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SCURGE: HIVE (attempt at an official thread)
- Thread starter jarosh
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Drinky Crow
Banned
controls sucked penis. the "omg your health is ticking down!" mechanic curbed the potential appeal of exploring the detailed 2D environments. visually polished and mechanically amateurish. pass!
Dragona Akehi
Retired
Drinky Crow said:
Poop. I was hoping the game would be good. Looks like I'll have to pass on it.
Anyone play Juka yet?
jarosh said:
It definitely gets better as you go on. I didn't get used to the controls until my third sitting with the game. The combat and music both get better. I just finished the desert area. I can imagine later on in the game they'll be throwing even more enemies at ya all at once with different alignments.
Zaxxon said:
Still working on it I hope.
I like the game, but it has major rough spots. I haven't put much time into it yet, though. I don't have problems with the controls (or, to be honest, with the timer), but the autorespawning enemies are a real annoyance. I don't know why they went with autospawn; it was one of the worst decisions made. I have gotten stuck a couple times due to not being able to see doors at a right angle to the viewing angle, as well.
Juka has its own problems, unless I'm not far enough to find the solutions to them. Mixing potions, which you need lots of, is a really slow, repetitive process -- fun the first time, really annoying the tenth. There may be a way to automatically make potions later in the game, but I'm doubtful.
Both games are among the system's most beautiful, but neither is as enjoyable and polished as Racing Gears Advance was. Apples and oranges, to be sure, but a bit of a disappointment.
Juka has its own problems, unless I'm not far enough to find the solutions to them. Mixing potions, which you need lots of, is a really slow, repetitive process -- fun the first time, really annoying the tenth. There may be a way to automatically make potions later in the game, but I'm doubtful.
Both games are among the system's most beautiful, but neither is as enjoyable and polished as Racing Gears Advance was. Apples and oranges, to be sure, but a bit of a disappointment.
it's a shame.
great visual style, sweet music, creative ideas and some neat level design - if you just LOOK at it everything seems fine...
and then you start moving... it's just AWKWARD - the controls just don't feel right, they're floaty and oddly unresponsive and they just don't work in an isometric setting. the fighting mechanics are simply broken. you CANNOT walk while shooting, you CANNOT shoot while walking. there's no real connection between the weapon, the main character and the enemies. it doesn't really feel like fighting. you never feel powerful.
enemies are dumb and annoying, constantly respawning, sucking the last bit of fun out of the already frustrating experience.
even the scrolling is broken. in an odd attempt to make it stylish (i suppose), it's been designed to lag behind and behave in a way that just gets distracting because it's so obviously THERE.
and yet, it's not an entirely bad game. all the flaws, as fundamental as they are, could have been fixed - without re-designing the whole game. the level design, the puzzles, the visuals, the music, the interface - it's all there. had they fixed the goddamn controls and gottend rid of the respawning enemies this could have been a GREAT game. seriously. it's a real shame.
great visual style, sweet music, creative ideas and some neat level design - if you just LOOK at it everything seems fine...
and then you start moving... it's just AWKWARD - the controls just don't feel right, they're floaty and oddly unresponsive and they just don't work in an isometric setting. the fighting mechanics are simply broken. you CANNOT walk while shooting, you CANNOT shoot while walking. there's no real connection between the weapon, the main character and the enemies. it doesn't really feel like fighting. you never feel powerful.
enemies are dumb and annoying, constantly respawning, sucking the last bit of fun out of the already frustrating experience.
even the scrolling is broken. in an odd attempt to make it stylish (i suppose), it's been designed to lag behind and behave in a way that just gets distracting because it's so obviously THERE.
and yet, it's not an entirely bad game. all the flaws, as fundamental as they are, could have been fixed - without re-designing the whole game. the level design, the puzzles, the visuals, the music, the interface - it's all there. had they fixed the goddamn controls and gottend rid of the respawning enemies this could have been a GREAT game. seriously. it's a real shame.
I didn't buy the game only because of the controls. They felt slidy and the camera movement make it feel even more awkward. Add to this the "can't move while shooting" to conclude the "non purchase" deal.
I would have probably passed over the "can't move while shooting" if only the controls in general wheren't so shitty.
Jake soundtrack wasted
I would have probably passed over the "can't move while shooting" if only the controls in general wheren't so shitty.
Jake soundtrack wasted
Ranger X said:Jake soundtrack wasted
Yeah, but sometimes you have to do music for crappy games while you work your way up and establish contacts. He's finally getting bigger-name jobs and there's something pretty big coming up, in fact.
