhaps I should have targeted him but I didn't, killing the one on the left instead. Sparky hit me for 30 points then fell in the next round. However his mate hit me for 60 before I managed to finish him off and clear the wave.

90 points of damage I took in that round, a record so far. I still had 707 HP left so I wasn't in any trouble, but the opposition is definitely growing teeth.

Wave 3 is a Blue Reaper. We've faced these critters before in Dalek Paradox. I inflicted about 20% damage in our first exchange and Jenny Flint was then ready to use her Smoulder power. Red is weak against Blue so I held back. I then got the Reaper down to about 15% HP, but took a chunky 150 points of damage in reply. I'd healed my previous damage using Pinks but this knocked me back to 647 out of 797 HP. You don't want to take too many of those.

The 11th Doctor's Cunning ability was now ready but as the Reaper was on his last legs I again restrained myself. It was the right decision as I killed him next turn.

My 10th achievement

The final wave is a Blue Paradox. Vastra was now ready to Riposte so my team's timing was spot on. I checked to see how far the Doctor was from his 500 point Cunning ability, but he was still 16 combos away. How did I know that? Well if you click and hold down the portrait of character in your team then it shows you how far they are from their special ability. Cool eh? I didn't know about that for a long time.

I used Vastra's 150 point Riposte which barely scratched the Paradox, then followed up with a traditional attack that got it down to 80%. The Paradox must have got ideas from Jenny Flint, as it converted all my Pink Gems to Red. A cunning move to deprive me of healing, but Rory came to the rescue with Stand Firm and healed 100 HP. Ha!

Now even Porridge was flashing. I actually get to plant a bomb at long last, hurrah! The bomb was set, ready to go off in 5 rounds.

Another attack got the Paradox to 70% just as it warped more Pinks to Red. I then hit one of those really nice series of combos that racks up the damage. The Paradox was down to 15% and victory was nearly mine.

My opponent was down to 5% when it lashed out again taking me to 597 out of 797 HP. The Doctor was still a few combos from his full power attack and the bomb was still ticking down, but I decided enough was enough. His 150 point Cunning was enough to finish the Paradox off. Got 'im.

A grey portrait fell and the 6th Doctor entered my TARDIS. I also won the Exterminate II achievement for using ally attributes 20 times. Jenny and Porridge were promoted to LV.8, with points added to ATK and HP respectively.

Nice. Very nice. The difficulty level just moved up an enjoyable notch.

Ascent of the Governess

Who's that girl?

Previous Episode: The Red Castle

Next Episode: The Silent Paradox

Game version played: 2.5

Here’s something new. The art for the next level, Ascent of the Governess, cycles through different images. In this case they are all backgrounds from The Snowmen episodes. It looks as if we are continuing our retrospective of DWL so far.

As well as Yellow Fragments we have another Rare drop to hope for. We see a Green-bordered blonde woman, again in military gear but this one is saluting. Is it another member of the Punishment Patrol? Let’s crack on and find out.

My team is 11th Doctor at Rank 2, Porridge, Vastra and Jenny Flint at Lvl.7 and Rory at Lvl.6.

We start off at the bottom of the stairs in the Latimer Residence, facing the Big Blue Snowman and one of his Yellow Snowmen mates. Feeble opposition, they melted under my first attack.

Then there’s another new thing. We appear to take a couple of steps into the hallway, and then find ourselves outside in the snow. That was different. A simple effect but it does pull you into the game.

We aren’t alone in the snow for long, being joined by three Big Blue Snowmen. They did manage to convert some of my Blue gems to Black, but being typically slow they all died before they could lay an icy finger on me. We stepped forward again to return to the room with the marvellous carpet.

Chionoandrophobics beware
(Look it up)

The Boss wave starts, with me hoping I could land that saluting soldier. To do so I first had to best the Yellow Ice Governess. I hit her hard but she survived and Syphoned all my Pink gems, marking them with a negative. That wasn’t very nice. Now any Pink combos would be 10% less effective. This is the first Weaken ability we’ve had to face. It’s most dangerous when used, as it is here, against your Pinks. In later levels it can prevent you from healing at all. Nasty.

Luckily my team was still hale and hearty so I didn’t need the Pinks. It wasn’t a good time to mess about though, so I smashed the Governess before she could inflict any actual damage. She fell, but the saluting blonde did not. Blast! 0 out of 4 Rare drops.

Not a great return from this level. No Rare, no Time Fragments, and only enough experience to promote Rory to Lvl.7. As usual I boosted his HEAL ability.

This level is not very challenging but it does add some nice graphical flourishes to the game. Importantly a successful Rare drop also provides you with your first specialist Companion.

The saluting blonde is indeed a member of the Punishment Platoon, the Punishment Medic. She is a Green Balanced Companion, and what makes her interesting is her special ability, Antivenom.

Up until now your Companions and Doctors have been able to heal, convert gem colours or inflict damage, either directly or via a bomb. This character does something different. Punishment Medic can cure any poison attack affecting you and your team. Yes I know venom and poison are different things but if it bothers you then I suggest you direct your energy at some of the world’s many bigger problems.

Poison delivers consistent, unavoidable damage to your team, requiring no attack other than the first. It’s a killer. Antivenom wipes this attack off the board and is often a life saver, making the difference between victory and defeat.

I appreciate the sentiment,
but the Doctor hates salutes

Naturally this special ability is only of use when battling poison equipped enemies. Otherwise it can seem like a wasted team slot. The only level so far where we faced Poison was Sontaran Disturbance – England. Even then you may well have killed the Sontaran Commander before he could deploy it. However even when there’s no poison in play Punishment Medic still contributes to the team through her abilities. She is still an asset and would be gaining experience.

You could keep her in the TARDIS, only adding her to the team when you fail a poison mission. However without regular opportunities to gain experience she will be a lower level than the rest of the team, offsetting the benefits of her Antivenom.  You can replay a few earlier levels to bring her up through the ranks but that’s hardly proactive is it?

Either approach works, but as I’m trying to get though Season 7 with as few defeats as possible I’d add her to the team. You rarely know in advance when you’ll be facing poison so best to be prepared and build her up. When winning levels starts to get harder then you may want to replace her with someone whose ability is more widely beneficial.

If I had all of the Rare drops available by now then I’d replace Yellow Adipose with Punishment Soldier. As well as providing protection against poison this would boost Green damage, which is a bit weak with Rory being a dedicated healer.

However Punishment Soldier didn’t drop for me, so I’d better avoid Spectrox Toxaemia for the time being.