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Bloodsphere Review
There's room for improvement
Review by Titanhex
(I'm resubmitting this review with a more accurate viewpoint on it. Hopefully the judges will remove my old review and replace it with this one as well as remove this tidbit :P)
Alright, I do feel I have a little bit of an advantage over other reviewers, as I've heard the entire plot of this story. However I did not make it past 5 hours of this 25 hour long game because of the gampelay and a lack of engagement from the story. I encourage anyone reading this to try the game yourself and see if you can't get past some of it's flaws to make it to the end.
So lets get started.
The plot is good, lots of twists. Unfortunately the story-telling and characters leave room for improvement. Everything seemed to happen because the plot wanted it to, not because of how the characters would and should truly react. It just never felt genuine. I also felt the creator could have spent more time between major scenes developing the characters, as this is clearly a story-driven game.
Though the plot will catch you by surprise, I found a few things predictable and absurd. Lucian willingly giving his kidnapped fiance's necklace to a little girl in need of medicine. I feel the witch sighting parts are a bit poorly done, though I'm just starting the chapter where you meet her. Erik's chapter is rather predictable and a bit cliche as well. (Robin Hood mingled in with War Orphan.)
You'll also find a few of the classic stereotypes, which stifle some characters. Sirena, The White Mage, for example. Aireon does seem to work her angle nicely though.
The story does work though, and while it doesn't put you off, it also doesn't keep you engaged either. It has a few cliches, and while they do hinder the game it isn't significant. The story deserves a 6 out of 10.
The part where the game tanks though is in the gameplay. It's a very linear A to B style. A few later levels there's rock-pushing and avoiding being spotted, but it's nothing special.
There's a lock-picking mini-game, which is actually pretty good. But it's mainly used when you want to open a chests, and at times can get frustrating when you have to do it for every chest you want to open, even if they just contain potions.
Now the battle, that's where it gets bad. Battles last about 1minute at the start and climb up to 5 minutes after midpoint.
Enemies are always dodging and evading too, and so are you, making it frustrating and tedious.
It could be better if there was some more strategy in the battles, but it's pretty much just a straight-shot of hitting opponents until they're dead. Not really much of an elemental system or emphasis on tactical skills. Even the bosses don't require much more tactics then throw blind and poison on them and wack them til they're dead.
The game is playable, meaning you can sit there and go through it without raging, but it is still a far-cry from some of the greatest games in the archive. Still for the creators first released game there's a clear display of potential.
Reviewer's Score: 4 / 10, Posted Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:24:50 -0400
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Game Details
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Developer:
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Alex898
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Platform:
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RPG Maker XP
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Genre:
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RPG
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Status:
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Complete |
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Last Updated:
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2011-01-10 |
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Views:
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4521 |
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Downloads:
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User Rating:
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  16 Vote(s) |
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