Jotun

Around the World Three Yggdrasil swirl all the worlds of Creation. In one of them called Midgard rages a horrible storm in the midst of it together with her men Thora tries to navigate her ship, but the storm proves to be stronger... Now the young warrior should prove to the Gods that she is not great only by name.

Jotun is a hand-drawn action-exploration game, created by Thunder Lotus Games and it is heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Jotun hit the market on 29th of September and became instant success. Let us see if this is deserved or was it just because of the great hype there was around this game.

From Ginnungagap to Valhalla...

As I already mentioned during vicious storm the young Thora together with her whole crew perishes, but because of her inglorious death now she should impress the Gods to be allowed in the Halls of Valhalla. Until then she will have to reside in the primordial abyss Ginnungagap. To win the favor of the Gods our young heroine will have to explore five realms and collect 10 key runes to open her path to the five monstrous Jotuns that guard each realm. But before talking about the Jotuns lets talk a bit more about the realms.

Every realm is drawn directly from the ancient Norse Sagas. You will visit places like the forge of the dwarf Brokkr who crafted Thor's hammer and the lake where the Thunder God fished for the World Serpent. And with each visit you will learn a little about each place. Most planes are also elementally themed, which give them even more character and variety.

Your task in each area is to locate a magical Rune...actually to find the way to the Rune which may not be that easy and usually involves solving some kind of puzzle. In each area you will also find one well with the head of the wise Mimir in it which will heal you, one three with the golden apples of Idun which will increase your life and one shrine of a God which will give you a certain power. All powers have two charges and you need to go back to Ginnungagap to recharge them.

Nothing of these things except the Runes is not necessary for you to reach the Jotun boss in each area. But they will be extremely useful if you want to stand a chance against the giants. Especially the apples and the gifts of the God Altars.

The fights with the Jotuns are one of the several things in the game which won my heart and reason is how epic they are. But to understand better what I'm talking about, I will tell you a bit more about the main character - Thora. This flame haired warrior is not like the most female chracters you have seen in video games. She is brave, strong leader and carries huge battle axe which she swings with such ferociety that whole bands of dwarves fly when struck and even the roots of the World Tree tremble and retreat under her attacks. But this woman that is equal to every man from her village and is named after the greatest warrior amongst the Gods is a mere gnome compared to the Jotuns that guard the way to Valhalla. 

The Giants that you will face will call thunders, posion clouds will cover the battlefield and the earth will tremble under their feet. They will literally squish you like a bug if you are not careful. At the same time you will have to dodge their attacks, pay attention to different henchmen they have and nick at their health bar with your now-its-not-so-big axe. Every Jotun have different weak spots, attack paterns and behaviour during the fight which guarantee unique experience in every fight. In other words there are some damn hard fights expecting you...but if they were easy, how will you impress them Gods?

Like a Saga came true...

The other thing with which Jotun won me over was its aesthetic and sound. Every move of Thora, every swing of her axe is so smooth that its almost like she is alive. In every area you visit its easy to see the hard work that is done while crafting them. They are simply gorgeous, more than once I have stoped just to admire the scenary that opens in the background. And sometimes what I saw was scary. The voice acting was another thing that added a lot to the immersion of the game. Because there is not single line spoken in English...

Conclusion

Let's Conclude! Jotun is a amazingly looking game where you take the role of the warrior Thora which after her inglorious death in sea now should immpres the Gods if she wants to ever get into Valhalla. For this she will have to collect ten magical Runes guarded by crafty puzzles. And slay five monstrous Jotuns, which can easily splat you on the ground, in epic fights to the death. And in the end stand and defeat Odin himself. The game is heavily inspired by Norse mythology and during your adventures you will visist many places described in old stories. You go as far as the roots of Yggrdasil and wander trough the blacksmith where Thor's hammer Mjolnir has been crafted.

If you're like me and like Norse mythology and epic boss fights then there is absolutly no reason not to try Jotun, where you will get plenty of both!


Links:

Official site

Steam

King's Quest 2015 - A Knight to remember

Have you heard of Sierra Entertainment? Yes? Well I wasn't expecting another answer. But did you knew that they have risen to glory with the series King's Quest? No? I didn’t know it until recently too. For many years I have known Sierra as the guys behind games like Empire Earth and Caesar.

