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Excellent Reviews
MiloBones
 
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  9.8 - Exceptional | December 9th, 2004 |
I haven't played in a while, so I may say stupid things. I shouldn't write this, but the paucity of reviews alarmed me.
This game epitomizes the "stuff theory": the more stuff you put in, the better the result. Furthermore, it has an epic story, and excellent "balance" (in terms of gameplay).
Gameplay:10
Better than PQ. Better than Mayhem. Better than what happens nine months after PQ and mayhem love each other very much.
Let's start with the enemies. There are about five recurring "minibosses", each of whom has his (/her/their) own unique strengths, requiring unique tactics. Plus, there are two "big bosses", one of whom is optional, although neither is particularly interesting. Beyond that, there's a bevy of new enemies. Just to give you a taste:
1.Scarabs: very small pillbugs who can sometimes do a great deal of damage. Found in swarms. Try to get them to pack together, else they'll be tricky to evade.
2.Bane Boncas: black boncas who spit blood, a la "Lyna's Story".
3.Weird Slimes: sometimes they combine, sometimes they split apart. The first type is best handled by killing them before they can get together, the latter type is easily dispatched by water magic, though care must be taken if there are other enemies on the screen.
The enemies in the "Temple of the Ancients" are even cooler.
"What is this 'Temple of the Ancients'", you ask? An optional dungeon, and IMHO the coolest in Dink history. Basically, its filled with all manner of weird enemies, puzzles, and traps. And there's a cool-but-easy boss at the end, upon whose death you recieve some very nice goodies.
The fighting is not as well balanced as PQ--it's easier--but it still never gets boring. (Of course, the "death star" rather unbalanced the gameplay in PQ, but so do the rewards from beating the Temple of the Ancients in CC2.)
Besides of the fighting, the gameplay is almost flawless. I spent a lot of time wandering around at certain junctures, but with a little bit of thinking, combined with talking to people, nothing is too hard to figure out. The minigame(s?) were quite entertaining, same for the dungeons, puzzles etc etc.
Style:10
A lot of, er, "British" humor. There's a tremendous amount of dialogue, most of it quite witty. Also, the map has been decorated well. I don't remember the music. Ultimately, the mood of the game is pleasantly light-hearted.
Story:9
Yes, it's a good story. You fall from Cloud Castle into this penal colony. The colony was created to contain some Jamiel dude (the TOA boss), by using the psychic energy of its inmates. Completely seperate, there are some annoying punks, the Scarab Club 7, who are just trying to act cool and wreak mayhem. Although they lend a lot to the gameplay (as minibosses), they make very little sense (to me) in the greater context of the story.
Overall: 9.8
IMHO, CC2 is a little better than LOT and FIAT. It takes some time, and borders on epic size--with a walkthrough it's probably much faster--but is well worth it. Of course it doesn't have the feel of an epic, as there is really only one town, but that is besides the point.
The point being, unless you hate good, wholesome fun, and prefer to hurt little children or something, you should give this game a shot! |
sjoerdje
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| 9.1 - Exceptional | October 2nd, 2004 |
Ahh yes, finally, the sequal of Cloud Castle!
Story:
You land in the middle of a dessert together with alessa. You must find a way to get out of this dessert prison.
Yes, yes! A great story it is! Though it seems a bit easy I must say that the story is very detailed and that it's worked out perfectly! There are many things you can do beside the main quest. There are some funny sidequests that makes the game even more pleasureable to play. I give the story a 9.5!
