You were pretty thrilled with the first half hour, glad to see the pace keeps through the whole game. GameFly just sent it today. Time to make sure the DS is fully charged...
Magicka was indeed made by Arrowhead Game Studios, but Arrowhead consists of 8 people that started working on Magicka as a school project.
So I would indeed call this an Indie game.
I played the regular version. Would have been nice to try out Vergil, but oh well.
I'd hesitate to put the label "platformer" anywhere near Devil May Cry, as the jumping mechanics are very stiff (and rarely used, thankfully) but "pinnacle of 3D action" is tougher to argue against. I definitely can't think of another game I've played that could be accurately described as "SSStylish," anyway.
"the voice acting doesn't matter much because it's in Swedish"
It's not in Swedish, its complete gibberish ^^ They talk what Swedish sounds like to foreginers. Altho, some words are swedish-like which makes the game ever more funny to swedes ^^.
Another game I've heard good things about but haven't yet bought. I must say though, a base $10 price tag is very tempting for a good multiplayer game... There's really not much around of this genre either. And I do love being a magic person in many games as it's usually underused. I also couldn't help but laugh out loud at the trailer when it said "Become immersed in a generic fantasy world."
And to clarify, I think the game is staying $10 on Steam, just you only get the DLC stuff free and included ending today.
Also, I agree that 'indie' is kinda misused. By definition, it's more or less releasing something without a major publisher. So, either on your own or on a small publisher without the giant marketing capabilities and resources that we're used to. It looks like Magicka was actually made by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Paradox (who also published titles such as Mount & Blade).
Did you play the vanilla version or the special edition? I'm a bit of a Capcom fanboy, but I think this is the pinnacle of 3D action platformers. For my money nothing else in the genre can hold a candle to the satisfaction felt dashing around the screen decimating enemies while switching between four different weapons and maintaining a SSStylish rating.
People who can't get through the first hour of Okami obviously havn't gotten through many games in there career because COUNTLESS numbers of games have done this. And why shouldn't they? Its the easiest way to explain all the information you need to know in order to enjoy the game.
OK, cool—it's arguably an RPG after all. I'll buy that. Thanks for the followup. (And thanks for visiting a game like this I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else.)
While there is virtually no base story, the object of the game is to conquer Calradia and unify it under your rule. However, you can get married, you can host feasts, and use politics to sway others to get what you want. I would have put that in the review, but this line just described it. However shallow it may be, I still believe this is an RPG - an action RPG with an emphasis on action.
I did forget to include that, however, without mods, it's completely head to head against other opponents and that's sorta difficult for me to review. Sorta. I might have to edit this a little later. :-P
Nice review. I've seen stuff about this game a few times on Steam and have been remotely interested, but haven't bought either of them yet. Isn't Warband's big draw also that it has online play?
But it definitely sounds fun though. A bit like the war chaos of Dragon Force, with more control in battle. I also agree about the graphics. Having lackluster screenshots and videos can definitely turn people off the game when they may buy it otherwise. If you're going to have a weak graphical system, you should at least try to add some uniqueness or creativity in them, or it'll be a much harder sell. Part of it may be the fact that it needs much fewer polys in the massive battles to run smoothly, and that's understandable. But still...
Well, Ian submitted this piece to me and I, having never heard of the game and not knowing what kind of game it was, wandered over to Wikipedia for help. I was trying to fit this game into a genre I was familiar with, and from reading the review found that difficult, so I took the easy way out. I think I'll have to revisit this, anyone who's played it have a suggestion? Does "war game" fit the bill? What are some other games, if any, that play like Mount & Blade?
Also, thanks for the reply, nice to know people are paying attention.
From what you've described (no story; focus only on fighting), there's no particular role you play in Mount & Blade. That's supposed to be a front-and-center defining element of a Role Playing Game. It sounds like the game has leveling up, but that's not enough*. RPG is a mechanics genre, not a thematic genre. This sounds like a pure tactical wargame simulator that happens to have medieval theming, not like an RPG.
Sounds like a good one, though. Just call it what it is, or describe how it really is an RPG after all.
(* Most racing games these days have leveling up, too. They still aren't RPGs. Saying that a level-up mechanic makes a game an RPG is like saying that having lives makes it a platformer or having a score makes it a sports game. Regardless of genre, every game has to be built around basic progress mechanics or else it would feel static or repetitive. Levels, lives, and score are all just common progress-tracking idioms, not genre definitions.)
I think this might be a good buy for a kid who can handle the repetitiveness and likes rescue vehicles, especially since it's under $20. If you buy on Amazon, use the link in the infobox :)
That just came off sounding awesome.
So, considering your time with this game, if you needed a low price gift for a Wii owning 8YO nephew, would you give this game to them? Does it work on that level?
Also, please be kind to Saturday Morning cartoons, we have a lot of history, me and cartoons. ;)
Nice review and uh first comment after 3 years, 2 months, 6 days (I don't know what time zone you are in to adjust more accordingly) or a Palin simple 1163 Days! Strange thing is that I got here cuz my name IS Mario Lowery! Haha just f^cking wit cha! I got here cuz I was doing a "neighborhood watch" picture search onto Google and got this image:
You were pretty thrilled with the first half hour, glad to see the pace keeps through the whole game. GameFly just sent it today. Time to make sure the DS is fully charged...
I picked up this game on Steam - it was only $10 and it sounded like fun from this review.
You had me at "piss on the ashes".
By this game! Do it naow! Bananerrrrr!
