Games and Game demos
Released in August 2000
Quite a few were released this month, likely because
of the 48 hour game creation contest, which accounted for half of them
(the ones with a blue
backgrounds). Demos have grey
backgrounds, and full games (games which will never be updated) have green
backgrounds, and non-demo releases have orange
backgrounds. This month is the first month that I actually released a game
(in the 16 months since I've had the ohrrpgce).
The games are arranged in alphabetical order (ignoring
the word 'the'), so I'm not just putting my game first arbitrarily.
Game of the Month for this month is EOTE2, (because I say so). 'Game of
the Month' is the one game of all the games released that I most recommend
downloading and trying.
-r/r/r/r
Standards in difficulty ratings:
none - no difficulty, no battles, no challenge at all. Example:
Mario
Paint
low - you probably won't die no matter how badly you play. Examples:
Final
Fantasy 7, Chrono Cross
medium - you won't die unless you are new to rpgs. Examples:
Final
Fantasy 4j, Final Fantasy 5
high - you'll probably die several times. Examples: Revelations
Persona, 7th Saga
And
This game was created in a 48 hour period for
the 48 hour contest. It's about two hours long to complete, most of it
fighting and level-gaining. It is not easy. The story involves a girl named
Ampersand who lost her memories and has to steal some new ones... Just
try it and see if you like it. It may be updated, and improved, and it
will be longer and the difficulty increased even higher... some time in
the future. Can probably be downloaded at RPG-Online,
and also has its own homepage.
Name: And
Authors: Rinku/Rydia/Raft/Rell and
Charbile
Difficulty: high
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 2-3 hours
Size: 962 KB
(+) Hard (in my opinion this is
a plus). I like the music selection too... (I should. I selected it.)
(-)A bit repetitive. |
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Deadwood
Another entry into the 48 hour game creation contest.
This one feels more like an intro than a game, though. As you can see in
the screenshot below, the map tiles and walkabouts have the same feel as
Royal's other games. The story is very short and simple: you get out of
the taxi, go in the darkened house, switch on the light, see that your
family is zombified, kill the family in self-defense, and... that's the
end. You can probably download it at RPG-Online,
if it is not there right now, then it might be soon.
Name: Deadwood
Authors: Royal and Dr. Greg
Difficulty: low to none
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 5 minutes
Size: 1,684 KB
(+)Nice graphics.
(-)Too short, no game. |
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Ends
of the Earth 2
This is the full and final version. That is so
important that I need to repeat it: we have a finished game here. The first
thing you'll notice about the sequel to Ends of the Earth is that it feels
more polished than most ohrrpgce games. The battles are balanced,
there are no real bugs, misspellings and grammatical mistakes are noticeably
absent, and the plot flow is actually clear. There are a good variety of
characters, each actually different. While it doesn't have anything too
surprising or original, the story gets the job done. This is probably the
closest to a complete traditional rpg experience that the ohrrpgce has
ever come. Should be able to be downloaded at RPG-Online
(ToBeRated section, do not confuse with the EOTE2 demo versions reviewed)
or, better yet, get it at its homepage.
Name: Ends of the Earth 2
Authors: Valkyree Productions
Difficulty: medium to high
Release date: 8/16/00
Game Length: 3-5 hours
Size: 8,587 KB
(+)It's a full game! Also gfx,
gameplay, difficulty, etc. are all above average.
(-)The story could have been more
complicated or exciting. Excessive use of blood. |
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Genesis
I don't like this game's name... there are so
many games named Genesis. That said, it isn't a bad demo. The story is
unoriginal, but its only the beginning of the game so far, so I can't really
say anything about that. The Breath of Fire music gets annoying, but besides
that, there is nothing else I don't like about the game. It is way too
early for it to have been released as a demo, in my opinion, but it'll
be interesting to see the game when it has some more gameplay to it. I
have no idea why it is 18,349 KB though... the largest game I have ever
seen (besides nhnt:1/5, which is unreleased). Available to download at
RPG-Online.
Name: Genesis
Authors: Mew
Difficulty: none
Release date: 8/08/00
Game Length: 15 minutes
Size: 18,349 KB
(+)Graphics are well done, especially
the full-screen ones. Seems well designed too.
(-)Could have been longer. Doesn't
seem to have much story yet. |
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The
Myth of the Sacred Sword
Look at the below screenshot. That textbox is
not atypical; this game has some of the poorest writing of any ohrrpgce
game. This game flow is so incoherent that you literally don't know what
to do the majority of the time. The plot involves "the chosen one", the
"legendary sword", the "evil empire", the "evil demon that will be awoken",
and of course the "childhood friend that turns evil". Some games handle
these plot elements well (Final Fantasy 4j, Final Fantasy 6) ...this game
handles these things horribly. Available to download at its homepage.
Name: The Myth of the Sacred Sword
Authors: Starlex 2
Difficulty: low
Release date: 8/14/00
Game Length: 1-2 hours
Size: 14,416 KB
(+)Hmm... the graphics are above
the average ohrrpgce game... nice font.
(-)Story, grammar, battle balance,
design, coherency, music, purpose. |
 |
Pandora
Effect
Pandora Effect is a sci-fi styled RPG, which is
not particulary uncommon on the ohrrpgce, but uncommon enough to be worth
mentioning. The gameplay itself is good and well balanced. The story, so
far, seems lackluster... it reads like a B-grade Sci-Fi novel, but to tell
you the truth it is better than some B-grade Sci-Fi novels I've read, as
it makes less mistakes, although there are still a couple (btw- read the
below screenshot to see what I mean about mistakes.. 'plantlife' is not
'life'?). There is not much else to say about this game... compared to
other games released this month, there is nothing too far above or below
par in gfx, music, gameplay, plotscripting, etc... Pandora Effect can be
downloaded at its homepage.
