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The X-spot – Cute little puzzle game, very clever
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YouTube – Top 20 Best Doujin Shmups – A set of old-school shoot-em ups, some of them really make me want to try them… Maybe I will?
Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
Archive for May, 2009
My Weekly Links
On May - 31 - 2009
Titan Quest Review
On May - 25 - 2009
This is a game that I have wanted to try for a long time, and finally, I got around to it. I have always had an interest in Greek mythology, and while it has influenced just about every form of fantasy since then, there are very few games that claim to draw directly on it. This was one of them.
0:00 - A succession of logos: THQ, Iron Lore, nVidia… Nothing I have not seen countless times before.
0:01 - The intro begins, a voiceover about the exile of the Titans, while showing a statue of Zeus
0:02 - A monstrosity emerges near the statue, presumably one of the previously mentioned Titans, although for some reason it seems to be something with snakes for hair, and a serpentine rear end… I would think that they were trying to go for a medusa, except that none of the soldiers hanging around the statue (Guarding it? Just trying to stay warm for the night? Playing scrabble?) get turned to stone, instead they engage in a straight-forward melee fight.
0:03 - The brave heroes vanquish their foe, but in a bout of heavy-handed symbolism, the Zeus statue is damaged in the fight and falls in a heap around the stony-faced soldiers.
0:04 - The intro ends with the words “Your gods will not save you!” While a statement like this might have been terrifying to an ancient Greek, it just sounds corny to my jaded twenty-first century ear.
0:05 - Select new game, and I get to create my character. My options seem to be to chose my gender and the colour of my tunic. I leave them on default, and chose the name Sculpus, since I think it sounds Greek enough to me. I like the fact that there are no character classes, it might help make the character more flexible.
0:06 - It seems that the default character is female… Interesting. I also get to select my difficulty, which goes from Normal to Epic to Legendary. I chose Normal, just not feeling that brave.
What I looked like in the beginning
0:07 - A prophecy id displayed on the screen and read out in a gravely voice. Since I am too lazy to retype the whole thing, I shall summarize it below:
“Doom, Doom! DOOM! And somebody will help, really!”
0:08 - I start next to the river, where I presumably just got off the boat. Seeing a man with a glowing symbol above his head, I decide to talk to him. His name is Corythus, and he tells me his village needs help.
Checking my equipment, I see that I am armed with the mighty copper knife.
0:09 - I run into a bunch of Satyrs, and dispatch them with ease. They seem to be heavily armed for Satyrs, I don’t think they would be my first choice for “beginner monster” from Greek mythology, but they make a nice break from Goblins.
0:10 - I see another distressed Greek, who informs me that his horse is in danger. Being an animal lover, I offer to go and defend it from the foul fate these Satyrs might have in mind with it… Considering what I know of them, it could be foul indeed!
I find the horse quickly, being attacked by two Satyrs and a boar… The horse is a lot tougher than it looks, dispatching the two satyrs with ease, while I handle the boar.
The Heroic Horse
0:11 - The Satyrs have dropped a copper knife and a leather breastplate. Going into my inventory to equip my new loot, I see that I am automatically wearing it. Its actually a nice touch
0:12 - I walk past a bunch of armed defenders of the village, nice to see that the villagers are not just sitting back and waiting for a heroine to save them.
Defenders
0:13 - finally at the village, I see two people wanting to talk to me, and I arbitrarily chose the one on the left. After a bit of whining about their lot, he recommends that I talk to Diomedes.
The Village
0:14 - A fat guy in a toga is standing in the middle of the village, and my instincts (and the tooltip) inform me that it is Diomedes, so I go to talk to him. More whining about their lot, but he does tell me about the Satyr Shaman nearby, who seems to be causing all the trouble.
Satyrs have shamans? I would think that they would not need them, considering that traditionally they all had a direct connection to nature, so a shaman would be a bit redundant.
0:15 - As Diomedes finishes his whining, a satyr raiding party attacks the village, and I help the defenders in dispatching the foul beastmen. I am glad to see that the NPCs actually put up a fight.
0:16 - I surprise a bunch of beastmen around a fire, and soon have a torch and a bow for my troubles. I decide that I feel like having some range, so I equip the bow (It does more damage than my knife, anyway)
0:17 - I see some carrion crows… And manage to take them out with one shot each, before they even get close to me.