Anyway believing it or not their golden series has been King's Quest and it is now alive again with the latest re-imagining by Odd Gentlemen and Sierra. But let's start from the beginning. What is King's Quest, who is the King, why he gives quests to people?

Disclaimer: I have never played the old King's Quest series, so I'll compare this one to other adventure games instead of its predecessors. If you're looking for an opinion how the new game is compared to the previous ones I'm afraid you will not find it here.

In the five series re-imagination you will follow the story of Graham. From his hopeful knight exam up until the time he becomes King Graham. Now, now, no need for harsh words. It's not like I spoiled anything, you will learn this in the first minutes of the game.

King's Quest itself is structured in way of a story - Graham tells his granddaughter her favourite story about how he tricked a dragon and stole his treasure - a magical mirror and returned it to the King who was so thankful that he made him a King. After the end of the story Graham's granddaughter is not satisfied though and he decides to tell her another one, one she has never heard before - the one of how he became a Hopeful Knight.

Honestly there is not much to say about the game. King's Quest even re-imagined is a classic adventure game. You walk around talk to people, they request certain item from you, you hunt for it, solve puzzles, bring them what they need, they give you new item and ultimately you complete your main objective. By its spirit and mood the game reminds me of another classic and that is Monkey Island. There are differences of course, like Graham is a lot smarter than Threepwood for example. Not to mention that the series has more action in it, well not as much as other similar games like Wolf among Us. But I divert, KQ remind me of Monkey Island, because of its silliness and goofy characters. For example the royal guard which after being chased by bees jump in the water one by one only after they're attacked by the bees. Or...I'll actually let you find the others on your own. Also as I already mentioned the mood of the game is light and without much tension. The humour of the game is also of similar "not-laughing-out-loud" type but more like "smirk knowingly". A type that I have started to like more and more.

True, there is fail state in the game but when you die the game brings you in front of the giant mirror where your story is displayed while you tell it and old Graham or his granddaughter says something along the lines of "This is not what happened" and then the game brings you back to your latest checkpoint. Their remarks about your mistakes are mostly witty and funny but not many and they quickly become repetitive (or I just failed too many times). Will you fail as much as me? Well it depends how good you are at QTE segments. The puzzles probably will not give you any trouble as they are not really hard. For comparison Book of Unwritten Tales 2's ones gave me a lot more trouble. The big issue that you will encounter is that you will need to walk around a lot. This first episode is a lot bigger than other episodic games. But the problem is not the wandering itself but the fact that for some reason Odd Gentleman has not included a map in the game or any matter of traveling fast between locations, so be prepared to get lost.

A cool thing that they did and is related to the puzzle solving are the multiple solutions with different consequences. For example when you need to find a new wheel for a cart, Graham goes in search for something round and you might steal a shield or a table...or you might even buy them, this choice also has its own consequences. Which only show how much more thought the developers have put in the puzzle solving than it looks.

Another thing that I like in the new King's Quest is the aesthetic. The game looks like a fairy tale of high quality and style. The animations are nice, detailed and with good variation. The colours are vibrant and bright. And while we are at this matter the voice acting is at top level too which is great bearing in mind that there is a lot of talking going.

Conclusion

As someone who has never played the old King's Quests I came to this game without any expectations. And I left impressed and inpatient for the second episode. King's Quest is a lot longer and meatier than other episodic adventure games and I find this fantastic. Also the game has great aesthetic; it truly brings you in a fairy tale. A silly one, but greatly voiced. In other words King's Quest does great job in immersing you in the tale. The game is also not trying to be something that it is not and its jokes while not hilarious definitely bring exactly the right amount of humour. 

Under all this for good or for bad you will find a classic adventure game. Graham with your help will help people...creatures...characters to get certain items, then they in turn will give him items that will allow him to advance the story. And this will repeat until the fulfilment of the main objective. I cannot miss to mention that the Odd Gentleman has gone a bit further in puzzle solving when they have made some puzzles to have more than one solution, each with different consequences. This logically brings also more than one end to the episode.