At least Legend of Kay turned out to be a decently entertaining game, and his soundtrack for that is fantastic.
OK, this thread bump got me addicted to Scurge, which I definitely wasn't the first time I had it in my rotation. Thanks for that, I guess.
I like the laggy camera. It certainly doesn't interfere. Maybe the DS version is different? I own it, but haven't spent any time with it.
The controls are completely fine. How would complaints about the "stand to fire" mechanic be resolved, given that the GBA doesn't have four face buttons? Firing straight ahead would really suck. Granted, maybe they should have changed this for DS, but then how would you jump, by double-tapping the screen?
The elemental weapon system has REALLY grown on me. Explosion chaining has already been a really interesting and effective game mechanic -- hitting one small enemy with its elemental opposite, making it chain to the rest of its group, and blowing up a huge enemy of a different alignment in the process is really ****in' cool.
Really, the respawning enemies are the biggest problem, and most of the time I avoid them by running through the rooms that have autorespawn without fighting them. The enemies that were causing me problems by knocking me off pipes when I was climbing weren't autorespawning -- I just wasn't killing them completely.
So... have you guys played and liked isometric games before? How much time have you guys put in? I've only put two or three hours in (with lots of time running around in the first complex because I couldn't see a hidden door), and I just don't get most of the complaints. I am playing on a Micro, though, so maybe its superior dpad is the difference.
I like the laggy camera. It certainly doesn't interfere. Maybe the DS version is different? I own it, but haven't spent any time with it.
The controls are completely fine. How would complaints about the "stand to fire" mechanic be resolved, given that the GBA doesn't have four face buttons? Firing straight ahead would really suck. Granted, maybe they should have changed this for DS, but then how would you jump, by double-tapping the screen?
The elemental weapon system has REALLY grown on me. Explosion chaining has already been a really interesting and effective game mechanic -- hitting one small enemy with its elemental opposite, making it chain to the rest of its group, and blowing up a huge enemy of a different alignment in the process is really ****in' cool.
Really, the respawning enemies are the biggest problem, and most of the time I avoid them by running through the rooms that have autorespawn without fighting them. The enemies that were causing me problems by knocking me off pipes when I was climbing weren't autorespawning -- I just wasn't killing them completely.
So... have you guys played and liked isometric games before? How much time have you guys put in? I've only put two or three hours in (with lots of time running around in the first complex because I couldn't see a hidden door), and I just don't get most of the complaints. I am playing on a Micro, though, so maybe its superior dpad is the difference.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
I played this yesterday for a bit. I don't think it clicked for me like you. I just felt like I was playing sort of a sloppy Metroid rip, and couldn't get far into it.
This and Juka really disappointed. I thought after Racing Gears that this would be a company I would love. Here's hoping for the pirate game.
This and Juka really disappointed. I thought after Racing Gears that this would be a company I would love. Here's hoping for the pirate game.
Hmm. The autorespawning enemies are there because they have to be. Dunno if it's a good design decision, but interesting.
I admit, the game has fixable problems. There's very little weight or momentum to the character; she may as well be a cursor. I hate being forced to save whenever I get more health and clear my infection meter. The whole game looks to be "find the keycard, push the switch." The Metroid fanfic-esque story isn't great (though it's a far sight better than Metroid Prime Hunters there).
Nevertheless, I'm hooked, and will finish this one. I guess I'm just a sucker for isometric action games.
I admit, the game has fixable problems. There's very little weight or momentum to the character; she may as well be a cursor. I hate being forced to save whenever I get more health and clear my infection meter. The whole game looks to be "find the keycard, push the switch." The Metroid fanfic-esque story isn't great (though it's a far sight better than Metroid Prime Hunters there).
Nevertheless, I'm hooked, and will finish this one. I guess I'm just a sucker for isometric action games.
I hate to bump this, but I just got the game today and... it's true, it doesn't control brilliantly on the DS (I got the GBA version, though, and I have a DS fat) but I imagine this would be nearly perfect on the gameboy player with a regular GC controller. At the very least, it would make the diagonal moves more fluid.
I do feel like there's a good game in here, if I can just get adjusted to the controls. Whether that's just hopeless optimism or true remains to be seen. The timer does annoy me, but I'm more of a slow paced gamer really so I could just adjust. I seriously bought this game solely based on it being a Metroid ripoff, since it sounded decent going by the description.