Carrion Crows are real lightweights, aren’t they?
0:18 - I find a chest sitting in the middle of the forest, and it turns out to be full of healing potions. There are also some satyrs who try to make a pointed objection to me stealing their stuff.
The layout around here makes me think the satyrs have their own village… Village? The order of the world must really be turning upside down, since satyrs were always anti-civilisation.
0:20 - I see some skulls and totems, telling me that I am getting close. I also spot a group of four satyrs, who run away when they spot me. Nice to see that my reputation has been spreading.Having nothing better to do, I give chase.
Some sort of totem
0:21 - I see more satyrs, roasting a deer over a fire. One of them is a peltast, whatever that might be. He goes down like the rest.
I try to collect the stuff they dropped, and find out that my inventory is full already.
0:22 - Rearranging my backpack… There is actually space, I just carried things badly.
0:23 - I close the inventory screen, to find out that a satyr has taken advantage of my distraction, and attacks me. I punish his insolence.
He drops a pair of greaves, that I am apparently too weak to use.
0:24 - Finally I found the shaman… He is about twice the size of the other satyrs, and it takes me a lot running around to dispatch him, and I get rewarded by him dropping a ton of stuff when he dies… Too bad I need to rearrange my inventory again to pick it up.
The Battle with the Satyr Shaman
0:25 - Having managed to pick up the stuff, I find out that I cannot use any of it.
As I walk around the corpse-strewn battleground, I get a notification that I have gone up a level, and can now raise my skills. I decide to put points into dexterity and intelligence. It seems like the right thing to do.
0:27 - My character does seem to have a wealth of phrases to say she cannot carry any more… Obviously the developers expected it to happen a lot. Didn’t they realise that half the fun of Diablo-clones is collecting tons of loot and selling it to get better weapons and armour?
0:28 - Rearranging my backpack again… Why can’t I turn things sideways?
0:29 - I see a glowing rock, and as I approach it, I see that it is a shrine of healing. I am really glad the shaman did not think of using it during the fight!
I am healed!
0:30 – Kill more boars and carrion crows.
0:31 - Back at the village, the corpses from the last battle still litter the bridge. I thought they should have cleaned it up by know, its a bit of a health hazard. I really hope they get their water from upstream.
You think they would have cleaned them off by now
0:32 - Diomedes seems to have already heard of my victory, but says he now needs me to go to Sparta to get reinforcements.
He also rewards me with some coins… Which means only one thing: Time to go shopping!
0:33 - I see a man surrounded by stalls, and with a bag over his head, so I decide it must be the shopkeeper.
The shopping goes well, although the lack of drag and drop for items is a bit annoying, I rather have to pick each item up, and then click when I want to put it down, rather than just releasing the mouse button.
I sell of all the stuff that I don’t have a use for, and never expect to.
0:34 - I have bought a better bow, some health potions, and a copper bangle.
0:35 - On my way out of the village, I talk to a couple of villagers as I walk by, all of them expressing gratitude for what I have done. The dialogue is actually fairly well written.
I also see a portal, which will allow me to travel quickly, should I find another one… Glad to see all the Diablo tropes are here.
Cool portal activation sequence
0:36 - As I walk out through the gate, I see a man running into the village, with an exclamation mark over his head… This can mean only one thing: Sidequest! So, I talk to him, and he tells me about a friend of his, Tellis, trapped in a cave by satyrs.
Not wanting to tell him that his friend is most likely dead by now, I tell him that I will try to find him.
0:37 - More satyrs
0:38 - Even more Satyrs, one of them drops something called “The Knife of Destruction” Of course, I cannot use it.
0:39 - Seeing what looks like a good place, I decide to turn off the path, slaying some carrion crows and boars along the way.
0:40 - I run into some more satyrs, guarding a chest full of stuff I cannot use yet.
Chest
0:42 - After another battle, my inventory is full again, so I decide that I will just pick up stuff that is useful or expensive.
0:43 - I come to a cliff, and I see a brush harpy below me. Finally another monster! Alas, I cannot get to it from here, and I cannot even shoot it with an arrow, so I look for a way around.