Name: Pandora Effect
Author: Namyak
Difficulty: medium
Release date: 8/31/00
Game Length: 30-60 minutes
Size: 6,519 KB
(+)No real faults.
(-)Nothing above average. |
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Secret
Tales from the Time Beyond the Dark Fantasy of the Quest for the Sword
of the Destiny Dragon
This game probably has the longest name of any
ohrrpgce game. It was also created for the 48 hour contest. Probably the
most traditional of the entries, this game puts you in the role of a boy
teleported into medieval times my Merlin himself. You are soon joined by
the knight Hahn, and together they go in search four orbs (although the
game ends after the first orb is found). Was at OHR
Otaku, but now I don't think you can find it anywhere.
Name: ... (see above)
Authors: Spectja and Specplosive
Difficulty: medium to low
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 20 minutes
Size: 1,424 KB
(+)Humor that I actually laughed
at (the stone statue part in particular)
(-)A bit short, and nothing that
hasn't been done before. Graphics could be better. |
 |
Stickman
with a Chainsaw: Anime Edition
Another 48-hour contest entry. Based on the comic
Stickman with a Chainsaw, by J'sang'spar (Abiogeneticist). It has some
humor which won't make too much sense unless you are familiar with the
otaku subculture... and maybe not even then. Can be found on its homepage.
Name: SwaC: Anime Edition
Authors: J'sang'spar and Ben-Ohki
Difficulty: none
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 10 minutes
Size: 958 KB
(+)That font!
(-)Sometimes tasteless and/or obscure
humor. |
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Tunah
Tunah is very unfinished, in fact you don't actually
do anything but watch a ploscripting intro, although that intro is well
done. I have no idea what the story was going to be, because all the intro
does is describe the setting. The intro is funny, though. I got it at OHR
Otaku, but as of this writing it cannot be found anywhere to my knowledge.
Name: Tunah
Authors: Synial and Demonheat
Difficulty: none
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 2 minutes
Size: 984 KB
(+)Colorful graphics, and it's
funny.
(-)Too unfinished. |
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Veteran
RPG: The Mystery of Nova
Let's see... I don't really like this game too
much. The graphics look like a mish-mash of twenty different styles (see
screenshot), the music, although original, was so unharmonic that I had
to turn the volume all the way down, and perhaps the most annoying of all,
the grammar was... consistently bad ("much boats", "this creatures", etc.).
However, the plotscripting was excellent, and the story was okay... and
the game length and battle balance aren't too bad either. So if you, unlike
myself, can look past the music, graphics, and grammar, then go ahead and
try it, it can be downloaded here.
Name: Veteran RPG: The Mystery of Nova
Authors: Specplosive
Difficulty: medium
Release date: 8/04/00
Demo Length: 2-3 hours
Size: 3,726 KB
(+)Plotscripting, game length.
(-)Music, graphics, writing. |
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The
Virus and the Pizza
This is an incommon game... made for the 48-hour
game contest, and starring a game programmer trapped in his own game and
a slice of talking pizza. The world map is huge, the maptiles are strange,
but have a nice look to them, the music is also strange but nice, and the
story is, on the whole, well written. However, there are some major bugs
in the game, as if feels the author didn't play though the game to test
for them... showing the importance of the testing phase. But if you have
a little time, play it just for the originality... a fuller version may
be available in the coming months, and seeing as the current version is
hard to find, I suggest waiting to play this game.
Name: The Virus and the Pizza
Authors: ArtMaker
Difficulty: medium
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 15-30 minutes
Size: 1,112 KB
(+)Unique graphics/music style,
original story.
(-)Too many bugs, too easy to get
lost. |
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Wood
This game tied for first place in the 48 hour
game creation contest. The story involves a person who finds a block of
wood, and then carves a 'friend' (I think) out of it... but that is where
the resemblance to Pinnocio ends. The game is puzzle based, the puzzles
are rather simple, basically they are 'Resident Evil' style puzzles: find
an item, and find where it goes. There are no battles at all, but
the game actually feels better without them... I guess you might say that
this game is the opposite of And, which was mostly battles and level-ups.
It was at OHR Otaku, but is not there
as of the date of this writing..
Name: Wood
Authors: Jazz Man and Ralfo
Difficulty: low
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 10 minutes
Size: 668 KB
(+)A good example of how you can
make an ohrrpgce without battles.
(-)Too short. |
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Xerian
Not sure what to make of this game. The music,
which I presume is original, lacks melody or rythym, yet didn't really
bother me as much as it would in any other game. Imaginatively putting
yourself in the game gives a strange feeling, almost a hypnotic one, because
nothing seems to make sense... this game is full of things that will confuse
your mind. Unfortunately, the game is not long enough to really have a
powerful effect in that regard. A must play if you like games that don't
fit into any particular genre. Can be found on its homepage.
Please not that a demo of the game was just released in August as well...
this review foolishly reviews the beta version. There will be a review
of the first demo next month.
Name: Xerian
Authors: Duke Productions/Jigglypuff
Difficulty: low to none
Release date: 8/11/00
Demo Length: 15 minutes
Size: 977 KB
(+)Doesn't try to copy commercial
games.
(-)Short, and you are left wondering
what the point was. |
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