This is my 3rd/4th (Desktop Dungeons, Tales of Maj'Eyal, maybe Isaac) favorite roguelike plus whichever suffix you care to affix. - Great OST. Check. - Makes you question your schkeelz t'pay d'beelz at gaming. Check. - Punishes you to the point you ponder taking up another hobby, like macrame. Check. - Forces you to learn some of the subtleties in order to be good enough to beat it. Check. - Completing (looping) rewards you for a learning curve and perseverance. Check. Exceptional stuff.
At least there are some upgrades here, from MK 1-3... - It, at least, recognizes DirectInput & XInput. - The 4:3 is properly centered. - At least you can pause this game. And then the not so good... - Some buttons didn't map properly. - When you (or, at least I) alt+tab out, and back in, the screen shrinks to super small - you have to re-select video mode. - The 2.5d didn't do it, for me, and there seems to be a consensus that this was the worst, core MK game. This was my first time playing 4, and *shrug*.
The problems are numerous (all games)... - Off-centered 4:3 screens. You can probably mess with DOSBox settings, to, maybe, affect this, but that should be out-of-the-box. - The games likely won't recognize any remotely kontemporary gamepad; you'll need something like Logitech Profiler. Somebody here did mention you might be able to edit DOSBox konfig to allow. I do have a Gravis gamepad hidden in my kloset - I shoulda done broke it out. - Some kompromises from arcade versions, like MK2's music - holy. - No game pausing. MK1 & 2 - Instead of having menu options, like a sane game coder, it's F1 to start player 1, F10 for konfig, and CTRL+F9 (DOSBox) to quit. - Only 4 kredits, iffen you don't enable cheats. MK2... Affecting the DIP switches to enable freeplay (unlimited kontinues) is nigh impossible on a kontemporary, fast komputer. The code, in prototypical Noob schtick, are the backwards spelling of 2 associate producers...which is hard to type, as it's nonsensical. So, whip out your trusty hex editor and modify mk2.exe... 1E 17 2E 16 26 12 20 1F 1F 16 26 ...with... 43 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 ...now, on the kredits screen, you just hit F9 to get the "ding" of successfully entered code, and F9 again to bring up DIP. MK3... - This game made me feel like I was taking krazy pills - had to disable joystick in DosboxMortalKombat3.conf because there was a permanent up+left being input to the game (even in menu options). - You have ~2s to make your kharacter selection, before it auto-selects. WTF? I had to look quickly, after first few times, to make sure I kould get my kracklin' killer kritical Kabal kombos. There is an MK Kollection of these 3, though I've not tried it... ...seems as though, maybe, MK hasn't gotten the love of its superior, rival franchise, SF (30th Anniversary Kollection). I hate to say it, but just MAME the arcade kabinets to get a proper experience. PS Damn you, Kintaro, with your cheap unblockables, and anti-air block+throw tactics.
As a 2D action/RPG (with a sprinkling of Metroidvania), this has a similar formula as say Deadlight, or Shadow Complex (though less Metroidvaniaey). The story is ok, but some of the writing and voice work is suspect. Some of the dialog and voice work made me do the smelled the fart face, but I'm still glad that everything is voiced - bravo, smaller studio. This game made a hefty withdrawal from The Matrix account, but if you're going to be derivative, there are few properties that are a better target. Some Metroidvania stuff, with implants, to get to do certain optional quests, but I don't think any of it is necessary. I did all the sidequests offered, as the game was good enough to warrant more time being invested with it. The combat and gameplay are decent. I only invested 1 point in melee, for the 3-hit combo, and 0 in ranged, maxing everything else. I found that loadout worked great, but the beauty is - it's yours to choose. I only used guns in the beginning, before my AR/hacking were upped, to deal with things like turrets. All fists after that - and, on normal diffiulty, I had no problem, even with 1 melee pip. Jump kicks, with a lil SF crossup action, and you can actually hit them whilst they are on the ground, if you attack quickly enough, after knocking them down. I played the game through with KB + mouse, though I may have been better served to gamepad it, except for the AR/hacking events, which, I think, would benefit heavily from a mouse. A good, cyberpunk, 2D, action/RPG. Pick it up.
The Good: Even though it appears as though there may be only two original tracks, I do <3 the classical music soundtrack. Music is one of DF's strengths. The unique, vaudevillian presentation works. I gave this game a star for its music, vaudeville setting, and the farting and the two empty halves of coconuts matryoshkas. This is my fourth DF game: Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, Brutal Legend; none were bad, none were great. I guess I admire these games and the style that went into them more than I actually enjoyed playing them. This game is not puzzling greatness - too easy, and simplistic. Nobody sets out to create mediocrity, and nobody can please everybody; I guess I was born without an inner child - these cutesy games don't do it for me. And, with that, DF, I must bid you adieu.
