Its quite decent. Love the classic mode.
EDIT:
not a game for everyone. its a dunegon crawler. they tend to be quite hard.
EDIT:
not a game for everyone. its a dunegon crawler. they tend to be quite hard.
DS #3652: The Dark Spire (USA)
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Shaking my head.
You people are a disease. You're why the music industry is full of talentless, shining hacks who all use autotune because 'natural' singing is no longer good enough. Why "blockbuster" films with a $100 million budget and no genuinity continue to be fiscally worthwhile for the executives who green-light it. Why the videogame industry pumps out game after game where the majority of the development time and budget goes to graphics and the gameplay is a hollow afterthought. I'm tired of having entertainment being ruined by shallow demands for "teh graphics" when it comes entirely at the cost of gameplay.
You kids ever read books? Real ones? Those don't have graphics at -all-, and manage to evoke more emotions over a longer timespan than movie adaptations ever could. You're an active participant, and the characters are just as much yours as the author's, as you lend them their voices, mannerisms, and details. They sometimes even make you think a bit, the horror!
This is the most genuine, atmospheric, engrossing game I've played this generation. It's true survival horror. It -engages- the player, but only if the player is willing to be engaged. The Dark Spire is entirely the game it intends to be, a true labor of love.
Yes, it's uncompromising in its presentation: those unwilling to exercise their imagination after years of being spoon-fed their bland, by-the-numbers entertainment, desensitised by games with "realistic" graphics where everyone walks away with the same, homogenized experience...they will have a hard time with it.
It does not hold your hand. It -will- not hold your hand. And it's better for it. Sure, it's a tough game, but some of the complaints I've been reading are pathetic. Having to grind? You're doing it so, so wrong. Sure, in the time I've put in since I picked it up Wednesday, a few characters have died from some bad decisions, but I've never had my whole party wiped. And I've certainly not done any grinding. In carefully exploring the dungeon, you take it at its own pace. If your party isn't prepared to map the whole first floor in one shot (and it just isn't, starting out), you go home, heal, sell off some loot, upgrade your equipment if you can afford it, go to the guild and adjust your spells to match your current needs, see what skills you can learn and if there are any quests you can take on. Think about your party's strengths and weaknesses and experiment with ways to compensate. My thief is quite successful in the back row with a longbow, and my priestess is doing great right up front. And then you save and plow right back in, hopefully having learned from your previous journey.
When you see that the odds are not in your favor, strategize. If it's a battle you realize you cannot presently win, you do something about it. Have your thief (high agility) attempt to escape. Have the magic users cast buffs on your party, sleep/immobilization on the enemy to increase your odds and decrease your losses. The game is a learning experience, and it's what you learn that's more important than your characters' levels when it comes to survival and combat. Just because the majority of modern games present no real risk of failure doesn't mean that choosing to present that risk and make it very real is overdoing it. If anything, the game tends to lean a bit on the easy side, offering plenty of ways to get the edge on the dungeon. Heed the warnings signs and err on the side of caution and it'll go a long way. Make use of your options and just accept that you. will. have. to. think. While most games reward stubbornly pushing forward, throwing caution to the wind, holding your hand the whole way and kissing it better when you take a little damage, this is a -real- game, and you are the player.
It's nice to be able to enjoy a game that knows what it wants to be and does it so well. I'm so fucking sick of having games hold my hand, I typically get bored after an hour or two because so many games are so one-sided and pathetically simple. So keep on hating it, keep watching games continue to -lose- features and gameplay as generations progress, as the development costs for 'hardcore' graphics (fuck that term.) continue to wedge out the meat of gaming. Can't wait to see how you all react when the little things that -you- enjoy about gaming get destroyed in favor of trying to gather more sales. I love this little retro revival we seem to be experiencing, at least when they understand what made the great games so great. I hope this gets a sequel.
ryukyus said:
You kids ever read books? Real ones? Those don't have graphics at -all-, and manage to evoke more emotions over a longer timespan than movie adaptations ever could. You're an active participant, and the characters are just as much yours as the author's, as you lend them their voices, mannerisms, and details. They sometimes even make you think a bit, the horror!
This is the most genuine, atmospheric, engrossing game I've played this generation. It's true survival horror. It -engages- the player, but only if the player is willing to be engaged. The Dark Spire is entirely the game it intends to be, a true labor of love.