Now the classic aspect that I mentioned combined with the size of the world that you roam and the lack of map creates a problem. You will go by foot trough the same places quite a lot and this may be a problem even for the biggest fans as it become tedious quite quick. Sadly even if it sounds like a small problem it is a rather big one as it breaks the immersion and turns the game into a choir.

Luckily this is the only real problem of the game and if you can look past it, King's Quest 2015 is an adventure game that if you are a fan of the genre you cannot miss. I hope that in the next episode they will fix what they have missed in this one and will allow this great otherwise game to shine in it’s fullest.

Links:

Odd Gentlemen

Sierra Entertainment

Steam

Magic: Duels - Free mana for everybody!

Some of you might be following me for long enough to know that I'm big fan of Magic: The Gathering. Most of you probably even know what the game is about, but for those who have no idea I will start a bit further back.

Twenty-two, almost twenty three years ago the thirty years old Richard Garfield with the help of Wizards of the Coast published what is accepted as the first CCG game - Magic: The Gathering. The success of MTG was so big that it continues even today with new sets coming every year. Not to mention that the game inspired a ton of other card games.

But what Magic is actually? This is a game in which two or more wizards clash into a duel, fighting by summoning mystical creatures and using devastating spells. For this purpose they use different types of mana that they drew from the surrounding nature. What all this have to do with video games though?

After their huge success on paper in 1997 Wizards tried their hands on video games with some doubtful success until the coming of Duels of the Planeswalkers in 2009 and in 2011. Since then we see new DoP every year. The games focus only on the card gameplay usually featuring short single-player campaign and option for multiplayer over the internet. The other rather successful video game about MTG is the online version of the classic.

Until the release of Magic: Duels though all Magic games costed money. Duels is absolutely free. I guess you can look at it as Wizards Heartstone. Although this comparison is unfair as the two games are quite different in their core gameplay. But for sake of simplicity we will work with it.

Now let's look in more details what Dules have to offer and what it lacks. On launch the game features the new Battle of Zendikar card set. This is quite cool as you will be able to try new cards and strategies for free. Of course you will not start with all cards from the set. You will have to... gather them (do you see what I did huh?). But if it wasn't this way what fun it will be, what CCG it will be right? Getting more cards works by getting boosters. You will be rewarded few while completing the single player campaign and after that with duelling you will earn coins which will allow you to buy more boosters. I'm sure you already suspect it, so I'll just confirm your suspicions - In Duels also you will be able to buy in-game currency (coins) with real money. I'll say no more about it, take it as what it is - a fact. There is a lot written on the topic so I'll not make this article longer than it should be by talking about this. 

Similar to Hearthstone Duels also has daily quests which should be completed with different two colour decks. What Duels has that I have not seen in other similar game are the Community quests. This type of quests continues one week and all people playing the game can take part in it by contributing for completing the threshold of the quest. It's objective usually is something like "Play 10 000 Instant cards". If the quest is completed and you contributed to it, when its over you get the reward for it. This is great way for both helping new players and keeping the game experience fresh and new, because those quests are always different from the Daily ones.

But there is more! Unlike its predecessors Duels also features variety of play modes. I already mentioned one of them - the Campaign. You can also play versus AI with several difficulty settings. Against opponents online and the star of the group - The Two Headed Giant. This is a mode in which two players stand against two others and work in a team to achieve a win. I tried it and I must say that it is really fun and cool. There is small problem with its balance when the game matches you with an AI so it might be a good idea always to have some to play it with. You can even play offline although playing this way the game will not save your progress and you will not be able to earn coins

And I almost forgot Duels continues the tradition of Magic games with great, detailed tutorials which will lead you through every aspect of the game. This is important because Magic is a hard and complicated game and without proper tutorial it will easily turn away every new player who might try it. There is even deckbuilding helper which will help you make your first decks. In other words this is probably the best way to get into Magic!

All this said Duels also inherited some of its predecessor’s problems.  For example it still looks terrible. I mean the "battlefield" which you will look at in 90% of your time playing the game. It is just huge metal table (steel I guess after all it’s developed by Stainless Steel Studios.). Always! If not else it breaks the immersion of the game. You are nor feeling like summoning those great beasts and using cool spells. You feel like just playing cards to the table. Where is the fun in that? Very few other digital CCG games have blank boards like that. Not to mention that some are trying to bring the genre even further by combining it with fully fledged MMO mechanics.

