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 On 04/18/2014 at 02:38 PM by transmet2033 See More From This User » |
I am not quite done with Alundra. I can see the end, it is just out of my reach. I am on the final dungeon and while I have yet to finish it completely, I have come away with some thoughts. I suppose that some of them have already been voiced in the BA podcast, but I have yet to listen to that so bear with me.
If I had to rate the game on a 5 star scale, I would probably give it a 3.5. Let's see if I can break down why I would give it a 3.5.
The story is absolutely brilliant. I cannot think of any other game, that I have played, that has a story like this one. There is a lot of mature stuff going on in this game. I cannot think of another game, that I have played, that tackles such dark and religious themes. I also cannot think of anything, outside of my Doctor Who audioplays, that kills off so many characters. It is the biggest reason that I have stuck out the game for the past 35 hours(in game) over the past 6 or so weeks. I would definitely give the story a 5 star rating.
The game is huge. The world map, if only they gave you one to look at is probably pretty close to the size of A Link to the Past. It has countless dungeons and plenty of hidden treasures strewn across it. Nowadays, I can fly through ALttP in a couple of hours, but when I first played it I probably put a good 30 or so hours into it. That is where I get the map comparison from. There is nothing to actually back that up.
Overall, I would say that the gameplay is exactly what you would expect from a decent Zelda-clone. There is plenty of running, exploring, hacking and slashing to be done in the game along with a fair amount of puzzle solving. It is pretty standard stuff, easily 3.5, maybe 4 stars.
So, with story being 5 stars and gamplay being 3.5 stars... Why would I only give the game 3.5? Well, that is an easy answer, jumping. Not just jumping, but 2D isometric jumping... with no sense of depth. There are three layers to the world, but it becomes difficult to tell which layer is on top and which layer is on the bottom. Jumping is used a fair amount in some of the puzzles, especially the further into the game you progress. This is the sole reason that Alundra gets a middling score. Oh yeah, and the lack of an overworld map. That is just poor game design.
In the end, I am glad that I have played this game.(I hope the ending doesn't suck) There is a lot to like about Alundra. If you can get past the whole jumping issues I would recommend it. It also helps that the game is fairly cheap these days. You can get it for $6 on the PSN.
Now I really want to listen to the podcast to see what they had to say about the game... or is it hear. To hear what they had to say about the game. In other news... I got nothing.
sounds like the story has been great, but I've been hearing the jumping leads to a lot of frustrating moments. I understand it's a pretty great game but there's just moments where you pull your hair out a bit more than normal games.
Still sounds fun, but I don't think I'll ever play it now. I lived vicariously through you guys. 
The most interesting man in the world lives vicariously, through himself. Sorry, just always think of that when I see that word.
I did nearly chucked my Vita across the room last night while I was working on a jumping section in the final dungeon... The nice thing is that those moments do not occur all that often, but they do occur often enough.(once is enough in this case)
2D isometric jumping? I had enough of a problem with that when I was playing Sonic 3D Blast forever ago but if the story is as good as I've heard, I'll at least give it a shot if I get the chance.
I vaguely remember playing Sonic 3D Blast. I don't ever remember needing to make super precise jumps in sections where you have no sense of depth... Outside of those moments in the game, definitely worth playing...
The jumping in Alundra is a lot easier than the jumping in my favorite Genesis game of all time (Landstalker). The lack of a map is frustrating, but did you know that you can see an overworld map by talking to the fortune teller? Granted, you can only see it when you talk to her, but it does give a rough idea of where things are and where you need to go next.
I never paid the fortune teller for her services, so I never saw any map... Tha kinda pisses me off. Why should I have to pay to see an overworld map just to jog my memory as to which direction I need to head...
I think you only have pay the first time, but I can't remember.
I've been wanting to get this game physically given how I have a good collection of Working Design game titles. But at $6 I just might give it a go, moreso since I'd be able to play this game on my PSP like the rest of my Square games I've bought as of late.
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