Borderlands' main storyline is as simple as it gets. There's an ancient vault that only opens every 200 years. The key to that vault is in three pieces. The pieces are held by bandits. Kill the bandits, get the key, open the vault. The real appeal of the game lies in its texture. There's a sense that the world of Pandora is gleefully psychopathic, and that your character is not so much a mass murderer who slaughters bandits and Crimson Lance soldiers by the hundreds as they are a simple contractor who is doing honest work in a dangerous environment. The tension between and humorous juxtaposition of these two ideas will be much more explicit in the sequel and the DLC, but there are already hints of it if accept the right sidequests and religiously read their descriptions.
It's interesting to me that of the game's major quest-givers - Dr Zed, Shep Sanders, Scooter, Lucky, Helena Pierce, and Patricia Tannis, half of them don't survive to the sequel. And the ones that do are the less serious characters, who all have a quirk that acts as a hook for jokes - Dr Zed's medical incompetence, Scooter's general redneckedness, and Tannis' horrifying psychological trauma. In a way, it feels like a mission statement for Borderlands 2 - the series is going to become more jokey and less serious.
Which, honestly, is probably for the best, because the "serious" parts of the game don't really work. Specifically, I'm thinking of the ending. By having the Destroyer come out of the vault, the game is trying to retroactively make the story about a hero chosen by destiny, someone who started off as an amoral mercenary, but who was thrust into events of cosmic importance. The problem is that this is sprung on you at the very last minute, with no sort of foreshadowing. Up until the Destroyer actually emerges, you are in fact an amoral mercenary, and the excitement of opening the vault is due entirely to the promise of alien technology, wealth, power, and women (I was really looking forward to meeting those vault women, too). To find out that the vault was really a not very interesting boss with no significant treasure just felt like a low blow.
But I'm not really saying anything that followers of the series don't already know (they even make a joke about it in the opening of Borderlands 2). Plus, they more than make up for it with the awesome treasure troves in the DLC.
Speaking of which, I'm on the fence about whether to play them. I definitely have to at least do the General Knoxx DLC, because it introduces Athena, who will be a playable character in the Pre-sequel. And all of them are fun enough to be intrinsically worth playing. However, level scaling is going to be even more of an issue than it was with the main game. I wound up being level 35 when the suggested mission level was 31. I think the bigger DLCs start at level 35, but I'm pretty sure that doing one will make the others unplayable. Ordinarily, what I'd do now is try to beeline through new game+, because the game automatically scales to your current level when you beat the Destroyer a second time, but I'm not sure I want to play this game for another 30 hours (especially since I have Borderlands 2 and all its incredible DLC waiting for me).
I think, what I'm going to do is try and rush through the General Knoxx storyline, while avoiding sidequests, in order to be as low a level as possible for Claptrap's Robot Revolution, and then, if I'm not too overpowered, try and squeeze in the Island of Dr Ned. I might play around a bit with Moxxi's Underdome, but honestly, that doesn't have much story interest, and since it scales with your character, I can save that for last (though I might pop in to use the storage for some of my cooler weapons).
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Borderlands - 10/20 hours
Borderlands is a game I've played for literally hundreds of hours. For me, there is no mystery to it. There is nothing left to discover (I could, of course, be wrong - that's the tricky part of mystery). Everything I see, I've seen before, often as much as a dozen times.
And yet, it's been years since I last played Borderlands, so many of my memories do not instantaneously leap to mind, and some of the ones that do are less than accurate. So, it's kind of like I'm playing the game through the mental equivalent of a pair of heavy gloves. There is a noticeable disconnect between my immediate sensory awareness of the game and my deeper intellectual perception of it.
It feels like my hands are playing the game, and my brain is watching it. That's an odd sensation, but not an unpleasant one. As I work my way through the Caustic Caverns or Earl's Junkyard, my mind wanders, and I'm free to think deep thoughts about the important issues of the day or (more realistically) shallow thoughts about what I'm planning on eating for breakfast (frozen enchiladas, in case you're curious). And I never, ever get lost, which if you've been paying attention to these ramblings of mine, you'd know is the video game scenario that above all others demoralizes and disinterests me.
I guess that might make playing Borderlands sound kind of boring. And while I will admit to fantasizing about the more engaging stories of the DLC and Borderlands 2 (not to mention the completely unknown story of the forthcoming Pre-Sequel), I would call my current experience "comfortable." Playing Borderlands is like sitting around with an old friend. We may have nothing new left to say to each other, but our routine works so well, there's really not a need.