Graphics: Yes, the dessert tiles! Hehe, they keep looking great every time you see them.. Then, the modified creatures such as the bonca's and the slimeys. But I have to say, that Jameil is the greatest! It looks very cool! It's very detailed and I think it's one of the better graphics seen in a dmod. And ofcourse the new spells such as blood and mega hellfire. (don't know if that's graphics or gameplay though )9.0
Gameplay: Well, I never really got bored during the game. You had to walk from north to south, from south to north, from east to... you get what I mean. Also, the ability to have someone with you is of great fun. Having fabian or Alessa at your side to heal you in times you need to be healed is a nice way to improve the gameplay. New spells to play with is also something that makes the game more interesting. I can't say more, it just was great!: 9,0
Midi's: Yes, there were midi's from other dmods, but in totall you guys choose the right midi's at the right time giving the right feeling to the player. A dmod with wrong midi's isn't a good dmod, but this dmod had the right one's. This is, atleast I think it is, one of the important things during a dmod. And sometimes I just stayed at a certain area to listen to the nice midi's  : 9,5
Humor: Ah yes! I laughed a lot of times, there was a lot of humor in it, though the game was on a serious base. But stewing a girl etc. Just so funny Enough to keep you entertained! (I suggest buying a ticket to go to the basement at the inn/hotel) 8,5.
Now, let me just note some other things I liked:
I liked the several endings after beating the final boss. I thought I completed the game but it said I should get a better ending... (after asking here sabre told me how to get it) Well, I think that the difficulty you guys set was a perfect one. The game wasn't easy, but it's not impossible to do. The temple of the ancients(ff7? ) was the only place of which I think was very difficult. I had to try like 12times before getting through. Ah, let me note, that the temple is my most enjoyable place. The traps were brilliant Just brilliant! Oh, and the lion king part was also great
Some things I disliked:
In the basement where all those purple soldiers are you can walk on the rocks, but if you move a bit smart you can get to places where you shouldn't come. So some hardness errors were irritating me. Also, I had like 3 or 4times that the game freezes. Two times at the Inn when trying to leave and one time at the guy talking to you after you saved some hunters. (it seems he talked to me but I talked too soon to him and then the game froze) Last irritating point(sorry I hate to do this but I think it's better to be honest right? ) is that when you're entering the last erm cave(the dark one) I came to like 3spots where the screen is being locked but I can't see enemies. They're probarly on the other side of the screen as I couldn't find them.
Anyway, I think this is one of the greatest dmods around, I enjoyed it a lot and I think this is either a huge quest or a small epic. Took me 5/6 hours I believe. Anyway, great work, and I hope to see more work of you two like this (jalous look on my face)
Overall: |
Good Reviews
Paul
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| 9.5 - Exceptional | December 27th, 2004 |
The best d-mod I've played in a long time. I've been a little busy so I played it over a week or so, which wasn't ideal, but still found the plot entertaining. The gameplay was excellent, as was the humor. The villains were probably the coolest ever. This was the first d-mod I can recall where you had a follower for a large part of the adventure. And it a very nice, "Dinky" feel to it.
The only part I thought was a little weak was the ending. This is one of those d-mods with "good" and "bad" endings. I've never been a big fan of this. Possible because I'm not good at finding the better ones. But all in all it was very enjoyable. |
carrie2004
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| 9.2 - Exceptional | October 6th, 2004 |
I had a BLAST playing this game.
Things I liked:
I liked the stampeding boncas,people being able to join you,
the cactuses burning ,the music was 'bouncy' and there was
a perfect balance of talking and fighting.The bonca races
and the black bonca spitting stomach acid were cool.I liked
the story of them being stuck in a desert prison and how psychic
energies played a part.I liked how there was a description of the person
you were talking too,it made them more interesting.I also liked
the bookshelves having books I could read,especially the ones on how
to be evil and take over the world.hehe.
Things I didn't like:
The desert paths kinda looked like pink vomit *ugh* and the black boncas
didn't look that good.Though the music was good,it was a lot for my computer
to handle and I occasionaly had a slow motion/slow sound thing happen.
A LOT of the bad guys were really hard and it took me about a week of steady
playing,much more than 5 hours,to get an ending.
And I still say she wouldn't have jumped!
Overall:This game rocked and everybody should check it out. |
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