Other big downfall of the game is its speed. Duels as every Planeswalkers before it is slow. This is mostly a result of its animations and the fact that MTG is a slow game to begin with. Here some of you will say " Well but Magic is Magic and with all the strategies and stuff you cannot play it faster.". I disagree strongly. Other digital CCGs like Infinity Wars and HEX which are not lighter by any means play a lot faster. And look a lot better!

The only explanation I can come up with is that Wizards don't want to change something that obviously works and will continue to make their MTG games this way as long as people continue to buy them. Now I can understand that. The game has existed in this form for 4-6 years already and usually it’s not good idea to change something that works. My problem with that is the fact that they don't use what the possibilities that digital technologies give them and by doing this they may fall behind other games on the market.

Conclusion

I have babbled enough. Let me now sum up everything until now. Magic: Duels is brave step in innovative direction for Wizards of the Coast. With it they will probably try to take place in the race of free-to-play CCGs. But while it definitely has a lot to offer like Daily quests and various game modes including the great Two Headed Giant. My hope for this game is that they will continue updating it with new sets and that they will implement more single player campaigns. Sadly Duels is far from perfect. And to make it worse, MD has inherited some flaws from its predecessors. Like the boring look and slow gameplay which puts it behind its competitors on the market. 

Still, still! If you can look over those flaws Duels is without doubt the best way to get into Magic: The Gahtering.

Links:

Official site

Steam

Magic:The Gathering Official site

Wizards of the Coast Official site

The Blog is not dead - Update

Hello dear readers!

The blog is not dead it was just in a bit longer than planed vacation :D ( I was lazy in other words )
Soon I will return to publishing again with full power. Expect my thoughts on Magic Duels the new Magic: The Gathering game and King's Quest: Knight to remember next week. Yes you heard right there will be two reviews next week and I`ll try to keep this number in future too. The price for this is that the reviews from now on will be only in English. Writing in two languages by myself turned out to be more than I can do. I hope this won't affect you that much and all of you will continue to enjoy my reviews.

See you soon!

Legends of Eisenwald - Чували ли сте за Strategy First

Попаднах на Legends of Eisenwald напълно случайно, всъщност приятел ми каза за нея и реших да я пробвам. Оказа се точно като за мен. Играта е тактическа стратегия с RPG елементи и походови битки. Дело е на белоруското студио Aterdux Entertainment и излезе на 2 юли 2015г.

Света, който ви заобикаля...

Действието на играта се развива във фантастичен свят, вдъхновен от Германия през 15ти век. Вие сте млад благородник, който след като се завръща в земите си открива, че там е настъпил хаос и всичките му васали са се хванали за гушите. Върху вас пада задачата да върнете реда в земите си. Самата история не е нещо особено и лесно можете да я пропуснете, но ако решите да я четете тя ще даде своя принос за това да се потопите по-лесно в един свят на постоянни интриги и предателства, където никога няма да знаете кой наистина ви е приятел. Е, не достига висините на Игра на тронове в това отношение, но си има и своите добри попадения. 

Но дори и да решите да пропуснете историята, вие ще имате удоволствието да се насладите на един много...исторически коректен свят. В Legends of Eisenwald ще видите много замъци, които са вдъхновени от истински такива. Същото важи и за предметите, които ще ви попаднат по време на игра - изключително точни от историческа гледна точка. Тези две неща допринасят за създаването на един сравнително реалистичен свят...със зрънце магия, тъй като във войската ви ще има магьосници и лечители, както и за противници понякога ще имате и различни фантастични същества.

Мисля, че сме се срещали преди...

В ревютата, които четох за Legend of Eisewald, играта е сравнявана с Heores of Might and Magic, както и с King's Bounty и докато тези сравнения не са неточни, то на мен LoE много повече ми напомни за една друга много любима моя игра - Disciples II, дело на Strategy First. Вярно играта има същия "безкраен хода", като King's Bounty  и битките малко напомнят на класиката на 3DO, но нека ви обясня и ще видите колко общо има и с Disciples.