And yet, it's been years since I last played Borderlands, so many of my memories do not instantaneously leap to mind, and some of the ones that do are less than accurate. So, it's kind of like I'm playing the game through the mental equivalent of a pair of heavy gloves. There is a noticeable disconnect between my immediate sensory awareness of the game and my deeper intellectual perception of it.
It feels like my hands are playing the game, and my brain is watching it. That's an odd sensation, but not an unpleasant one. As I work my way through the Caustic Caverns or Earl's Junkyard, my mind wanders, and I'm free to think deep thoughts about the important issues of the day or (more realistically) shallow thoughts about what I'm planning on eating for breakfast (frozen enchiladas, in case you're curious). And I never, ever get lost, which if you've been paying attention to these ramblings of mine, you'd know is the video game scenario that above all others demoralizes and disinterests me.
I guess that might make playing Borderlands sound kind of boring. And while I will admit to fantasizing about the more engaging stories of the DLC and Borderlands 2 (not to mention the completely unknown story of the forthcoming Pre-Sequel), I would call my current experience "comfortable." Playing Borderlands is like sitting around with an old friend. We may have nothing new left to say to each other, but our routine works so well, there's really not a need.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Borderlands - 6/20 hours
I'd forgotten how much I enjoy this game. I didn't want to stop playing and write a post. Before I started, I worried that I might unwittingly compare it to Borderlands 2 and find it wanting, and while it's true that there are gameplay features I miss (such as the ability to scroll the map, or see the adjusted values of my skills after equipping a class mod), the game is such mindless, gun-blasting fun that in the moment, it doesn't really matter. There's a reason Borderlands got a sequel.
The plot of the last four hours is basically not worth mentioning. There's a bandit called Sledge, and I killed him. I think the people of Fyrestone regard me as a kind of vigilante hero. I'm more inclined to see the vault hunters as amoral mercenaries, though I suppose, on average, they are more on the side of right. I suppose that is one thing Pandora has going for it - the good guys pay better.
Level scaling continues to be a problem. I went out of my way to head for areas at or above my level, but doing so earned me enough xp and equipment to render the other areas trivial. It's always such a delicate dance, and one I never quite get right. I know I should avoid too many side-quests, to keep the main quest interesting, but leaving them behind makes me feel itchy, like I'm ignoring something important. It's kind of ridiculous.
Luckily, I somewhat enjoy being overpowered. As long as I'm not too far ahead, there is something satisfying about being able to wade into a horde of enemies, hose them down with bullets, and be the last thing standing.
The best part of the game, even in areas where the enemies are pitifully low level, is the loot. I think, taken as a group, the guns in Borderlands 2 are better, but Borderlands has a few neat ones that got cut. Borderlands' gun manufacturers are distinguished more by tendencies than absolute boundaries - VJakobs does more damage, Vladof has a high rate of fire, S&S has huge magazines, Maliwan is elemental, Atlas is all around good, and Tediore sucks (I'm not sure what exactly Dahl or Torgue do, but they tend to be pretty good). Compared to their counterparts in the sequel, only S&S is better, but that's primarily because it does not suffer the "balancing" penalties that Bandit weapons do (I think they may have overestimated how much of a disadvantage reloading is). The main thing I miss is weird and unbalanced combinations of gun type and manufacturer, like Vladof shotguns that have the rate of fire of a combat rifle, or S&S sniper rifles, which can give you a dozen chances to hit a far off enemy.
My build thus far is a straight controller Lilith. Diva gives me a significant boost to shields, Inner glow lets me heal while phasewalking, and Hard to Get reduces my phasewalk cooldown. Overall, this makes me pretty tough, though I'm still probably about 15 levels away from being an unstoppable death goddess. I'm looking forward to it. Even though I do not need that kind of power, on account of being 3 levels ahead of my current content, there will be sudden spikes in the level requirements, and it'll be nice to be able to tackle the more rewarding areas as quickly as possible.
(It's best not to think about how this will further mess up my main quest and dlc level scaling).
The plot of the last four hours is basically not worth mentioning. There's a bandit called Sledge, and I killed him. I think the people of Fyrestone regard me as a kind of vigilante hero. I'm more inclined to see the vault hunters as amoral mercenaries, though I suppose, on average, they are more on the side of right. I suppose that is one thing Pandora has going for it - the good guys pay better.