Yes, it's uncompromising in its presentation: those unwilling to exercise their imagination after years of being spoon-fed their bland, by-the-numbers entertainment, desensitised by games with "realistic" graphics where everyone walks away with the same, homogenized experience...they will have a hard time with it.
It does not hold your hand. It -will- not hold your hand. And it's better for it. Sure, it's a tough game, but some of the complaints I've been reading are pathetic. Having to grind? You're doing it so, so wrong. Sure, in the time I've put in since I picked it up Wednesday, a few characters have died from some bad decisions, but I've never had my whole party wiped. And I've certainly not done any grinding. In carefully exploring the dungeon, you take it at its own pace. If your party isn't prepared to map the whole first floor in one shot (and it just isn't, starting out), you go home, heal, sell off some loot, upgrade your equipment if you can afford it, go to the guild and adjust your spells to match your current needs, see what skills you can learn and if there are any quests you can take on. Think about your party's strengths and weaknesses and experiment with ways to compensate. My thief is quite successful in the back row with a longbow, and my priestess is doing great right up front. And then you save and plow right back in, hopefully having learned from your previous journey.
When you see that the odds are not in your favor, strategize. If it's a battle you realize you cannot presently win, you do something about it. Have your thief (high agility) attempt to escape. Have the magic users cast buffs on your party, sleep/immobilization on the enemy to increase your odds and decrease your losses. The game is a learning experience, and it's what you learn that's more important than your characters' levels when it comes to survival and combat. Just because the majority of modern games present no real risk of failure doesn't mean that choosing to present that risk and make it very real is overdoing it. If anything, the game tends to lean a bit on the easy side, offering plenty of ways to get the edge on the dungeon. Heed the warnings signs and err on the side of caution and it'll go a long way. Make use of your options and just accept that you. will. have. to. think. While most games reward stubbornly pushing forward, throwing caution to the wind, holding your hand the whole way and kissing it better when you take a little damage, this is a -real- game, and you are the player.
It's nice to be able to enjoy a game that knows what it wants to be and does it so well. I'm so fucking sick of having games hold my hand, I typically get bored after an hour or two because so many games are so one-sided and pathetically simple. So keep on hating it, keep watching games continue to -lose- features and gameplay as generations progress, as the development costs for 'hardcore' graphics (fuck that term.) continue to wedge out the meat of gaming. Can't wait to see how you all react when the little things that -you- enjoy about gaming get destroyed in favor of trying to gather more sales. I love this little retro revival we seem to be experiencing, at least when they understand what made the great games so great. I hope this gets a sequel.
this game is a true dungeon crawler, most people won´t like it. but, nobody has to...
anyway, people who could play dungeon hack or similiar for hours with fun shall have a look...
anyway, people who could play dungeon hack or similiar for hours with fun shall have a look...
I haven't played the game yet, nor do I really want to - not really my type of game, but all of you morons saying that the game sucks because of "bad graphics" and such are the cancer that is killing hardcore gaming.
This kind of game isn't for you shallow people, it's for people who enjoy a good challenge and don't feel like being babied and showered with pretty explosions to hold their attention.
This kind of game isn't for you shallow people, it's for people who enjoy a good challenge and don't feel like being babied and showered with pretty explosions to hold their attention.
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sillypatterson said:
First of all, calling other folks "a disease," simply because they don't share your taste (or lack thereof) in games, is horseshit and insulting.
Secondly, I'm 38, and yes, I read books.
Lastly, games have evolved. The last time I played a game like this, it used ASCII characters for graphics. This was well before Windows. Hell, I was playing games like this on OS9 on my Tandy computer. They were fun as hell...nearly 25 years ago. I'm sure there's still fun to be had here if you're in the mindset to enjoy it. But that doesn't mean folks lack imagination or are "spoon-fed" simply because they demand more from their games these days. That's simply absurd.