So near, yet so far
0:44 - I am attacked by a satyr archer! Nice to see them using strategies other than melee. I find an old chest near him, and find an old battered chest, which contains a very nice bow… That I cannot use yet.
0:45 - I find a cave guarded by two satyrs, they run inside as soon as I see them, and I follow.
0:46 - I expected a loading screen at this point, but the screen just shows the interior of the cave as I go in… Nice!
0:47 - I face a satyr trapper… He is surprisingly tough, I thought trappers laid traps, not fought?
0:48 - I see some glowing satyrs in a side cave.
0:49 - I am quickly surrounded and killed. I find myself back at the fountain of life, where I find out that I take an experience penalty for dying… As if leveling up did not take long enough!
As I walk off, I notice that it is getting dark. Night is actually well implemented, with things looking darker, while still visible.
0:51 - On my way back to the cave, I run into more satyrs.
0:52 – I get back to the cave, and stopping for a second to control my terror, I step inside. I see one of the glowing satyrs got separated from his fellows, and turns out to be no match for me by himself.
0:53 – I dispatch the glowing satyrs one by one… They should have stuck together.
0:54 - I find a chest in their lair, once again full of stuff I cannot use.
0:55 - I find Tellis, it seems he managed to survive somehow. He thanks me profusely… and then stays where he was… I would think that he would want to get out of there as soon as possible.
0:56 - I hit level 3! I can actually use some of my stuff now!
0:57 - I emerge out of the cave into some fresh air.
0:58 - I find another rebirth fountain, and a doorway with torches, which come on as I approach them.
0:59 - More boars
1:00 - I finally find the harpies I had seen earlier. It feels good to have another monster to fight.
- Yet more stuff I can kill
I take one final look to se ehow far I have come from my humble beginnings
This is what I looked like at the end
Conclusion: I felt a bit disappointed with Titan Quest, while it looks pretty enough, it is just a standard Diablo clone, with very little new things to offer. I found it repetitive in the extreme. It does not make good use of the Greek setting at all. It does have nice touches here and there, but overall its unremarkable.
Would I play it for longer than an hour? No… Although mildly entertaining, there are too many other good games out there.
Related posts
Lord of the Rings Online Review
On May - 12 - 2009
This is my first attempt at a review, so you can expect some teething troubles. I would appreciate it if you let me know how I can make them better in the future.
The first one seems to have been fated, since I won this game in a contest at EuroGamer, so I got the full game for free, as well as a month of gaming time.
One method I already know could make this better is including some screenshots. I tried, but for some reason, my copy of GameCam decided not to co-operate in that department, althought it was happy to record video, so at least there is something to break the wall of text awaiting you.
So, without further ado, let me introduce you to:
My First Hour in Lord of the Rings Online
00:01 After chosing the language, “reading“ the EULA, and deciding that I do actually want to use DirectX 10, I finally get to see Gandalf as he pontificates on the current troubles in middle Earth.
00:03 Using Magic beyond the ken of mortal man (or possibly just dramatic editing), we get to see a quartet of Middle Earth Heroes defeat a bunch of Orks… Of course, the full set is here: Man, Elf, Hobbit and Dwarf.
00:05 I now get to see an advert telling me that I can rename my character or kinship… It seems a bit pointless at this stage, since I do not have any characters, and I am not even sure what they mean by „A Kinship“?
00:06 Finally, we get into character creation… Not too many options, standard race and class selection, pretty much what I expected. I decide to play a man Guardian from Bree-land, and name him “Horth”. I let the system pick a random face for me, and decide that the end result actually looks pretty good.
00:08 A loading screen, with a short cut scene to inform me that I have been waylaid by bandits, even before I start…
00:10 Finally, I begin. I am in jail, and the helpful tutorial tells me to speak to Amdir, the only other prisoner. He hits me with an info-dump, full of names of people that I have never heard of before…. Is he really expecting somebody with a severe concussion to remember all this?
He does have a cunning escape plan, and tells me that I will need to get some weapons, even though my jailers have been kind enough to leave me with a club and shield.
00:11 Amdir’s brilliant plan seems to consist of calling the guard, and hitting him when he opens the door. Much to my surprise, this works.
00:12 I try to search the remains of the guard, and discover that he has been left completelly unarmed, while guarding a pair of dangerous prisoners.