I did not know that, I heard many people claiming it was Swedish. That's awesome though! :D
Magicka was indeed made by Arrowhead Game Studios, but Arrowhead consists of 8 people that started working on Magicka as a school project.
So I would indeed call this an Indie game.
I played the regular version. Would have been nice to try out Vergil, but oh well.
I'd hesitate to put the label "platformer" anywhere near Devil May Cry, as the jumping mechanics are very stiff (and rarely used, thankfully) but "pinnacle of 3D action" is tougher to argue against. I definitely can't think of another game I've played that could be accurately described as "SSStylish," anyway.
I haven't played the game yet, but your comment makes me really, really want to now.
"the voice acting doesn't matter much because it's in Swedish"
It's not in Swedish, its complete gibberish ^^ They talk what Swedish sounds like to foreginers. Altho, some words are swedish-like which makes the game ever more funny to swedes ^^.
Another game I've heard good things about but haven't yet bought. I must say though, a base $10 price tag is very tempting for a good multiplayer game... There's really not much around of this genre either. And I do love being a magic person in many games as it's usually underused. I also couldn't help but laugh out loud at the trailer when it said "Become immersed in a generic fantasy world."
And to clarify, I think the game is staying $10 on Steam, just you only get the DLC stuff free and included ending today.
Also, I agree that 'indie' is kinda misused. By definition, it's more or less releasing something without a major publisher. So, either on your own or on a small publisher without the giant marketing capabilities and resources that we're used to. It looks like Magicka was actually made by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Paradox (who also published titles such as Mount & Blade).
Did you play the vanilla version or the special edition? I'm a bit of a Capcom fanboy, but I think this is the pinnacle of 3D action platformers. For my money nothing else in the genre can hold a candle to the satisfaction felt dashing around the screen decimating enemies while switching between four different weapons and maintaining a SSStylish rating.
Game's fine. Suck it up and L2P princess ;)
i love love love love! Zelda!
Lol really good article i don't usually like reading lots of writing but i read all of this- good job! ;)
People who can't get through the first hour of Okami obviously havn't gotten through many games in there career because COUNTLESS numbers of games have done this. And why shouldn't they? Its the easiest way to explain all the information you need to know in order to enjoy the game.
OK, cool—it's arguably an RPG after all. I'll buy that. Thanks for the followup. (And thanks for visiting a game like this I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else.)
While there is virtually no base story, the object of the game is to conquer Calradia and unify it under your rule. However, you can get married, you can host feasts, and use politics to sway others to get what you want. I would have put that in the review, but this line just described it. However shallow it may be, I still believe this is an RPG - an action RPG with an emphasis on action.
I did forget to include that, however, without mods, it's completely head to head against other opponents and that's sorta difficult for me to review. Sorta. I might have to edit this a little later. :-P
Nice review. I've seen stuff about this game a few times on Steam and have been remotely interested, but haven't bought either of them yet. Isn't Warband's big draw also that it has online play?
But it definitely sounds fun though. A bit like the war chaos of Dragon Force, with more control in battle. I also agree about the graphics. Having lackluster screenshots and videos can definitely turn people off the game when they may buy it otherwise. If you're going to have a weak graphical system, you should at least try to add some uniqueness or creativity in them, or it'll be a much harder sell. Part of it may be the fact that it needs much fewer polys in the massive battles to run smoothly, and that's understandable. But still...
Well, Ian submitted this piece to me and I, having never heard of the game and not knowing what kind of game it was, wandered over to Wikipedia for help. I was trying to fit this game into a genre I was familiar with, and from reading the review found that difficult, so I took the easy way out. I think I'll have to revisit this, anyone who's played it have a suggestion? Does "war game" fit the bill? What are some other games, if any, that play like Mount & Blade?
Also, thanks for the reply, nice to know people are paying attention.
From what you've described (no story; focus only on fighting), there's no particular role you play in Mount & Blade. That's supposed to be a front-and-center defining element of a Role Playing Game. It sounds like the game has leveling up, but that's not enough*. RPG is a mechanics genre, not a thematic genre. This sounds like a pure tactical wargame simulator that happens to have medieval theming, not like an RPG.
Sounds like a good one, though. Just call it what it is, or describe how it really is an RPG after all.
(* Most racing games these days have leveling up, too. They still aren't RPGs. Saying that a level-up mechanic makes a game an RPG is like saying that having lives makes it a platformer or having a score makes it a sports game. Regardless of genre, every game has to be built around basic progress mechanics or else it would feel static or repetitive. Levels, lives, and score are all just common progress-tracking idioms, not genre definitions.)
I think this might be a good buy for a kid who can handle the repetitiveness and likes rescue vehicles, especially since it's under $20. If you buy on Amazon, use the link in the infobox :)
"What I loved?" -----"It's Playable".
That just came off sounding awesome.
So, considering your time with this game, if you needed a low price gift for a Wii owning 8YO nephew, would you give this game to them? Does it work on that level?
Also, please be kind to Saturday Morning cartoons, we have a lot of history, me and cartoons. ;)
Nice review and uh first comment after 3 years, 2 months, 6 days (I don't know what time zone you are in to adjust more accordingly) or a Palin simple 1163 Days! Strange thing is that I got here cuz my name IS Mario Lowery! Haha just f^cking wit cha! I got here cuz I was doing a "neighborhood watch" picture search onto Google and got this image:
That's a lot of games. Hat tip. And yes, keep up the great writing!