Като споменах "безкрайния ход" може би тук е мястото да кажа малко повече за начина на играене, тъй като това е важна механиката в играта. Вие имате два варианта - всички ще се движат, когато и вие се движите или класически RTS вариант, където всеки ще бъде независим от вашите действия. И двата варианта имат своята употреба и вероятно ще ви се налага постоянно да преминавате от единия към другият.

Нека започнем с разликите между LoE и Disciples. Първата и може би най-сериозна е тази че вие няма да развивате замъците си. Вместо това на всеки от тях е зададено какви възможности ще ви дава. В някои от тях ще можете да се лекувате, в други да си купувате войска, а в трети няма да можете да правите нищо. Следователно и втората разлика - за еволюцията на единиците ви няма да са нужни специални сгради, а единствено определено количество опит. Друга много голяма разлика е възможността да давате предмети на единиците си. Точно така. И не само можете да ги екипирате с предмети, но някои от тях ще могат да ползват и по няколко вида оръжия, които дават още по-голяма възможност да за различни войскови формации. 

Сега да видим по какво си приличат двете игри. Най-голяма прилика и това, което ме накара да си спомня за отрочето на Strategy First беше възможността бойните ви единици да  еволюират, когато вдигат нива. 

По същия начин, като и в Disciples това става бавно, но всяко ниво наистина има значение и може да обърне играта. Това което Aterdux са променили тук е, че дърветата на единиците са по..."неспециалиризани". Например, ако сте играли Disciples и си спомняте, там лечителя ви можеше да стане такъв, който може да лекува една единица или такъв, който да лекува всички. Тук на същия тип войска е даден избора да бъде лечител или вещица, като двете имат коренно различна роля във войската ви. Същото важи и свещениците ви, при първото им вдигане на ниво ще трябва да изберете дали те ще бъдат помощни единици или такива, които ще влизат в ръкопашен бой с противника. Както и в Disciples и тук избора ви е перманентен, щом изберете един клон, то другият е заключен за тази единица. Тъй като обаче еволюцията на единиците не е продиктувана от сградите, които имате в замъците си, то вие може да имате едновременно единици и от двата клона, стига да пожелаете.

Другата прилика, колкото и да е странно са битките. Защо да е странно? Защото в Disciples II битките са статични, тоест единиците не се движат, а могат да нападат само най-близката до себе си единица. В Legends of Eisenwald войската ви се движи по бойното поле, но пак може да напада само най-близките до себе си противници. Това да си призная е начина по който си представях, че ще са направени битките в Disciples III.

Заключение

Legends of Eisenwald ми напомня за игра, която обичам и към която съм се връщал множество пъти - Disciples II на студиото Strategy First. И двете игри са стратегии премесени със RPG елементи. Друга прилика между тях е механиката позволяваща на единиците ви да трупат опит и да се развиват с времето. Тук Aterdux са доразвили идеята от Disciples според мен, като са позволили на играчите да имат единици и от двата клона на еволюционното дърво. Също така и самите клонове са по-разнообразни и различаващи се. Най-голяма разлика за мен дойде от това, че тук на единиците също могат да се дават предмети, като дори някои видове войска могат да ползват повече от един вид снаряжение.

Друга голяма разлика в двете игри идва от обстановката, която създават. За разлика от предшественичката си LoE създава усещането за един сравнително реалистичен свят, в който има само зрънце магия и митични създания. Това в голяма степен е постигнато с множеството замъци, които са вдъхновени от истински такива, както и исторически точно пресъздадените оръжия и доспехи на войската ви и героите, които ще срещате по пътя си.

Legends също така изглежда добре и има прилична история, която не е фатално обаче ако не следите. Не може да се мери с тази създадена от Strategy First.

Единствените недостатъци на заглавието, които трябва да се насиля за да видя са това, че за много хора няма да изглежда много добре, както и факта, че ако сте хардкор играчи, то играта няма да ви предложи това което търсите. LoE е предвидена да бъде играна по-скоро на кратки серии, отколкото на сесии от по няколко часа.

Ако тези недостатъци не ви притесняват, то ви препоръчвам Legends of Eisenwald. Играта крие много повече, отколкото се вижда на пръв поглед.

