Impressive and Misleading
A quick question before I start the review:
I snagged all 55 blue power orbs, and was confronted by the tutorial bot explaining to me how the 55 area was open, and that an alternative ending was unlocked for the foreman. However, regardless of whether I beaten the boss in the 55 area, or through the normal means of confronting him through the 32 door, I wound up with the exact same ending. Am I unable to see the original ending to this game because I obtained 55 blue power orbs before I beaten the boss, or am I doing something wrong, preventing me from seeing the alternative ending, and I'm only able to see the original ending? Sort of baffled by it because I can't think of any other way to obtain this "different ending" that the tutorial bot spoke of.
Well, with that out of the way......
At first, from the opening storyplot that we're given, I was assuming I was going to play the robot to save humanity's society from being devoured by industrialization, so I began to think I was playing a sort of Environmentalist game, but as the plot thickened, I soon realized I was battling that very society to get freedom from the humans. Interesting how the twists and turns have made me realized my goal throughout this entire game.
Well for one, the game was definitely crazy in terms of gameplay. Instead of the slash and shoot em up game I was expecting to play, it was complete mayhem and chaos, as I was trying to dodge the many MANY traps, and attempting to grab all the blue orbs.
One thing I'd like to note though is the lack of actual "battling" in itself. Don't get me wrong, of course there were boss battles, and sometimes the occasional fighting with the robots, but it seems like I found myself scrounging for the blue orbs more than I was actually battling against the Foreman's henchmen. I was looking forward to testing my strength and skill against a horde of robots, since I obtained the dark blade and paragun, but I found very few instances (and possibly none at all) where I could combine these weapons efficiently enough to destroy my foes. I usually just resorted to the dark blade and ignored my paragun. If this was your attempt to tie in between a fighting-style RPGish kind of game, and a platformish game meant solely for dodging, then I guess you did a pretty good job.
Loved the music though. Nice choice to put Dimrain's music for battling. They seem to always fit for that futuristic-like battling music.
I can definitely see your style of graphics from here to Super Mario 63. As long as you keep your own identity, in terms of graphics display, and keep yourself different from all the others, whilst still improving, I'll probably always be a fan of your work. One thing I hope that remains intact is your unique way of setting up menus and the little doodads. For instance, I thought the new way of saving was neat as it fit the theme of the game, and the way that you were able to flip through the save page, weapons page, and stats page on the right side of the screen definitely showed the amount of attention you paid to detail.
Well, with that said, I guess the only thing I can do now is wait for your next huge project that'll keep me entertained for a couple of hours or so. Played this one from beginning to end, and some of your previous projects as well. Seems like you've got a real knack for bringing out a long lasting game that doesn't bore the mind easily.
- Nondo