I do feel like there's a good game in here, if I can just get adjusted to the controls. Whether that's just hopeless optimism or true remains to be seen. The timer does annoy me, but I'm more of a slow paced gamer really so I could just adjust. I seriously bought this game solely based on it being a Metroid ripoff, since it sounded decent going by the description.
DaBargainHunta
Member
I am intrigued by this game, but the talk of the DS version being inferior (WTF?) has me wary, and the $30 pricetag for the DS version is too high for my tastes. Something like this, with no name or brand recognition, really should've been released at $20. I can't imagine this being a big seller. Sure, I could get the cheaper GBA version, but I want the map on the second screen, damn it. 
:lol
:lolI played a little bit more, got a second upgrade and it's decent. But it's definitely a bit on the annoying side so far. Maybe it's just that I tend to want to kill stuff before moving, because it can be really hard to reposition yourself. But I do like the other weapon upgrade I got. I've switched it over to my gameboy player, though, so when I get to another save point in FF5 I'll give it a shot again and see how it plays using a GC controller.
DaBargainHunta
Member
And EB/Gamestop just lowered it to $20. I grabbed the DS version tonight (too many conflicting reports about whether there's a graphical difference between this and the GBA version, so I just took a leap of faith with the DS version for the extra screen room up top and the secondary screen map vs. the fugly black border I'd see on my DS with the GBA version).DaBargainHunta said:
I haven't played much yet, but I'm definitely happy with what I've seen so far.
No problems here with the controls. They seem fine to me, and they became second nature pretty instantly. The respawning enemies just add intensity to the game, so I don't necessarily see them as a bad thing. Besides, like someone else pointed out, you can always run through the room to avoid them if need be.
From what I've played, this is cool as hell. I love the style, and the shoot-em-up gameplay is a lot of fun. Definitely a nice little hiddem gem.
EDIT: As for the controversy between the graphics of the GBA version vs. the DS version, this was posted on the Orbital message board:
Heh... There is no loss in animation quality between the 2 versions whatsoever.
__________________
Graham Scott
Game Designer
http://www.orbitalmedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=124
Found a bug. The boss Jormungand, at least in the GBA version, can go white and non-interactive, forcing you to restart. Apparently, the way to avoid this is to NOT finish off his (first?) energy bar with the fire weapon -- instead, knock his health down with the fire weapon and then switch to the default weapon to finish off his energy bar. I haven't tried this yet, but it makes sense (the fire weapon energy bar grays out when the boss goes white).
Still enjoying the game very much. I should point out that I usually only play 15-20 minutes a sitting. I've only played for an hour at a time twice. I'm up to 6.5 hours now. The "find key, flip switch" gameplay might be more tiresome if I was playing it in long sessions. Then again, it might not.
Still enjoying the game very much. I should point out that I usually only play 15-20 minutes a sitting. I've only played for an hour at a time twice. I'm up to 6.5 hours now. The "find key, flip switch" gameplay might be more tiresome if I was playing it in long sessions. Then again, it might not.
Future Trunks
lemme tell you something son, this guy is SO FARKING HUGE HE'LL FLEX AND DESTROY THE SUN no shit
jgkspsx said:
You can also use the shock weapon instead of the default weapon when finishing off an energy bar, that way it takes off just a little bit more. And it has to be done for each energy bar. Finishing any of the bars with the fire weapon will cause it.
I'm on the last boss....<insert expletive here> it's cheap as all get out! I've mastered the first two forms, but that third is just SOOOOOOO cheap!!!! Super shot is awesome though.
I enjoyed that game, it was (is?) a good sense of jump n shoot mechanics, and when you get good at it, it really feels rewarding to plough through things running, shooting, jumping, switching weapons in mid-air, shooting, running....
Unfortunately, I'm not seeing much replay value. From what I've heard the bonuses aren't worth getting cause by the time you achieve them you won't care to play again anyway, but also....the last boss is HAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!!!!! Unfairly so. Once I beat it, it will go back in the box only because I never EVER want to face it again. But it was an enjoyable diversion though and what I consider to be a good game, especially if you're "hardcore" (which I'm not, I'm weaksauce).
Future Trunks
lemme tell you something son, this guy is SO FARKING HUGE HE'LL FLEX AND DESTROY THE SUN no shit
BTW, the controls are fine. :lol Do yourselves a favor though, disregard L and R. Map tether to X, Weapon switch to B, jump to A, and shoot to B. Or you can switch it up, as long as tether and jump are on the same side, one above the other, and weapon switch and shoot are on the same side.