In a nearby crate, I do find a hatchet and shield… If only the guard had thought to look in there, he probably would not be lying dead at my feet right now. But then again, he did fall for the oldest trick in the book, so he obivously was not chosen for his intelligence.
00:13 I earned my first title, and from this moment hence, I shall be known as „Horth of Bree-Land“
00:14 Once again, I seek Amdir’s guidance, and he informs me of the fact that I will have to kill some more ruffians in order to save the hobbits that he was travelling with.
00:16 I run into two stout fellows chatting by the fire, and dispatch them without further ado, on searching them, I don’t find much, just some rotting dagger and sword sheaths. Obivously, these poor souls have been forced into a life of crime due to their crushing poverty.
One of them is carrying a tin token, and I get and offer asking if I want to bind myself to it when I pick it up… Apparently there are places I can trade them in for gifts… Sounds a bit like some demented Middle Earth Gameshow, but I keep it anyway.
00:18 Found another ruffian sitting by the fire, interrupted his repose with my sword, he soon joined his fellows in whatever afterlife scum such as them deserve.
Only now do I actually notice the skills bar at the bottom of the screen, where my special abilities are kept. Apparently I have Guardian Ward, Shiled Block and Sting at the moment. They will surely make my combats even easier from now on.
00:19 I come to a locked door, behind which I can see more prisoners, alas the steel of the locks is far to tough for my hatchet, and I am forced to leave them there.
The Locked door
00:20 I find the last ruffian, tormenting a hobbit. Heroically chopping the tormentor into tiny pieces using my newly discovered skills, I loot the corpse, further enlarging my rotted shath collection.
00:21 I am now supposed to speak to Caroline Brandibuck, and when I try to do so, I get the message that I am too far away, despite the fact that I am standing a couple of meters away from her. Figuring the old hobbit must be hard of hearing, I take a couple of steps towards her, and make sure that I speak clearly and loudly.
She proceeds to tell me that we will have to rescue her travelling companion: Mundo Sackville-Baggins, and she creates a distraction by throwing a burnning torch onto the thatched roof of a neraby building. I did not expect to be dealing with such a pyromaniac.
00:22 The distraction seems to work, and we soon find Mundo, who seems less than grateful for his rescue “What took you so long” indeed… Next time I might just ignore his pleas for help.
00:23 I get my first taste of radiance, an effect that could affect me either positivelly ofr negativelly, depending on whether it is good or evil… This one is definitelly evil. As I follow my companions on a mad dash to find out what’s going on, everything turns into black and white, and adds a tunnel effect to my vision… Its actually nicelly atmospheric.
Through the bars on anearby cage, I get to watch as a dark rider menaces Amdir, and demands that he gets the “Baggins”… I guess they got the wrong guy for him.
Its really a bit like a cut scene, except that I can move around to get a better view.
00:24 Amdir manages to defeat the Dark rider by setting the whole encampment on fire, and has the time to tell me to move on, before expiring, non-dramatically.
00:25 Caroline runs up to him… And after asking her, it turns out that he is just wounded, and we need to get him to a town, so that he can be treated.
00:26 I chose the Finish now option, and the tutorial ends.
00:27 Another loading screen with a cut scene, I get the chance to see the village I am headed to fight of some brigands.
00:28 I start talking to the woman by the gate with a halo around her head (yes, I know its supposed to be a ring, but it looks like a halo to me). She explains that Amdir is badly wounded, and is resting behind a house nearby.
Once I talk to him, I will get to chose my reward, either gloves of threadbare cloth, or ragged leather… They are too generous! I set off on my new quest.
00:30 Found some training dummies, and realised just how tough they are, with over 2000 health points each. I try taking a couple of swings at them, to discover that they are more nimble than the bandits I fought earlier, since most of my strikes at them seem to miss.
00:31 I walk past a row of various types of smiths hawking their wares.
00:32 I see some refugees, and some soldiers training… The NPCs wandering around do give a nice feeling of a living world
00:33 My chat window notifies me that Fealathir has defeated a growling dusk wolf, glad to see I am not the only person around here carrying on the good fight.