Level scaling continues to be a problem. I went out of my way to head for areas at or above my level, but doing so earned me enough xp and equipment to render the other areas trivial. It's always such a delicate dance, and one I never quite get right. I know I should avoid too many side-quests, to keep the main quest interesting, but leaving them behind makes me feel itchy, like I'm ignoring something important. It's kind of ridiculous.
Luckily, I somewhat enjoy being overpowered. As long as I'm not too far ahead, there is something satisfying about being able to wade into a horde of enemies, hose them down with bullets, and be the last thing standing.
The best part of the game, even in areas where the enemies are pitifully low level, is the loot. I think, taken as a group, the guns in Borderlands 2 are better, but Borderlands has a few neat ones that got cut. Borderlands' gun manufacturers are distinguished more by tendencies than absolute boundaries - VJakobs does more damage, Vladof has a high rate of fire, S&S has huge magazines, Maliwan is elemental, Atlas is all around good, and Tediore sucks (I'm not sure what exactly Dahl or Torgue do, but they tend to be pretty good). Compared to their counterparts in the sequel, only S&S is better, but that's primarily because it does not suffer the "balancing" penalties that Bandit weapons do (I think they may have overestimated how much of a disadvantage reloading is). The main thing I miss is weird and unbalanced combinations of gun type and manufacturer, like Vladof shotguns that have the rate of fire of a combat rifle, or S&S sniper rifles, which can give you a dozen chances to hit a far off enemy.
My build thus far is a straight controller Lilith. Diva gives me a significant boost to shields, Inner glow lets me heal while phasewalking, and Hard to Get reduces my phasewalk cooldown. Overall, this makes me pretty tough, though I'm still probably about 15 levels away from being an unstoppable death goddess. I'm looking forward to it. Even though I do not need that kind of power, on account of being 3 levels ahead of my current content, there will be sudden spikes in the level requirements, and it'll be nice to be able to tackle the more rewarding areas as quickly as possible.
(It's best not to think about how this will further mess up my main quest and dlc level scaling).
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Borderlands - 2/20 hours
The opening of Borderlands does a pretty good job selling the game. Marcus narrating the legend of the the Vault is just plain fun, though his list of things people hope to find is a bit whimsical. Money and power make sense, but then he includes fame and . . . women. I guess the implication is that people will be super impressed by whoever finds the Vault, but I always wind up imagining that there are women just hanging out in the Vault for hundreds of years. Who are they? How did they get there? Why would aliens bother putting human women in their Vault? Who knows. I don't imagine them as unhappy, because that would be depressing. Nor do I imagine that they will reward the Vault hunters with sex, because that would be gross. What I picture is opening the Vault and some random, unremarkable woman saying, "hey, hello," in surprised, but otherwise perfectly ordinary tone of voice. It always makes me laugh.
After Marcus' narration, there's a cool opening song, and then the character select screen. The vault hunters are introduced by each one inexplicably striking a badass pose on an apparently uneventful bus ride. Also, Angel starts talking to you, but nothing she says is particularly interesting or important (to clarify - Angel is a pretty cool character in Borderlands 2, but her appearance here is total snoozeville).
Once off the bus, Claptrap guides you through a brief tutorial level (minor gripe - the pop-up tutorial messages don't register the presence of a controller, and thus instruct you on which keyboard keys to press, even when that advise is useless - luckily, I've played this game so much the controls are now pure muscle memory).
Claptrap is a lot like Angel in that the second game gives him a lot of characterization that isn't present in the first. His voice is still moderately annoying, and he still dances when he has nothing better to do, but his instructions to you are direct and straightforward, with none of the delusion self-importance or slightly fey incompetence that makes him such a funny character in Borderlands 2 (he may get fleshed out more in the DLC - I'll keep my eyes open).
I think the issue here is that Borderlands has not yet found its voice. You have a semi-serious storyline of helping Fyrestone deal with bandit gangs, but then Skooter talking about his mama's busted girl parts. Many characters have their defining quirks (or at least hints of them), but it's not yet clear who's going to capture the imagination of the fandom (I have a suspicion that TK Baha was originally conceived as being more important than he eventually winds up being).
So, the story and presentation have not yet reached their maximum potential. And the gameplay is pretty rough too. It's a fun, casual shooter, but so far the rpg elements are kind of a hindrance. Specifically, the level scaling and map layout makes much of the early game a little tedious. I'm level 10, but in order to turn in quests and advance the story, I had to pass through long stretches with level 2-4 enemies, which can do me no serious harm, don't offer enough experience to be worth fighting, and yet are too annoying to ignore. This will clear up a bit later in the game, when enemies are more of a threat, but for now, I'm just going through the motions.
