This episode of the Indie Zone includes reviews for Platformance: Temple Death, Lootfest and Lair of the Evildoer.
Platformance: Temple Death Review – 80 :MSPoints: – Marketplace
[nggtags gallery=TempleDeath]
Platformance: Temple Death is the non-direct sequel to Magiko Gaming’s first title Platformance: Castle Pain, with all of the rage-inducing platforming action intact. You’re an Indiana Jones wannabe out to save Grace Belly captured by a group of savages in the jungle which marks the beginning of your painful adventure. There are three difficulties to choose from in the menus: Normal, Hardcore, and Insane which even in the easiest difficulty still managed to kick my ass near the end. A lot of people compare the game to a Super Meat Boy title, while the difficulty is on par with the game the pacing is not, Platformance takes the slower route to try and figure out these puzzles at a much slower pace than the high-speed dodging Super Meat Boy. Overall for gameplay I can promise you it’ll be a fun experience, with a lot of death and rage in-between and if you’re up for it there are online score-boards to show off your talent too.
Graphically the game resembles an old 16-bit title from the SNES or SEGA Genesis era of games, with a lot of variety in-between. Landscapes are largely varied ranging from stone areas, to water and jungle areas all on one huge map which you can look through by zooming in and out. The same applies to enemies and obstacles as well, with many different ways to die and dodge throughout the vibrant backgrounds. All in all, for the style Magiko was going for they pulled it off perfectly with a great looking 16-bit style flowing through every crevice of the game.
Now onto the best area of the game in my opinion, the sound. The music in this game is just so perfect as its upbeat tempo pushes you through the tough bits of the gigantic maze, while also fitting with the Indiana Jones theme of the game itself sounding like something straight out of a movie, but with 16-bit music samples mixed in there too. Really, you should check out the trailer here and listen to the music, which I can proudly say I tapped my feet to the entire game.
Overall this game is a platforming masterpiece, with enough challenge to keep players coming back for more and more punishment. And you get all of this for a dollar, or 80 :MSPoints: which is a steal to say the least for this appealing platformer. Needless to say, this game is one of the most enjoyable platformers I’ve played up there with Super Meat Boy that everyone should get, regardless of your stance on the genre.
Lootfest Review – 80 :MSPoints: – Marketplace – Review by Dave C
[nggtags gallery=Lootfest]
Lootfest is an action adventure game in which you play as a young adventurer who must find and defeat three bosses. You can’t simply go running in sword held high though, you must first build up your characters equipment by earning loot from dead enemies. The enemies are scattered around the surrounding landscape which itself made up of blocks, reminiscent of 3D Dot Heroes in style. Once you have enough coinage to buy upgrades to your sword, bow and shield you can take on the bosses in turn.
The landscape is well designed with blocky trees, water, impassable mountain formations and enormous castles where the bosses hide out. The animation is fairly smooth but does occasionally stutter when a lot is happening on-screen. You will spend majority of your time essentially grinding for coins against the enemies and once upgraded you take on a boss. It should take around 60 to 90 minutes to complete the game but the lack of a save option means you will have to complete it in one sitting otherwise your progress is lost. The length of the game unfortunately misses the mark of a quick blast or something longer that you can sink your teeth into.
I think Lootfest could have done with some more time being spent on the development. The constant grinding for coin becomes rapidly tiresome, adding in some missions to break things up would have worked well. The worlds are randomly generated each game and this can lead to some issues, I played a game where I was fully surrounded by impassable rocks and I could not progress any further. As the game stands, it is an average game that with some more time being spent on would have made it a great game. Is Lootfest worth the 80 :MSPoints:? ignoring the annoyances you can get a few hours enjoyment but you can’t help but wonder how much better it could be.
Lair of the Evildoer Review – 80 :MSPoints: – Marketplace
[nggtags gallery=LairoftheEvildoer]
Lair of the Evildoer is a mash-up between a dungeon-crawler, and top-down shooter where you, the failed experiment have to fight through the various levels of the Evildoer’s Lair to eventually escape. During your escape you’ll come across waves and waves of the mad doctors creations, ranging from the typical mini-zombie to the fear-inducing spitters and other high level enemies. They will occasionally drop various weapons to help you progress through the lair, making it a good idea to check for all of the enemies as there is no other way of acquiring weapons besides going through the limited weapon chests. Along with enemies dropping random weapons, they will also provide XP to steadily level up which increase your strength, dexterity, vitality and defense attributes in-tune with the higher level enemies.
Graphically, this game is nothing awe inspiring, but enough to keep your attention through the few varied landscapes of the Evildoer’s lair while trying to keep your stick-figure hero alive. While there are a few different colors mixed into the scenery to keep things interesting, they all tend to look pretty much the same which can also be said about the weapons which for every type share one sprite on the character just with different non-cosmetic attributes applied to them. Enemies on the other hand, are more graphically interesting, with a decent variety of them (even some with special abilities) to keep things a bit more interesting, and keep the player on their toes as some weapons are more useful against certain types of enemies.
In the sound department, there is a great little start menu theme that I enjoyed listening to as I started up the game. Once you’re actually in the game there’s a steady rock track as you plough through the different levels of the lair that changes it up occasionally, but don’t expect too many different tracks through the whole game. Overall sound isn’t bad, weapons sound fine, enemies sound as they should and the rock track in the background goes well with the high-paced action-adventure gameplay.
Overall, this game is a great little gem for any dungeon crawling lover, or for some that enjoyed classic shooters with an added bit of exploration. Best part is, it’s all for just a dollar or 80 :MSPoints: if you’re speaking in Microsoft terms. While the game may not be the best out there, it definitely has its qualities that shine through showing that Going Loud Studios really put a lot of love into this game.
Previews
T.E.C. 3001 – Homepage
T.E.C. 3001 is a 3rd person perspective 3D arcade game that is currently in the final stages of development. The aim of the game is to collect leftovers of the human kind energy found within a harsh environment T.E.C. 3001 is one of the XBLIG Summer Uprising releases so the release should be after August 22nd. Check out the trailer below.
0