Last boss music tracks gets you in the mood to kick some ass....just before the boss dashes your hopes and dreams and sips the sweet tears streaming from your eyes.
I'd like to see a sequel. Kind of funny, this was my first DSL purchase after getting one for Xmas. I wanted something challenging with shooting and platforming, can't say I didn't get what I asked for. I'll finish the game at approximately 17:30 playtime.
Last boss music tracks gets you in the mood to kick some ass....just before the boss dashes your hopes and dreams and sips the sweet tears streaming from your eyes.
I'd like to see a sequel. Kind of funny, this was my first DSL purchase after getting one for Xmas. I wanted something challenging with shooting and platforming, can't say I didn't get what I asked for. I'll finish the game at approximately 17:30 playtime.
Future Trunks
lemme tell you something son, this guy is SO FARKING HUGE HE'LL FLEX AND DESTROY THE SUN no shit
jgkspsx said:
Really? I wish the bug would've stopped appearing for me.
Oh well...Oh, yeah, 17:30, I got lost and frustrated a couple of times. :lol So it's skewed by as much as 4 hours.
Maxed out at Level 66. (I think?) Once you hit 999 HP there's no more leveling.
Future Trunks
lemme tell you something son, this guy is SO FARKING HUGE HE'LL FLEX AND DESTROY THE SUN no shit
Not to spam the topic here, but....BEAT IT! WOO!!!
All you get is access to Hard mode (as if the game wasn't hard enough, right?) and the ability to choose from 33,685 palette swaps for costumes though. 18:00 playtime.
Sadly, I'm not sure I wanna replay it two times (each time being harder than before) just to get Ultra Mode....which will be useless by the time I beat Hard and Insane.
All you get is access to Hard mode (as if the game wasn't hard enough, right?) and the ability to choose from 33,685 palette swaps for costumes though.
18:00 playtime.Sadly, I'm not sure I wanna replay it two times (each time being harder than before) just to get Ultra Mode....which will be useless by the time I beat Hard and Insane.
Future Trunks said:
It's is very old school in difficulty. Once you understand how to beat a boss it's just a matter of time and patience to defeat it. I'm replaying through on hard just to hear some of the soundtrack over again. Anyway, they are most likely to do a sequel and maybe not rip off Metroid as much.
Future Trunks
lemme tell you something son, this guy is SO FARKING HUGE HE'LL FLEX AND DESTROY THE SUN no shit
Linkup said:
Yeah, the last boss wasn't as hard as I thought, but it was an exercise in endurance for my thumbs....it's still cheap as hell though.
Shoot, double jump over, run a little, turn, shoot, double jump over.....repeat for 8-10 minutes. Just don't let it touch you to the best of your ability.
I didn't mind the Metroid influence that much personally. I kinda hope they don't go too far out of their way to differentiate it from Metroid, just do what comes out of your head.
Complaint(s):
Orbital, LET ME SKIP CUTSCENES! I CAN ONLY WATCH THAT LAST BOSS CONVERSATION SO MANY TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And had to have seen it a good 40 times. :lol
I guess story could have been deeper, but I wasn't getting it for story, the back of the box just screamed "isometric Metroid, hard as nails, shooter/platformer game" and that's why I bought it.
Those last boss tracks are my faves. And the beginning zone music.
Future Trunks
lemme tell you something son, this guy is SO FARKING HUGE HE'LL FLEX AND DESTROY THE SUN no shit
Mejilan said:
1) Good. Not sure if it's "REALLY" good. But I think it's arguable.
1.1) See my posts above. Lots of jump n' shoot action, especially once you get good switching the weapons. Nice platforming too. HARD. But rewardingly hard....except that whole last boss thing. Chaining enemy deaths is interesting. Isometric style fits. Nice music. It's got a few bugs. If you're hardcore, or want a challenge, this would be a good game to pick up. It's light on story though but adequate playtime, you can expect 15 hours to play through....not counting how many times you die. Action can be frenetic with the infection timer, combined with the onslaught of enemies and weapon switching platforming, it's a fast-paced game, and once in a while, you'll find yourself making a mad dash to a decontamination platform several rooms away from you. I wish the rewards for beating the game were better though.
2) DS
2.2) Having the bottom screen for your map and a few other stats comes in handy when looking for objectives/nodes/upgades/decon. platforms and really streamlines the game further. No pausing, you know? That's pretty much the only reason to select DS over GBA though.