Collecting loot is still a blast, though. I found a blue double anarchy in TK's wife's grave. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the game, that makes the already easy opening levels completely trivial). The gambling-like rush of lucky finds like that never gets old, and for all its lack of polish, Borderlands is built on an incredibly fun and addictive formula.
Truthfully, it seems churlish to complain. Borderlands 2 also had a slow opening section. It's just something that I have to deal with. Luckily, I'm almost through the worst of it, and soon the game will open up enough that I should be able to stick to more rewarding areas (provided I don't do what I always do and accept every damned quest that comes my way, and thus wind up 3-5 levels ahead of the curve).
It's been awhile since I've played, but Borderlands is already sucking me in. It is truly a time waster par excellence.
After Marcus' narration, there's a cool opening song, and then the character select screen. The vault hunters are introduced by each one inexplicably striking a badass pose on an apparently uneventful bus ride. Also, Angel starts talking to you, but nothing she says is particularly interesting or important (to clarify - Angel is a pretty cool character in Borderlands 2, but her appearance here is total snoozeville).
Once off the bus, Claptrap guides you through a brief tutorial level (minor gripe - the pop-up tutorial messages don't register the presence of a controller, and thus instruct you on which keyboard keys to press, even when that advise is useless - luckily, I've played this game so much the controls are now pure muscle memory).
Claptrap is a lot like Angel in that the second game gives him a lot of characterization that isn't present in the first. His voice is still moderately annoying, and he still dances when he has nothing better to do, but his instructions to you are direct and straightforward, with none of the delusion self-importance or slightly fey incompetence that makes him such a funny character in Borderlands 2 (he may get fleshed out more in the DLC - I'll keep my eyes open).
I think the issue here is that Borderlands has not yet found its voice. You have a semi-serious storyline of helping Fyrestone deal with bandit gangs, but then Skooter talking about his mama's busted girl parts. Many characters have their defining quirks (or at least hints of them), but it's not yet clear who's going to capture the imagination of the fandom (I have a suspicion that TK Baha was originally conceived as being more important than he eventually winds up being).
So, the story and presentation have not yet reached their maximum potential. And the gameplay is pretty rough too. It's a fun, casual shooter, but so far the rpg elements are kind of a hindrance. Specifically, the level scaling and map layout makes much of the early game a little tedious. I'm level 10, but in order to turn in quests and advance the story, I had to pass through long stretches with level 2-4 enemies, which can do me no serious harm, don't offer enough experience to be worth fighting, and yet are too annoying to ignore. This will clear up a bit later in the game, when enemies are more of a threat, but for now, I'm just going through the motions.
Collecting loot is still a blast, though. I found a blue double anarchy in TK's wife's grave. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the game, that makes the already easy opening levels completely trivial). The gambling-like rush of lucky finds like that never gets old, and for all its lack of polish, Borderlands is built on an incredibly fun and addictive formula.
Truthfully, it seems churlish to complain. Borderlands 2 also had a slow opening section. It's just something that I have to deal with. Luckily, I'm almost through the worst of it, and soon the game will open up enough that I should be able to stick to more rewarding areas (provided I don't do what I always do and accept every damned quest that comes my way, and thus wind up 3-5 levels ahead of the curve).
It's been awhile since I've played, but Borderlands is already sucking me in. It is truly a time waster par excellence.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Borderlands - Initial Thoughts
About the Game (From the Steam Store Page)
Lock, Load, & Face the Madness
Get ready for the mind blowing insanity! Play as one of four trigger-happy mercenaries and take out everything that stands in your way!
With its addictive action, frantic first-person shooter combat, massive arsenal of weaponry, RPG elements and four-player co-op*, Borderlands is a breakthrough experience that challenges all the conventions of modern shooters. Borderlands places you in the role of a mercenary on the lawless and desolate planet of Pandora, hell-bent on finding a legendary stockpile of powerful alien technology known as The Vault.
Previous Play Time
1 minute
What Was I Thinking When I Bought This
Sometimes, I shop for less than noble reasons. As I recall, the day I bought Borderlands for the PC, I was feeling a little depressed, so I decided to browse the Steam Store in the hopes of finding a cheap game to buy as a pick-me-up. It just happened that the Borderlands game of the year edition was on deep discount that day, and I figured that since I already owned Borderlands 2, it would be nice to play the entire saga when I eventually got around to it.
