Welcome to OMNIpixel's first "OMNIreview!" Joystiq has the Metareview, Kotaku has the Frankenreview and the theme here is the same: you can find brilliantly copied and pasted blogger reviews of the latest video game releases from trusted vidya journo sources - mainly because OMNIpixel isn't cool enough to get review copies of new titles.
For the inaugural edition of the OMNIreview: Almost Human's throwback dungeon crawler Legend of Grimrock, which channels old-school PC RPG pillars like Dungeon Master, Might & Magic and the less popular Stonekeep.
Developer: Almost Human
Publisher: Almost Human
Release: April 11, 2012
MSRP: $14.99
GameSpy | 4.5 out of 5
"Grimrock is fun. It's frustrating. And more so than many RPGs today, it's atmospheric. You can almost feel the dungeon's weight pressing on you, as if the darkness that cloaks the corridors laying just outside the range of your torch is tangible, as you explore its halls. It develops tension well, as you hear monsters slithering in corners unseen, the telltale click of pressure plates, and the whoosh of a fireball after you deftly sidestep it. Its got pit traps. Teleports. Spinner squares. A rune-based magic system. And monsters that leave edible chunks on the floor when ya kill 'em."
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"The combat design, which most closely resembles the later Might & Magic games where actions happen in real time on the main screen rather than cutting to a separate combat mode, is less successful. Battles are tense and interesting in the first few levels of the dungeon, but by the midgame run-of-the-mill monsters can tear through the most defensively specialized and equipped fighter in seconds. Survival from that point on becomes a matter of learning how best to kite monsters around pillars and otherwise abuse their AI scripts, which is neither heroic nor particularly interesting."
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"Legend of Grimrock's strongest element is easily the puzzles you'll find strewn throughout the dungeon. I lost count as to how many times I threw my fist in the air and shouted, "YES!" after successfully completing a puzzle. I can't stress enough how well the guys over at Almost Human nailed the puzzle difficulty.
Most puzzles will consist of you activating pressure plates or finding secret buttons to press on the walls. In some cases, there will be hints written on the walls or in scrolls that you can find around the area. Some are quite dastardly, and required me to break out the ol’ paper and pencil to get a better look at them.
There are also optional puzzles that are way more difficult than what you'll normally encounter. Occasionally, you'll come across large iron doors that will take a lot of wit and a keen eye to open. I managed to open about three of these doors in my playthrough, but left many more closed. I felt defeated and I loved it.
The game thankfully auto-maps the dungeons for you, although if you're feeling hardcore, you have the option to turn it off. The game even provides graph paper for you in the "extras" folder of your download!"
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"Underneath its gorgeous sheen and striking atmosphere, Legend of Grimrock is an unapologetic nod to PC gaming's earlier days. Playing it reawakens those same feelings of excitement I had back when I got into early dungeon crawler RPGs for the first time. There's something magical about the skillful way the dev team takes such antiquated game design and makes it feel new and fun again, pushing all the right nostalgia buttons in the process. But more importantly, everything about this well-crafted romp through deadly dungeons comes together to pull you into its mysterious realm and hold on."
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Legend of Grimrock dropped today on Steam, Good Old Games and the official Grimrock website. There's a launch sale running right now and you can get 10% off this retro dungeon romp.
SOURCE: GameSpy | Game Informer | Destructoid | IGN | Official Website [Legend of Grimrock]
SOURCE: GameSpy | Game Informer | Destructoid | IGN | Official Website [Legend of Grimrock]
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