Линкове:

Официален сайт

Steam

HumbleBundle Store

Legends of Eisenwald - Meet my first strategic disciple

I found about Legends of Eisenwald accidentally, to be more precise a friend told me about it. And it turned out to be right up my alley. Legends of Eisenwald is an adventure game with strategic turn based battles and many RPG elements. It’s made by the Belorussian studio Aterdux Entertainment. It came out at 2 of July 2015.

World and Story

Due to betrayal you have lost control over your lands and lords. Now everything depends on you. Will you be able to reclaim what's yours by right? The story is not extremely impressive and can be easily skimmed trough, but if you delve into it you will find that it adds good bit to immersion of the game. LoE successfully creates a feeling of world filled with intrigue and betrayal where you're never sure who is a friend and who a foe. Also the surroundings are amazingly done in my opinion. You will see realistic castles and land shafts not to mention the day-night circle and the shadows of objects which dynamically change their orientation based on the time of the day. Also all weapons, shields and armor are pretty historically accurate. Those few small at first glance things really create the feeling of realism which most fantasy games lack. At the same time you have witches and healers who are far from not educated in the arts of magic.

I think I have met you before...

In the reviews of the game that I read Eisenwald is compared to games like Heroes of Might and Magic and King's Bounty and while those comparisons are not inaccurate LoE reminds me of another classic - Disciples by Strategy First. Well its true it have the pretty much unlimited movement of KB as well as the possibility of taking side quests and talking to all characters you meet. And the battles kind of remind you of Heroes at first glance, but let me explain and you will see that I'm right.

Oh one thing before that, mentioning King's Bounty and unlimited movement here is the place to mention that the game features two kinds of...movement on the map. Real time where everything happens despite your pace of movement and the other where time passes only when you move. So the game is not exactly TBS but its not really an RTS either...

Let's start wit the differences between Disciples and LoE. The first one is that you will see is that you do not develop your castles. Some of them are set to give you the ability to recruit or heal in them, but not all. Also in them you will not build any structures. Because of that here buildings are not needed for the evolution of your troops, they are ready to be upgraded once they acquire the required amount of experience. Your troops will again have two paths from which to choose and once you have chosen path the other is locked. What I noticed is that some troops have more diverse paths than the ones in Disciples. For example the healer will be able to become a more powerful healer or a witch. For comparison in Disciples your choice was between a single target healer and mass one.

The more advanced your troops are the more experience they will need of course, but also a lot stronger they will become gaining new abilities. Again very similar to Strategy First's masterpiece where troops gained levels slowly, but every single level was of great importance. Other similarities are the rare rather powerful items that you find and strangely enough the battles. True your units are able to move during battle unlike the ones in Disciples II, but they still will be able to attack only the closest target. This increases the available strategies in combat by some and to be honest this is how I imagined the battles in Disciples III would be.

Of course you should not think that Legend doesn't offer anything different from Strategy First's child. As I already mentioned the units level paths are more diverse like the healer and the witch, the monk and the cleric - one being melee and the other support unit etc. But probably the biggest difference is that some skills of your units are dependent on their equipment. Yes, you read that correct, you are able to give equipment not only to your hero but also to your troops. For example if a unit is using a spear it will have preemptive strike or if its using a shield it will be able to block attacks coming from certain sides or weapons.

Some troops are able to even use more than one kind of weapon giving you even more possible ways to customize your small army.

Shining knights and grand castles

I don't have much to add here about the graphics of the game. It looks nice with a lot of historically accurate armours and weapons. Not to mention the great looking castles for which Aterdux have drawn inspiration from real historical ones. Those things greatly add to the immersion of the game. Also Legends of Eisenwald have very atmospheric music. As a whole very atmospheric game, that really grabs you and brings in there. Or at least it did so with me.

Conclusions

Legends of Eisenwald have reminded me of a game that I greatly love - Disciples II. Both games have units that gain levels and can become different "classes". Also it’s the same mix between an RPG and a strategy game with decent story and nice looking. But while Disciples is high fantasy TBS LoE is a lot more...historical with a bit of magic. In it you will see great castles inspired by real ones as well as weapons and armuors that are historically accurate. Those few small purely visual details add a lot more than you think to the immersion in the game.