Such dubious, emotional and completionist driven purchases are a significant factor in why I have so many unplayed games. (I'm trying to be better, I swear).
Expectations and Prior Experience
I played the hell out of this game on the console. I got all four characters up to level 69 and had an incredible stockpile of orange weapons that I never used. I even played online to take out Crawmerax, though I got kind of disillusioned with that whole scene when people kept giving me modded weapons.
In a way, I think my prior experience gives me some extremely realistic expectations of what I'm about to experience. There is literally no part of Borderlands that I have not already played 4-8 times (I'm pretty sure that I skipped some of the DLC on the first playthrough and only tackled it in new game+). However, I haven't actually touched this game at all (on either PC or console) since Borderlands 2 came out, and I'm a little worried that the later game has completely eclipsed the earlier in my affections. Perhaps going back to the original will expose me to flaws in the game that I did not notice the first time through, and have grown unable to accept.
Then again, Borderlands was strong enough to occupy me for literally hundreds of hours, so it's kind of doubtful that it's lost all of its charm just because a sequel did certain things better. Only time will tell, though.
Lock, Load, & Face the Madness
Get ready for the mind blowing insanity! Play as one of four trigger-happy mercenaries and take out everything that stands in your way!
With its addictive action, frantic first-person shooter combat, massive arsenal of weaponry, RPG elements and four-player co-op*, Borderlands is a breakthrough experience that challenges all the conventions of modern shooters. Borderlands places you in the role of a mercenary on the lawless and desolate planet of Pandora, hell-bent on finding a legendary stockpile of powerful alien technology known as The Vault.
Previous Play Time
1 minute
What Was I Thinking When I Bought This
Sometimes, I shop for less than noble reasons. As I recall, the day I bought Borderlands for the PC, I was feeling a little depressed, so I decided to browse the Steam Store in the hopes of finding a cheap game to buy as a pick-me-up. It just happened that the Borderlands game of the year edition was on deep discount that day, and I figured that since I already owned Borderlands 2, it would be nice to play the entire saga when I eventually got around to it.
Such dubious, emotional and completionist driven purchases are a significant factor in why I have so many unplayed games. (I'm trying to be better, I swear).
Expectations and Prior Experience
I played the hell out of this game on the console. I got all four characters up to level 69 and had an incredible stockpile of orange weapons that I never used. I even played online to take out Crawmerax, though I got kind of disillusioned with that whole scene when people kept giving me modded weapons.
In a way, I think my prior experience gives me some extremely realistic expectations of what I'm about to experience. There is literally no part of Borderlands that I have not already played 4-8 times (I'm pretty sure that I skipped some of the DLC on the first playthrough and only tackled it in new game+). However, I haven't actually touched this game at all (on either PC or console) since Borderlands 2 came out, and I'm a little worried that the later game has completely eclipsed the earlier in my affections. Perhaps going back to the original will expose me to flaws in the game that I did not notice the first time through, and have grown unable to accept.
Then again, Borderlands was strong enough to occupy me for literally hundreds of hours, so it's kind of doubtful that it's lost all of its charm just because a sequel did certain things better. Only time will tell, though.
Half Minute Hero: Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy - 20/20 hours
My last five hours were not spent doing anything particularly interesting, just picking up equipment I missed on the first pass through, and trying for the odd title that caught my fancy. Some of these were pretty straightforward - I'd just neglected to buy from a shop on my first run. Others were frustrating - trying to get the Barely title by beating level 2 without using the goddess statue was an exercise in futility. And a small number were actually interesting - beating the Sage required gaming the experience system, and getting the hero sword took me into a side story I completely missed the first time through (because when Sasha said, "stay away from the monument in the north," my finely-honed rpg instincts told me that monument was the place to be).
There's still more to do, and normally I'd have no problem spending a few hours tidying up loose ends, but lately I've kind of been feeling a little like the Hero. Time is pressing down on me, and if I don't keep moving, everything will fall apart. . .
Although, now that I say it, it seems like an excessively grim takeaway for what is, in essence, a light and casual time-waster of a video game. So, let's say instead that I have a lot I want to do, and only 24 hours a day in which to do it. And if those 24 hours can sometimes seem as restrictive as the Hero's 30 seconds, well at least I have the advantage of being able to accumulate experience from day to day.
