onsdag 18 januari 2017

Axiom Verge

Metroid V

When this one finally hit the E-shop in Europe on the Wii U I got it immediately after watching SomecallmeJohnny's review after it and really have that Metroidvania itch. And I wasn't disappointed. The graphics are dark and mysterious, feeling closer to Metroid in a long way with both an environment that feel alive together with spread out technological areas. The music is techno-awesome with each area has it's unique theme. The gameplay, meanwhile, is working tremendously well. The controls are perfect and I never felt it worked against me. Only once did the game freeze on me and that was right after starting it up, go into an out zooming boss room and turn back right away since I went the wrong way, and maybe that caused it to freeze itself. Of course if you see glitches that might just be the intention of the game. Then again, it was made by just one person so working this well with all that is in the game feels like an impressive feat.

Look, not all the game is inside a cave

The story is that during a laboratory experiment the main character Trace is sent to another world where he greeted by the masked machine at the top of the post here. You are here to save these machines by starting up the necessary equipments so that they can help you explain the situation. And what I gather is that hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago one person entered this dimension, he went away and came back and started a war with this worlds inhabitants. You are there last hope to stop him. Get's a lot more complicated as it turns out that the person you are fighting is really you... or maybe an alternative dimension version of you... or are Trace a clone of the madman? I didn't get any answers, basically I came to the end, the other Trace confessed to being behind the massgenocide of those living machines in order to gain the knowledge of the universe and a few killings wouldn't stop him. I destroy his machines and the one that brought me here kills him and Trace is sent back to after the explosion. Trace still looks for a way back since he needs answers, the end.

It might be the look, but I have a nagging suspicion that they aren't as friendly as they seem

I suspect there is another ending. For example I didn't destroy a boss right before the ending since it was hard as hell and I assume I will get something that will either enable me to climb walls or translate a lot of the papers I collected that I can't currently read. One of the last notes I found that I could read mentioned items hidden in "Breach"-areas (areas corrupted and out of sight of the map) and I only found one with two power-ups. Also it bothers me that I found 4 of those living machines, but one decided to side with the other Trace and was shut down by the other three. I even found her head and I suspect there is a more sinister story behind this. Although it was great fun to play it. Only a few problems I felt, first is that you really got to experiment with the new items you got and try to do everything you can think of to really know the mechanic. Worst was when I got stuck, I didn't know where to go and I run across the map 2-3 times until I figured out that the little mechanical spider you have you can unleash in mid-air and from there steer it into high above places. That was how I uncovered the area I needed to enter. Another problem was the boss you see down below, Gir-Tab. It's a giant scorpion that fires constantly. When I first encountered it I noticed it registered some hits so there got to be a weak point there. It's the eye, but he closes it right away. So while I tried to find the weak point I was killed over and over and since he didn't open his eyes again there had to be another weak spot. And after a couple of tries I caved in and looked it up, you got to shot him in the back with a special gun that explodes remotely and have an area effect to reach it. After that information I didn't take a hit even though it took a long time to defeat him.

I REALLY hate him!

A really fun game, especially if you like the exploration parts of Metroid or just the atmosphere. It is a bit more dialogue heavy, but since I like that, no problem for me. Really need to get my hands on a soundtrack for this... or maybe even try getting the possible real ending... if it exist.

Update: Apparently there is one, but it is 100 % or finish before 4 hours, but more akin to a mind-screw since back on earth the other-Trace appears, older and such and shoots you. So the machines are good to go... my idea was much better... although it feels more like a twist from the Castlevania games.

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