The good... Story: The DF storytelling is in full effect. Unit Intros: Some missions will intro your new units. The amazing... Atmosphere: Though I listen to orchestral and operatic now, as a person who was into metal, a world predicated on metal was a great idea. Music Cues: In an early battle, next thing I knew, I found myself rockin' out to Def Leppard's Rock of Ages. Or, racing away from a beast, Dragonforce melts your face. I can't believe a "smaller" studio like DF was able to secure the rights to over 100 tracks. Intro: Best ever? Characters: Some metal legends are characters in the game, with character models that may look like them, and voiced by them. Subtleties: Things like the DF logo that begins your exp has at least 7 different flavors with people like Rob Halford wailing out DOUBLE FIIIIIIIIIIIIIINEUH! If you wait at the "record menu", Jack Black's hand will appear and do things like give you the goat's head. \m/ And then the gameplay... Driving: Ok mechanics for exploring, but missions are pretty much everybody's fave - escort. Action/Adventure: Even less good. Play God of War, DF - this is how to build visceral combat mechanics. RTS: And the worst. Holy...did these devs not take cues from renowned RTSii? Cause these elements are just awful. I don't often play RTSii, but I did use to play a lot of StarCraft & WarCraft, so I know what good RTS feels like, and this ain't it. Gamepad: You can't select some from some of the radials avec D-pad, unless you switch over to analog. And how about things like a toggle for lock, instead of a button hold? Brutal Legend is very apropos name, as some of this game is brutal, and some of it is legendary... But, since gameplay is king, the overall exp ends up being mediocre... I think I admired this game more than enjoyed it. There was a lot of amazing in here to admire, which means the gameplay pained me. I didn't bother with any of the sidequests, as the gameplay just wasn't tight enough to entice me.
Though the dialog shows the grammatical acuity of a 6 YO, it doesn't matter - these games are good fun. The first game is more simplistic fun, whilst the second introduces a few new layers of depth and complexity, like party selection. I went with Dwarf, Knight, Dark Monk, which seemed to me a dominant mix (its weakness is lack of ranged attacks)...so much so that I never really gave the other classes a chance. In Dark Quest 2, you can cheat a lil, in that you can replay each level, and that particular level gets harder every time you FINISH it. Finish being the operative word. You can replay a level, and get the blue, upgrade pots, and quit - keeping the pots. I did this to fully upgrade Dwarf and Dark Monk, and then moved on to be able to finish enough quests to get Knight. Repeat. Good, cheap fun. Buy them. Took Wizard in only mission allowing 4 party members, and worked out first try. And, by that time, I had enough pots to max his powerful offensive output.
Ultima: Sloggy McSlogimus. Maybe this game was a big deal, back in the day, but now it's a face-buried-in-a-walkthrough slog, with unremapable (you can via DOSBox remap) keys, painful controls, what must be the worst jumping mechanics in gaming history, no volume controls, dubious packaging, had to play windowed because of alt+tab freezing, etc. This game is painfully long, and, thusly, increases the hurt; this just doesn't hold up to the test of time. You'll have to slog your way up/down many floors - lather, rinse repeat - holy monotonous, Batman. I finished the first'n, but didn't bother with second, though it's hard to argue with free. Buy and play Eye of the Beholder 1 and 2 instead - those are masterpieces.
If you enjoy games that are... - Utterly nonsensical. - Devoid of maps, even though you'll get lost AF. - Gives you no direction, and has no objectives. - Makes you follow a walkthrough, step-by-step, so you can find that hidden door, 3 teleporters in, to get a staff, that is to be placed on a nondescript pedestal, 2 areas away. - The difficulty isn't as punishing as Dark Souls, but if you enjoy that style of lostitude, and sans mappy goodness. ...then this is a game for you! And this is with Hammer of Thyrion & Portal of Praevus. This may have been a seminal FPS (can't figure out a better category to place this) at the time, but it's not really my kinda game now.
This was one of the two most celebrated indie, puzzle games, back in the day. And it seemed great at the time. But, holy, playing it now - your memory has failed you. The interface is intensely lacking...and it's simple things...like not having a GUI for any of the options, like volume level (which is pounding, by default)...for crying out loud - they didn't even fix it in the "remastered" version! I am constantly messing with the config.ini trying to get the mouse sensitivity more precise - good luck trying to do the timing, OCD challenges, as the controls just aren't as precise as you want them to be. Even pressing escape, to bring up the menu - one always assumes, pressing escape again will resume play - nope - have to click. How about having the OCD requirements in a mouseover, on the map? Nope, you have to go into the level and watch the unskippable cutscene that begins each level. All kinds of simple things to implement just aren't here. Its fellow puzzle game, of the time, Braid (though also too easy ;>) is better in every way...and there are many puzzle games that are harder (better), and more worth your time. It's not a bad game, but, perhaps, it hasn't aged well? It's still worth checking out for its uniqueness and presentation. More issues... - Signs flash every time you retry a level, making you read them over and over so they stop flashing - annoying. Also, if you click on an undo fly, that signs will begin flashing again! It's simple stuff like this that really mar what could have been a good game. Great idea/atmosphere, but zero polish. - I'm guessing a touch interface would be far more suitable for this game. - More, but ran out of characters. The OCD challenges are definitely more difficult, but I didn't enjoy the controls enough to try. Better indie, puzzle games... - Antichamber - Jelly No Puzzle (free) - Toki Tori 2 - The Swapper - Hanano Puzzle 1 & 2 (free) - Braid - Tetrobot and Co. - Baba is You
