I never thought that I may really like any kind of RPG or strategy, as my favourite genres are platformer and 3rd person action. But Darkest Dungeon is exception. When I started to play, the first thought was: "It looks so stylish, I wonder what hides beneath its difficulty". Yes, it is quite hard for newcomers, especially if you don't like to lose a lot, or if you don't like reading help articles (neither do I), but it becomes rewarding and enjoyable with time. The strongest sides are exciting unpredictable quests, intelligible upgrade system, stunning art and animation, authentic soundtrack and, of course, the affliction system. You really have to care about your characters' mental health, to reduce their fears, heal deep wounds and obsessions. I have never seen anything like that in a videogame before.
Well, Shovel Knight is kind of a massive game (with three different campains as of now). The story of knights, that have to fight each other under different circumstances, is perfectly shown in an old-school visual style, inspired by the era of NES and Genesis action platformers, such as DuckTales, Mario or Aladdin. The difficulty of levels increase throughout the game, and, as many have already mentioned, there are no extra lives. Just like in Demon's Souls, you lose the part of your precious money in the place you have died, and return to a checkpoint. Each chapter has its own main character, his tearful story, additional abilities system and special jumping mechanics. Well, the jumping is the main feature of platformers, right? For the Shovel of Hope original campaign you get Shovel Knight and his, well, shovel jumps ability. For the Spector of Torment campaign you get Spector Knight and his scythe jumps. Finally, for the Plague of Shadows campaign you get Plague Knight and his potion explosion jumps. As for Plague of Shadows campaign, it seems to be the most frustrating and difficult, as the character is really slow and his special explosion jumps accelerate him like rocket. So you find it hard to land properly even in the beginning levels. Like, really much harder after finishing Shovel of Hope campaign. On the other hand, Spector of Torment feels less frustrative and much funnier, first of all because of perfectly implemented unique features. Sector Knight can use his scythe on the enemies to jump higher and further, as well as he can walk on the most types of walls. Ok. So, as for now the game includes three huge different chapters (each the size of a single game), outstanding visuals and sharp-cut game mechanics, which will captivate you for at least 20 hours. Good buy! :)
Уникальное художественное исполнение, готическая атмосфера, многоуровневая система развития персонажей, детально проработанный мир, элементы дипломатии - лишь одни из многочисленных достоинств Disciples II, которая уже много лет остается эталоном пошаговой ролевой стратегии. Ключевая особенность и главное отличие от серии игр Heroes Of Might And Magic, где войско скорее напоминает пушечное мясо: каждый из персонажей в Вашем отряде (кроме непосредственно героя) является родным, Вы "проживаете" всю ветвь его развития вместе, и в Ваших же интересах восстановить его после неудачных сражений. Виды войск подобны для всех рас (воин, целитель, маг...), тем не менее, в каждой расе есть особенности, которые выделяются еще больше при достижении более высоких уровней. Ну, и таинственная загадка потерянного наследника трона Империи Утера не даст заскучать. Сюжет кампаний каждой из рас преподнесен по-разному, и показывает те же события под разным углом, со своими нюансами. А это означает десятки часов геймплея. Геймплея, который не оставит Вас равнодушным, в том числе благодаря потрясающей художественной постановке и детально прорисованной анимации персонажей в боевом режиме.
