So, how about that E3 stuff, eh? While the news about how the Playstation 4 will be cuddling up with indies is certainly great, for me the biggest disappointment was Sucker Punch not standing up and going, "Haha, psych! You thought we were going to stick you with this dorkus malorkus? Not bloody likely. May we now present inFamous 3: Full Throttle Zeke, And Also Cole Is Back Because He Is Best". But I know, I know. You don't come here to see me mewl nervously about upcoming games. You come here for games. And darlin', have I got a batch for you.
Kitt's Kingdom - It's curiously well armed cat versus never ending army of dog in HighUp Studios' action/defense hybrid. Control the titular Kitt as he fends off wave after wave of angry canines, protecting your tower from their forces and earning all sorts of upgrades to hold the line. It's a gorgeous little game with lots of peppy charisma, though a metric ton of grinding and some mildly clunky controls may sour it for some. I promise you that it is at least vastly more entertaining than trying to nap while a cat determinedly attempts to maneuver its butt at your face/
Juggernaut: Awakening - This ambitious retro RPG from Jordan Allen, Nick Johnson, and Matt Jones loses several points off the bat for not opening with someone screaming "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT... uh... RHYMES-WITH-WITCH!" But, no, I kid. Despite suffering from a steep difficulty curve that demands a lot of level grinding right out of the gate, this game, about a group of friends who run afoul of forces best left alone, is still worth checking out if you're the patient sort. Sprinkle in a bit of humour, an epic quest, and an angry beargator and you have the potential for a lot of fun... if you can slog your way through some seriously brutal turn-based combat to get to it.
Questopia - Aleksey Spirkin's dungeon-crawling action RPG has a lot of promise, though it's held back by slow movement and awkward aiming. See, you're a hero stuck inside a massive pyramid, and everything wants to kill you. Fortunately, everything also drops sweet, sweet loot, which I think we can all agree remedies almost any situation. The charming old-school style and addictive hack-and-slash (or run and shoot) style gameplay will appeal to some, though others will take issue with how hard it can be to aim directly at an enemy... especially while it and several of its friends are barfing magical orbs of death at you. Eh, still better than when I worked retail.
Dream Fishing - Look, just play it okay? Sophie Houlden's Ludum Dare "minimalist" entry maybe be simple, but it's also simply delightful. Traipse around the surreal, softly lit area, casting for and catching fish that have some words of wisdom to deliver. It won't take long to play, but the game embraces its title and core concept perfectly to provide one of the most unexpectedly enjoyable little gems of playtime that's worth the few minutes it'll take you to check it out. Frankly, I loved it, and Sophie is my new bestie wether she realises it or not.
Questopia gives me Miracle Witch flashbacks, except with reversed controls. I pretty much can't use magic because it assumes right-handed keyboard directions.
Two non-intuitive bits -- any armor or equipped items can be "sacrificed" in that box in inventory to raise your XP. (There's the Yu Gi Oh! flashback.) And aiming isn't with clicking, it's on mouse-over.
One click inventory control would be a nice improvement. Also, I wasn't told
I'd be destroying ancient Egyptian artifacts! (I suppose Kaiba doesn't care either way... oh I've said too much.)
Got the hang of it, but others might get tangled. Perennial boss-fighters will be quickly rewarded.
Er, left-handed.
I enjoyed Questopia, despite being initially daunted by the movement speed issue. The thing is, you can quickly level your speed up to around 40 (and magic equipment can buff it further), which is easily sufficient to not feel sluggish. The later levels do start to lag, though.
Only real balance flaw I noticed was that on normal, I didn't consume a single health potion until the 3rd set of levels, so the masses of potion drops were a bit superfluous. Maybe the potion drop rates are static across all difficulties, though - I can imagine needing them in the hard modes.
Speaking of E3, I'm really happy that KH3 was finally announced!
Dream Fishing was so...surreal. I liked it alot! Just wish there was more to do.
I loved dream fishing! now I want more wisdom of the fish!
Gah! Kitt ended before I could upgrade everything to the max... my inner OCD is going nuts. A simple "continue" isn't that hard to implement... ugh
Pretty much loved Questopia, am I missing something or can we not rate these Link Dump games?
If that is the case, perhaps we should be able to rate them up to a regular review.
Games on link dump are on a queue for being possibly reviewed. I like these link dumps, there's no review but it's a nice selection of cool things around the web. The ones that deserve some more attention always get their own post with review.
Actually, Diego, that's not entirely correct. Games on Link Dump are here because after discussion, we found them flawed enough in certain ways that we decided NOT to give them their own feature. :) There is always a possibility that the audience speaks out for a certain game and we revisit it, but they are not on any sort of queue to be reviewed.
I'll have to skip out on Dream Fishing for the time being until I get on a computer that has a mouse. I mostly work on a laptop at this point in time and this game looked lovely.
@Dora
I didn't know that. Thanks for clarification :)
Questopia is reasonably well done, although a bit short for a single playthrough and not varied enough for more than a single one. It has a lot of potential, though.
Juggernaut... well, having read the brief review and seen the first two battles (which made me wonder what would come first: the first level-up or my shamefaced retreat to the village due to excessive pummeling), I'd say hasn't been worth even the five minutes I spent on it. It's not necessarily bad, but everything (graphics/sound/interface/gameplay/balance/and probably story) is just sub-standard.
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