Overall, I liked it. Half Minute Hero may not be the deep meditation on the nature of time that I made it out to be, but it had some fun puzzles and amusing jokes and a solid enough core of gameplay that the last 20 hours practically flew by.
Wait . . . maybe it is a deep meditation on the meaning of time . . .
There's still more to do, and normally I'd have no problem spending a few hours tidying up loose ends, but lately I've kind of been feeling a little like the Hero. Time is pressing down on me, and if I don't keep moving, everything will fall apart. . .
Although, now that I say it, it seems like an excessively grim takeaway for what is, in essence, a light and casual time-waster of a video game. So, let's say instead that I have a lot I want to do, and only 24 hours a day in which to do it. And if those 24 hours can sometimes seem as restrictive as the Hero's 30 seconds, well at least I have the advantage of being able to accumulate experience from day to day.
Overall, I liked it. Half Minute Hero may not be the deep meditation on the nature of time that I made it out to be, but it had some fun puzzles and amusing jokes and a solid enough core of gameplay that the last 20 hours practically flew by.
Wait . . . maybe it is a deep meditation on the meaning of time . . .
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Half Minute Hero - Super Mega Neo Climax Ultimate Boy - 15/20 hours
For the last five hours, I've been working my way through the alternate game modes and I have a minor complaint. Evil Lord 30, Princess 30, and Knight 30 are different games, depending on which graphic mode you use. The game does nothing to warn you about this. So, I initially made it through all three and into Hero 300 in just a few minutes. It was pretty disappointing.
However, once I got things straightened out and realized that there was more game to be had by going into retro mode, I was fairly happy. Each of the three extra modes features a unique character and a fun little mini game. Granted, these characters are super-thin and the games are a bit simple and repetitive, but since they're also really short, none of them outstay their welcome.
The Evil Lord is a vain anti-hero seeking a cure for his bat-ified girlfriend, Millenia, and he gets through levels by summoning three different types of monsters. The trick is to match the monster type to the enemy type in order to proceed as quickly as possible.
The Princess is a meek and retiring damsel who turns into a gung-ho badass whenever she holds her (seemingly ordinary) crossbow. Her game is a side-scrolling shooter.
The Knight, I don't quite have a handle on. He seems a little dim, but his persistence and loyalty get him through many dangerous situations. His game is a series of escort missions, where you have to protect a Sage (who has a bit of a snarky streak) while he casts a magic spell. The monsters in this mode cannot be killed, which makes it more of a puzzle than an action game.
When you beat all these modes, you unlock Hero 300, which is more or less like an especially long level of the normal game, except that you can't rewind time.
Then, when you beat that, you unlock Hero 3, which is clearly the product of a deranged mind. It is exactly like the normal game, except you don't have 30 seconds, you have 3. I can't imagine that I'll ever get past it, and I'm not entirely sure I even want to try.
My plan for the last five hours is to go back into Hero 30 mode and collect all the various items I missed on my first run. After that, I may try Hero 3 a few times, but I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that.
However, once I got things straightened out and realized that there was more game to be had by going into retro mode, I was fairly happy. Each of the three extra modes features a unique character and a fun little mini game. Granted, these characters are super-thin and the games are a bit simple and repetitive, but since they're also really short, none of them outstay their welcome.
The Evil Lord is a vain anti-hero seeking a cure for his bat-ified girlfriend, Millenia, and he gets through levels by summoning three different types of monsters. The trick is to match the monster type to the enemy type in order to proceed as quickly as possible.
The Princess is a meek and retiring damsel who turns into a gung-ho badass whenever she holds her (seemingly ordinary) crossbow. Her game is a side-scrolling shooter.
The Knight, I don't quite have a handle on. He seems a little dim, but his persistence and loyalty get him through many dangerous situations. His game is a series of escort missions, where you have to protect a Sage (who has a bit of a snarky streak) while he casts a magic spell. The monsters in this mode cannot be killed, which makes it more of a puzzle than an action game.
When you beat all these modes, you unlock Hero 300, which is more or less like an especially long level of the normal game, except that you can't rewind time.
Then, when you beat that, you unlock Hero 3, which is clearly the product of a deranged mind. It is exactly like the normal game, except you don't have 30 seconds, you have 3. I can't imagine that I'll ever get past it, and I'm not entirely sure I even want to try.
My plan for the last five hours is to go back into Hero 30 mode and collect all the various items I missed on my first run. After that, I may try Hero 3 a few times, but I'm really hoping it doesn't come to that.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)