Another big difference between the two is the ability of all your units in LoE to equip different items which together with the more diverse "level up" paths bring a lot of customization options to the table. Not to mention that the weapons doesn't give only different look to your units but some also give them unique abilities.

The only downsides of the game that I can think of are the facts that it is not visually impressive and lacks any flashy effects. Also the story is not anything special although it’s not bad either. And if you’re looking for deep strategy game, this is not for you, because I think that Loe has been created to be played in short bursts instead of long epic sessions. But if you put those aside Legends of Eisewald is very potent historical strategy game with RPG elements and a grind of magic. Try it, it hides a lot more than it show at first look.

Links:

Official site

Steam

HumbleBundle Store

Victor Vran - По-мрачния братовчед на Torchlight

RPG е може би любимият ми жанр игри, но понякога екшъна в тях не ми е достатъчен и в такива моменти се потапям в изпълнените експлозии и умиращи пълчища от врагове ARPG-та. Игри, които доста добре се справят със засищането на нуждите ми от летящи навсякъде магии и безброй гадове са Path of Exile и Torchlight II. И докато е вярно, че тези две игри имат доста голямо количество неща, които да те занимават в тях, то винаги с любопитство и надежда проучвам, когато чуя за нова игра в жанра. Нова игра в любим жанр е почти като книга от любим автор. Случаят е точно такъв и с Victor Vran, за който ще ви разкажа днес. Играта излезе 24 Юли и е дело на създателите на небезизвестната Tropico - Haemimont. В това мрачно приключение вие влизате в ролята на ловеца на чудовища Виктор Вран.

Историята на Виктор

Вие сте ловеца Виктор Вран, който следвайки следите на своя приятел достига до претъпкания с чудовища град Загоравия. В единствената все още непревзета от ужаси сграда - двореца, вие срещате кралицата на Загоравия, на която се съгласявате да помогнете, след като научавате някои тайни на града. 

Определено историята не е частта върху, която Haemimont са наблегнали, когато са правили VV.

Защо да убиваме чудовища с Виктор?

На пръв поглед играта определено изглежда, като всяко друго hack n...искам да кажа ARPG, но Виктор има няколко механики и възможности, които го отделят от останалите.

Първото нещо, което веднага вероятно ще забележите е, че можете да скачате. И то не просто така, а скачането има и практическо приложение. Първото, което ще използвате и по-често е това, че с няколко скока лесно ще се измъквате, когато враговете успеят да ви наобиколят. Второто, което е доста по-ефектно е това, че ще можете да отскачате от стените, като по този начин ще можете да достигате различни скрити места. Проблема, който може да имате със скачането по стените е, че тъй като Victor Vran е изометрична игра, то тя често ще скрива стени и арки, за да можете да виждате какво се случва около вас. 

Добре де, може и малко прекалено да съм се развълнувал от възможността ви да скачате, но колко са ARPG игрите, в които можете да скачате, когато си искате? Ха! Точно!

Освен подскачайки наоколо ще можете да избягвате враговете си и като умело се отмествате от пътя на летящи към вас неприятни неща и спускащи се към главите ви оръжия. Комбинацията от тези две механики допринася много повече отколкото изглежда, за това играта да задържа вниманието ви и да не се усеща като повтаряща се и скучна.

Това което наистина отделя Виктор от останалите му колеги в жанра са две ключови неща - в играта няма класове и няма дървета с умения. Както и никакви показатели, които да си увеличавате, когато вдигнете ниво. Не, не, не е глупаво, слушайте! Victor Vran е игра, която рекламира себе си, като притежаваща тон предмети, които да събирате и наистина е така. В играта има много видове оръжия и всяко от тях има по три специфични умения, които ще можете да използвате докато го носите. Ще можете да екипирате по две оръжия и да ги сменяте едно с друго. Оръжията включват бързи неща като меч, рапира и наелектрезиращата шокпушка, но също и по-бавни неща, които правят повече АоЕ поражение, като огромен чук, коса и преносимо оръдие. Освен оръжия ще можете да си екипирате и Съдбовни карти, както и демонски умения. Първите ще ви дават различни пасивни бонуси, като повече живот, по-голям шанс за критикал и т.н. Демонските умения са това, което в света на Виктор най се доближава до магията. За тяхното използване ще ви е нужен overdrive, който ще трупате когато ви удрят или по други начини предоставени ви от различни предмети.

