Dungeon and Guarder review
Scrolling beatemups have long been a steadfast vanguard of the 2d generation. We all know this, and we all play them. When a good one comes along, it is usually propelled into the highs of fame, and, conversely when we suffer rubbish ones, they get slated. And rightly so.
Thus i begin my review of Dungeon and Guarder for GP32. Now, i am aware this is an early game for the GP and is therefore first-gen software. You could forgive it for not using the full potential of the hardware, and even let some sloppy code go by, but 1st gen does not mean it should be crap.
People really want this game to be good, and the download ratio on entware's website shows it to be the second most purchased game they have, just under the excellent Pinball Dreams.
Looking at the screenshots which seem to show large characters, vibrant colour schemes, interesting backgrounds and setup, you would rightly take it to be worthy of your £4.50 or whatever it costs to download, however, STOP!
It may be cheap, but its really not that good. at all. Final fight One far surpasses this game, and indeed even the myriad of scolling beat em ups to be found in the halls of MAME or snes are more playable than this.
One: the frame rate. Now, i KNOW the GP can do smooth animation at a high frame rate, just look at the slick Blood Cross, or, for many enemies on screen, check Tomak.
DnG's frame rate is choppier than Jamie Olivers choppingest chopping board. im sorry but it is.
Wheres the lovingly crafted frames of animation for each main chara at least? wheres the standing still breathing and swaying? i cry for in-betweening.
Two: the moves. there basically are none. you can only combo with pretty much one character and even then its just a pre scribed movelist with no way to create your own patterns.
there are a few individual moves you can do with Up+B or Down+B but theyre next to useless. so its hackhackhackhack all the way till you die. great, thats a lot of fun.
Three: the rest. You get one life. This forces you to fight each skeleton or guard as if they were a boss, stingily conserving your energy and playing like a turtle. When you get swamped by 2 or 3 enemies theres precious little you can do to come out unscathed.
The translation is pretty unintelligible, although its not that important. There some shit going on, and youre basically to kick everyones ass, thats all you really need to know, and the engrish is pretty funny sometimes.
Shame, really that it doesnt provide any enjoyment because ive been looking for a chance to wear out my A button, and Tetris isnt really doing the trick ^_^
For those of you who just read the last paragraph of reviews, this is an awesome game, and you must buy it NOW!
BakuBaku '04
Scrolling beatemups have long been a steadfast vanguard of the 2d generation. We all know this, and we all play them. When a good one comes along, it is usually propelled into the highs of fame, and, conversely when we suffer rubbish ones, they get slated. And rightly so.
Thus i begin my review of Dungeon and Guarder for GP32. Now, i am aware this is an early game for the GP and is therefore first-gen software. You could forgive it for not using the full potential of the hardware, and even let some sloppy code go by, but 1st gen does not mean it should be crap.
People really want this game to be good, and the download ratio on entware's website shows it to be the second most purchased game they have, just under the excellent Pinball Dreams.
Looking at the screenshots which seem to show large characters, vibrant colour schemes, interesting backgrounds and setup, you would rightly take it to be worthy of your £4.50 or whatever it costs to download, however, STOP!
It may be cheap, but its really not that good. at all. Final fight One far surpasses this game, and indeed even the myriad of scolling beat em ups to be found in the halls of MAME or snes are more playable than this.
One: the frame rate. Now, i KNOW the GP can do smooth animation at a high frame rate, just look at the slick Blood Cross, or, for many enemies on screen, check Tomak.
DnG's frame rate is choppier than Jamie Olivers choppingest chopping board. im sorry but it is.
Wheres the lovingly crafted frames of animation for each main chara at least? wheres the standing still breathing and swaying? i cry for in-betweening.
Two: the moves. there basically are none. you can only combo with pretty much one character and even then its just a pre scribed movelist with no way to create your own patterns.
there are a few individual moves you can do with Up+B or Down+B but theyre next to useless. so its hackhackhackhack all the way till you die. great, thats a lot of fun.
Three: the rest. You get one life. This forces you to fight each skeleton or guard as if they were a boss, stingily conserving your energy and playing like a turtle. When you get swamped by 2 or 3 enemies theres precious little you can do to come out unscathed.
The translation is pretty unintelligible, although its not that important. There some shit going on, and youre basically to kick everyones ass, thats all you really need to know, and the engrish is pretty funny sometimes.
Shame, really that it doesnt provide any enjoyment because ive been looking for a chance to wear out my A button, and Tetris isnt really doing the trick ^_^
For those of you who just read the last paragraph of reviews, this is an awesome game, and you must buy it NOW!
BakuBaku '04
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