00:35 I wonder out of the town gates
00:36 I spot one of the aforementioned duskwolves, and not wiching to spend my time dealing with the wildlife, I head back into the village
00:38 I find Amdir, just afew steps from where I started my exploration of the town. I never did have a good sense of direction, and this seems to carry through to virtual words as well.
He informs me that I will need to warn captain Brackenbrook that his village is about to be berayed, and sends me to find him at the Mad Badger inn.
00:39 The mad badger inn turns out to be right next to where Amdir is lying… He could have asked one of the hobbits tending him to quickly run in, rather tahn waiting for me, but I guess that Amdir just does not really trust hobbits or something like that.
The Mad Badger Inn
00:40 The inn is a bit of a dump, and appears to have been turned into a training area. Captain Brackenbrook stands around, watching his men train.
00:41 The Captain receives the news with poor grace, and I get to go back outside to relay his responses to Amdir, really starting to feel like a messanger about now.
00:42 Amdir sends me train my skills. Tempting me with fried mushrooms if I do so. He really knows how to motivate honourable warriors such as myself!
00:43 On my way to the trainer, I spot a fellow warrior talking to Amdir, glad to see that I am not his only gofer around here.
00:44 I find the guradian trainer, looking haughty as she stands at center of the steps to a building… Apparently to prove my skill I will have to use a sweeping cut on a dummy.
00:45 I dutifully wander off, and attack the nearest dummy, trying to figure out how to do a sweeping cut, to no avail.
00:47 I wander back to my mentor, with a hard heart, ready to admit my failure in this simple task.
00:48 While talking to my mentor, I notice an option I did not notice before, Train skills! It appears I have to buy the skill first, and I do so, using the money I looted of the bandits bodies earlier in the day, the coins still slick with their blood.
So, this is how you are supposed to get skills!
00:49 I go back to the dummies, and picking the smallest and least threatening one, I attack it with all my might, finally hitting it with a sweeping cut! The cut also seems to go through the couple of dummies behind my chosen target.
Die Dummy, Die!
00:50 As I walk back, probably in order to express his happiness at his newfound prowess, Horth does a sweeping cut while walking, with absolutelly no prompting from my part… Lucky nobody was standing in front of him.
“I was cleaning my hatchet, and it just went off! Honest!”
Random Swipe
00:51 After bragging of my great success to my newfound mentor, I decide to stop at one of the many smiths in this street, and buy myself a wornd hand axe.
00:53 Getting back to Amdir, I get to collect my fried mushrooms, and Amdir explains to me the importance of eating… I wondered how Horth managed to survive this long without learning that already… But apparently, you can get many benefits from food. They seem to act like potions in many other FRPGs, although food fits better with Middle Earth setting.
00:54 I get another quest from Amdir, apparently his friend Dirk Mudbrick, has been having some problems with wolves, and rather than building a fence to protect his sheep, Amdir seems to think that I shoul rather go and help him… Wil get the title Horth Sheep-Defender, after this, I wonder?
00:55 Caroline apparently also wants my attention… It seems that Amdir has been putting on a brave face, and actualy needs the leaves from a plant growing around Bronwen’s folly… So, not only do I have to go and hunt endagared species, I have to interfere with the local flora as well… Horth is turning into a walking ecological disaster already! Who needs Sauron?
00:56 I walk past some standing stones on my way to the farm. I am sure they serve some sort of function.
00:57 Dirk tells me of his canine troubles, and informs me of several places I can find wolves. One of them is Bronwen’s folly, and since I needed to go there anyway, I head in that direction.
00:58 I find a wolf… Its not really very tough, despite the fact that it seems completelly unafraid of humans, letting me get close enough to strike it without reacting in any way.
00: 59 Those wolves do not have much of a pack instinct, do they? I attacked a wolf, while another one stands a couple of meters away from me and watched… Until I hack into it as well.
No Pack Instinct Here
01:00 More wolves to kill… I am turning into a butcher of the local wildlife.
What Have I Become?
Conclusion: I found myself really enjoying this game, the graphics are pretty, although non-remarkable, and the quests are just challenging enough to be fun. The server I was on is a bit sparse in terms of population, but I tend to solo a lot anyway.
Will I play it past this: Yes, definitelly… Still not sure if I will continue the subscription once the month is up, though.