Освен тези неща Victor Vran съдържа в себе си и всички други чаровности на жанра, като орди от противници, подземия из които да пълзите, скрити съкровища и неприятни Шефчета, които да тупате. Света на Вран не е изграден от свързани помежду си места, а вместо това ще можете от централата си в двореца да се телепортирате до различни части от света. Като споменах подземията, в тях винаги ще имате някакви допълнителни, но незадължителни задачи, които ще ви дават злато, предмети или пари. А ако усетите, че ви е много лесно, то винаги ще можете да активирате някое от проклятията, които по различен начин ще модифицират противниците ви, правейки играта по-предизвикателна.

Виктор, Гласът и други известни ловци

Victor Vran определено не изглежда идеално и блестящо, сравнение с други игри излезли наскоро, но определено изглежда ефектно. Врагове ще летят навсякъде, скелетите ще се пръскат на парчета, заобикалящи ви предмети ще експлодират, АоЕ ще горят земята под краката ви. Враговете в началото ще ви писнат може би бързо, тъй като за дълго време ще срещате единствено скелети и паяци. Тук е мястото да спомена, че много от анимациите и ефектите на различните умения, както и някои механики свързани с уменията, наистина ми напомнят за Torchlight ІІ. Особено уменията, които имат шанс да се задействат, както и това, че големите оръжия, като чука и косата поразяват повече от един противник, просто защото са големи. Victor Vran e нещо, като далечен, по-мрачен братовчед на творението на Runic.

Относно това, което ще чуете в играта има две неща, които изпъкват веднага - Виктор е озвучен от същият човек, който е дал гласът и на Гералт от Ривиа. Двама ловци на чудовища озвучавани от един и същи човек някак си ми се струваше странно, може би просто аз съм свикнал прекалено много да свързвам гласът с Вещера.

Второто нещо е Гласът, който единствено Виктор чува в главата си. Този Глас няма да ви помага по никакъв начин, напротив той ще ви побърква с хапливите си забележки и реплики. Например ще ви предизвика да влезете в лабиринта, намиращ се в царската градина, но щом започнете да прескачате стените му, ще ви обвини, че мамите. Или в няколко подземия постоянно ще ви повтаря, че вървите в грешната посока. Гласът е тънката нишка хумор, в мрачният свят на Виктор, който определено допринася за това играта да не е толкова еднотипна.

Заключение

Victor Vran е 2.5D ARPG, в което вие поемате ролята на ловеца на чудовища Виктор Вран, който търси своят приятел. Това му търсене го завежда до град Загоравия. Преди да кажете "О, не ARPG отново!", то позволете ми да ви кажа какво разграничава Victor Vran от останалите му колеги в жанра.

Първото нещо е това, че няма никакви класове или дървета с умения в играта. Вместо това уменията, с които ще разполагате зависят от оръжията, които носите. Всяко оръжие ще ви дава по три уникални умения. Друго средство с чиято помощ ще трепете гадините, които ще идват на пълчища срещу вас са демонските ви умения, които са и еквивалента на магии в света на Вики. И накрая, но не последно място вие ще можете да си екипирате Съдбовни карти, които ще ви дават различни пасивни бонуси.

За жалост няма как да не кажем, че случаят на Вран е същият, като на много други игри, които се опитват да се разграничат от големите заглавия в жанра. С други думи най-силните му страни са и неговите най-слаби. Това е така, защото, когато играта е изградена покрай подобни механики, то тя страда от липсата на една много важна особеност на ARPG-тата и на RPG-тата като цяло - възможност за преиграване. Вярно, можете да се опитате да биете играта с различни оръжия, умения и карти, но дори това няма да се доближи до преиграването с напълно различен клас.

На мен лично ми хареса, ако си търсите "леко" ARPG или добро забавление за уикенда, то Victor Vran определено се вписва и си заслужава.

Линкове:

Официален сайт

Steam

GoG