Mejilan said:
1) Yes. I don't know if you mean "really good" or are asking if the game is in fact good. If you like isometric games and a challenge, it's really (or maybe REALLY REALLY) good. I think objectively speaking it's good once you get past the first 1.5 hours.
1.1) It's a shooter with exploration. If you enjoy semi-original IPs, chained explosions, grappling hooks, frantic running around, and switch-type puzzles, you will like this game. There are problems: you can't orient yourself at an angle when you stop running, so the grappling hook is irritating to use at an angle; jumping to moving platforms is hard to get used to as there's no shadow. Still, it's really entertaining and really satisfying, at least in small bursts, which is how I've been playing it.
The art and music are fantastic, among the very best on the GBA. Some of it's pretty impressive -- HUD splatter, fog, day/night shifts (!) -- though shadows aren't done as well as in Racing Gears Advance.
Most of the common complaints about it (regenerating enemies, too many enemies, isometric controls, stop-to-shoot) go away pretty quickly. I think most of the naysayers gave up pretty quickly.
2) Whichever is on your preferred platform. GBA Micro is one of my favorite systems because of its inputs, so I enjoyed it much more than my DSfat. Haven't played it on Lite (though I'm looking forward to it -- I have both versions). The map thing isn't really much of an issue, though I guess it's useful to have it always present.
Anyway, so far, I haven't found it to be that difficult (though I hear the last boss is very tough). I've only been forced to scramble for a save point due to infection three or four times after the first two hours, and only the second boss has put up much of a fight (though I was being stupid, too). I'm looking forward to hard mode, though I sure wish I could transfer my progress to the DS version so when I get a Lite I can play through it on hard. Ah well.
Got this game today for NDS.
So far its pretty cool. People around seemed to hate it because it was a Metroid Ripoff, but its more like a cross between Zelda and Alien Syndrome...IMO of course.
the enemies are fookin wierd...and like it was normal to play till i got locked in this room with some kind of biotanks that killed me quick...
the music is good, and so far the style is decent....need to play more into it and see how it fleshes out.
So far its pretty cool. People around seemed to hate it because it was a Metroid Ripoff, but its more like a cross between Zelda and Alien Syndrome...IMO of course.
the enemies are fookin wierd...and like it was normal to play till i got locked in this room with some kind of biotanks that killed me quick...
the music is good, and so far the style is decent....need to play more into it and see how it fleshes out.
picked it up early last year for 20 bucks at EBgames. The 2d animations impressed me and I love the fact that i have the map to look at on the bottom screen. The controls work fine after 10-15 minutes with it for me and I had no problems after. I am stuck on one stage though and when that happens games go to the shelf until later. Havent picked it up in a while because I am too busy playing other games. Its still a nice distraction and i applaud orbital media.
Diablohead
Member
Much as I love this game also I tried going back to it the other day to finish it off but wow, I feel so lost even though the map is pointing door 6 at me, I totaly forgot where to go for switches and keys, don't realy feel like redoing 5 or so hours worth just to get back there again.
I hope if they make a second that they will make it a bit easier to remember what you were doing, oddly I never realy had a problem like that in metroids.
I hope if they make a second that they will make it a bit easier to remember what you were doing, oddly I never realy had a problem like that in metroids.
bob_arctor
Tough_Smooth
Just wanted to bump this to say I am very, very much enjoying the DS version. Controls are fine to me--it only took me a while to get used to the isometric view since I haven't played a game using it since, well, forever.
Visuals are great, music's sufficiently scifi and moody, and the story is compelling enough (I happen to like the virus timer) to keep me intrigued. It's definitely a neat Metroid clone. Maybe clone is too strong a word--more like a 3rd cousin who's kind of weird and cool all at once.
Visuals are great, music's sufficiently scifi and moody, and the story is compelling enough (I happen to like the virus timer) to keep me intrigued. It's definitely a neat Metroid clone. Maybe clone is too strong a word--more like a 3rd cousin who's kind of weird and cool all at once.
The last boss is miserating. My save file is sitting there, right there at the last boss. I don't think I'm that weaksauce, but maybe I am. Great game up to that point, though. Definitely will play through it again on DS this time.
It's as much of a Metroid clone as Turrican is. I.e. not very. Not dissimilar to Turrican, though, now that I think about it...
It's as much of a Metroid clone as Turrican is. I.e. not very. Not dissimilar to Turrican, though, now that I think about it...