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thats odd 
. I dont see my location on the map in the tower, and my thief cant attack anymore -.- WTF
BTW the game is fucking great beside of this "glitches"
. I dont see my location on the map in the tower, and my thief cant attack anymore -.- WTFBTW the game is fucking great beside of this "glitches"
It's been a long while since I have taken my DS to bed, played a game until I fell asleep while still playing; I am happy to say this game is worthy of playing to the wee hours of morning until you pass out. DS is now recharging so I can go at it again. The only true downer is that this is likely to be the one and only on the DS while filth like Crystal Chronicles will continue to be pumped out (like I said about the latest one, I'm bored of them). Sure, I didn't cut my teeth on PnP games so this makes it very interesting for me and it is a job well done. Thank you Success!!
irpacynot said:thats oddsillypatterson said:...You people are a disease. You're why the music industry is full of talentless, shining hacks who all use autotune because 'natural' singing is no longer good enough....
You kids ever read books?
First of all, calling other folks "a disease," simply because they don't share your taste (or lack thereof) in games, is horseshit and insulting.
Secondly, I'm 38, and yes, I read books.
Lastly, games have evolved. The last time I played a game like this, it used ASCII characters for graphics. This was well before Windows. Hell, I was playing games like this on OS9 on my Tandy computer. They were fun as hell...nearly 25 years ago. I'm sure there's still fun to be had here if you're in the mindset to enjoy it. But that doesn't mean folks lack imagination or are "spoon-fed" simply because they demand more from their games these days. That's simply absurd.
I thought it might be fun to be a bit sensationalist and hyperbolic for once. I was right.Not really trolling though, just carrying a pretty extreme opinion (in regards to the meat of the argument) and trying to express it with the same manner of brashness as the rest of the crowd. I find this game very modern, personally. The interface is very up-to-date in terms of what we've learned of user interface in the last three decades, while still maintaining the aesthetic of the old-school. No game from the heydey of this genre had an interface this clean, functional, and useable, and that's a fact.
You could say it puts you in the mindset of the older games without the hassle or brokenness. It's very polished and deliberate.
QUOTE(ZeroTm @ Apr 17 2009, 03:15 PM)
BTW the game is fucking great beside of this "glitches"
Those aren't glitches at all...just additional layers in the learning process, which is quite intense, but in a more intuitive way than the older games.
The map is just that: a map. In the old days, you used graph paper to block out each cell and took notes and made symbols, the automap does the same, only it does it automatically. It can be turned off in the options for those who wish to add that additional layer of interactivity, though I chose not to myself. However, your mage can learn a spell from the very start of the game that enables you to temporarily see both your location and which direction you are facing superimposed over the map. If you're choosing to go mage-less, I did find an item on the second floor (from a random battle in the gambling hall area, the chest was trapped pretty hard, my thief managed to set it off despite having the Disarmament skill) that would give me the coordinates and direction, which is basically the same 'location' information.
As for your thief not attacking... I'm going to guess that he's either got a melee weapon but is in the back row (try a bow of some sort), or he went from a two-handed weapon to equipping a shield (which is not compatible with two-handed weapons). Check his equipment and make sure it's appropriate for his positioning
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Well my thief was always at the secont place and he was able to attack before. I also checked his equipment and he´s wearing his dagger. Guess I should try the bow. Another question: Is there any way to see how strong a weapon is? I dont know if I should keep the claymore for my warrior or buy something else.
ZeroTm said:
Second place is okay for melee, if you're using the 'tactical' formation (assuming you mean he's in the second slot of the four). Despite loving the claymore as a sword in real life, I felt it was a bit unwieldy for my warrior, though your mileage may vary. Weapon strength, as far as I can tell, is best correlated by its price and its type comparatively. Some weapons have different types of attacks available as well; it's something to consider.
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This is, by far, one of the best DS games i've played in a long time. There's just so much to it, with so much left to figure out for yourself, the learning curve is quite steep - but its nice to get a challenging DS game for once!
You just cant beat games like this - sure the graphics are simple, but that doesnt really matter, this is such an in depth rpg - does tabletop D&D games have high tec graphics? NO!
Anyway, to all RPG fans out there, I can't reccomend this highly enough, best RPG game on the DS yet.
You just cant beat games like this - sure the graphics are simple, but that doesnt really matter, this is such an in depth rpg - does tabletop D&D games have high tec graphics? NO!
Anyway, to all RPG fans out there, I can't reccomend this highly enough, best RPG game on the DS yet.
ZeroTm said:thats odd
BTW the game is fucking great beside of this "glitches"
You have to use the mage's spell to see yourself on the map. Your thief probably got paralyzed. I believe the spirits on the 2nd floor can do it.
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