This game plays like the ld adventure games from my youth. It's so much better than most modern or tell-tale games. Gihly rcomend if you like genuinly chllenging ouzzles iwth personality.
As a 2-D platformer from the 90's, you don't expect much, and the controls are very simple: walk, jump, and shoot. Where the game gets good is the level design. Unlike other platformers of the time, you are highly encouraged to explore. The levels do not a have a goal on the right side of the level; they have several crystals which you must find and collect, forcing you to explore a large and beautifully couloured level. The colour pallette and art style change every 2 levels, meaning the game always feels fresh. The music is midi, but it is very well designed for midi and fits the levels well. Also, with all of the mandatory exploring, there are also tons of secrets and deviously hidden treasures. The game has three difficulties, and it is enough for a young child to enjoy and hard mode is hard enough to challenge a grown gamer. Overall, explorative level design, brilliant art design and music, and a charming simplicity to the controls make for an amazing platformer.
For those strategy gamers out there who have ever enjoyed turn based games, this is the best. The visuals and music have already been lauded, but I find the best featrue to be the races. Each race is totally unique and has a different set of units. The flip side is that, despite massive differences in races and styles, they all remain balanced and fun. Unlike other games, Master of Magic being a notorious example, thee is no race which cannot be played well, and there is no game breakingly over powered race. When this is combined with the depth of strategy from the immersive tactical combat to your control of an economic empire, you have a game where every choice matters. The basics are easy to pick up, but the tactical elements and economic options combined with the variation of choices of race and magic make this a game you can devote endless time to master. My only complaint is that the CPU AI is questionable at best. A great multiplayer game, get it for a friend and you have endless possiblities between custom and random maps.
