The Crimson Dragon Side Story update we promised a while back finally went live over the weekend. Now we have full details and impressions to share with you. Does the update make an already great game even better? You bet!
Crimson Dragon Side Story version 1.1 release notes:
- Fixed the issue where the GPS distance calculation was not functioning properly
- The game will now correctly calculate the distance traveled from the last check-in location even if the game is not left on. The game will also now automatically check in on game boot.
- Changes have been made to the GPS Specialist Achievement
- Given the fix to the GPS distance calculation, the achievement “GPS Specialist” should now be much easier to unlock.
- The correct unlock condition for this achievement is ”Use the in-game GPS feature to collect 50 Jewels.” To help out, the game now shows how many jewels you have earned in the GPS check-in screen.
- Fixed a rare issue that could cause the game save to disappear
- Fixed an issue with English text being displayed incorrectly in a Chinese language environment
The notes (provided by Microsoft’s PR folks) downplay the save game issue, but that was actually a nasty problem that I and several people I know ran into. Given the game’s long and grindy nature, the loss of progress partway through felt devastating. It’s great that the problem has been fixed. At last we can play Side Story without feeling like we’re also playing Russian Roulette.
The major fixes to the GPS feature are also welcome. As Windows Phone Central reader Mark Tepper pointed out to me, players can now check in from anywhere, whether or not the game was running, and the distant travelled from the last check-in will be correctly added to their total. Seeing the number of jewels earned to date, thus allowing us to measure progress towards the GPS Achievement, is also great. Too bad they didn’t add a way to check your progress towards killing the final boss 200 times.
Speaking of which, the big question on many players’ minds after hearing about the update is whether or not the final boss fight would still pay out jewels. You see, every level and challenge in the game is supposed to award jewels the first time it’s completed. Prior to the update, level 5 (the final boss fight) awarded 15 jewels every single time. This somewhat reduced the pain (though not the boredom) of having to fight him 200 times for an Achievement because it eliminates the need to pay for jewels with Microsoft Points. I’m glad to report the boss still gives you jewels every time, even after the update. Phew!
The update doesn’t address a problem that I probably should’ve talked about in our review: the game’s constant saving. It saves when you start up and then pretty much at every menu system along the way. Heck, it saves when you okay your weapon loadout, even if you didn’t change anything. Unnecessary. I wouldn’t mind so much, but the time taken to save is time I’ll never get back. Perhaps it saves a little faster on newer devices – any opinions, dear readers?
Crimson Dragon Side Story cost 99 cents here on the Windows Phone Store.
