Cycles of Evil
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- Author(s): Dan Walma
- Categories: D-Mod, Romp
- Downloads: 743
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Cycles of Evil is a very experimental mod, using multiple protagonists and time periods to tell an overarching story, while disregarding most gameplay and RPG elements present in Dink to keep things simple. While impressive in the effort clearly required to make it, the game ultimately feels like a mess by the third quarter; I found myself both begging for context and gameplay, or for the story to end so I could stop playing.
The story starts with a plot thread that is not relevant to the overall story until it resumes later. The second thread to be introduced centers around a character that transforms into a bonca with no explanation, and who disappears after his thread suddenly stops without closure (the best I can tell is that he and his childhood friend spawned pure boncas that somehow survived trapped in the basement for years?).
This is just a sample of the narrative; the impact of almost every playable character's role during the game seems either nonexistent, or so poorly/under explained that it is lost on the player. The earliest plot thread wraps near the end with an explanation regarding two ancient beings that we know nearly nothing about. They appear to have been present in some manner for each time period, but their appearance in the ending fails to contextualize their actions throughout the story, or provide any payoff for the ending.
In summary:
In terms of gameplay, the game is a real shlog. Within minutes of starting, you are forced to fight a massive pillbug horde with basic stats, and a somewhat inaccurate hitbox for your attack. Yet barring the final fight, you never see anything nearly that challenging again. Outside of combat, the majority of time spent is going from point A to B, often with little direction, plenty of walking, but nothing else to do. This is amplified by all time periods occupying the same map. While this offers some unique sense of change, it also leaves all of the periods feeling too similar. Combined with spawning in each period almost opposite of where you need to go, and you spend the entire game in familiar territory either fighting simple melee scripted battles, and wandering non-interactive areas.
The final bosses are even fought back-to-back, have extremely disjointed hitboxes, and offer no recovery in-between despite sporting more health each than any other fights. And then after a few lines of text, you are booted to the splash screen.
Graphically, it's a passable title, utilizing a few new assets. One time period (and sadly the least played) has a great snow effect and palette, which provides some surprising immersion. However, seeing the same town layout over and over (beyond one thread which just axes out the town) as you are asked to annoyingly travel through it for menial tasks is a real chore. And that splash screen is a real eyesore; very bright and with poor color contrast.
Now, what ultimate ruined the experience for me was actually the music. I'll start with what I liked; which was that during the winter season I mentioned earlier, you hear a great clip of a blizzard blowing in the wind. It is -very- effective, despite clearly looping between each screen. I loved it, and would love to hear this quality of audio in more DMODS.
While generally appropriate, some tracks feel out of place, mostly the fairy period's MIDI. However, the real complaint is directed at the usage of "Boss Battle 2" from Final Fantasy Adventure. This is an extremely dramatic battle theme that requires a lot of buildup to use properly, and it's only of average length.
This theme blasts at high volume, uninterrupted, throughout a third of one character's thread, only to also appear for half of his next section, ultimately appearing for 20-25% of an about 35-minute game. It is the most grating midi experience I've had with a DMOD yet, takes place in an extremely repetitive combat section that consists of having to clear roughly 10 screens of a single bonca each without knowing how many are left or where. This can be ended prematurely by wandering into one locked screen from the wrong side of a fence, which is inexcusable design.
After so many years on the Dink Network before its' most recent patch in 2015, this is a glaring flaw that dragged the experience from a mildly interesting six to a frustrating four. For it to immediately resume during a wandering section (even if not for long) is aggravating, and painful to temporarily rested ears.
Ultimately, I had a poor experience with this title. I am impressed at the work put into it; the map is lush, the story is full of promise while both non-traditionally told and unique in the subjects it attempts to tackle. And that snow season is so cool!
Unfortunately, those same pluses bear the worst minuses. The map lacks interactivity, is both too small for variety and too large for it's lack of content. The story fails to really inform you of what's going on at any point, leaves much unexplained, and resolves abruptly without explanation as to how it got there. That snow season sets up a much more combat-oriented, character-driven, and interactive adventure than ever happens or is present to that extent in other threads. And I've honestly never had a game track aggravate me so much for so many reasons at such a high volume.
Sorry, but I seriously don't recommend this title to anyone beyond those desperate for something different, or historians.
The story starts with a plot thread that is not relevant to the overall story until it resumes later. The second thread to be introduced centers around a character that transforms into a bonca with no explanation, and who disappears after his thread suddenly stops without closure (the best I can tell is that he and his childhood friend spawned pure boncas that somehow survived trapped in the basement for years?).
This is just a sample of the narrative; the impact of almost every playable character's role during the game seems either nonexistent, or so poorly/under explained that it is lost on the player. The earliest plot thread wraps near the end with an explanation regarding two ancient beings that we know nearly nothing about. They appear to have been present in some manner for each time period, but their appearance in the ending fails to contextualize their actions throughout the story, or provide any payoff for the ending.
In summary:
In terms of gameplay, the game is a real shlog. Within minutes of starting, you are forced to fight a massive pillbug horde with basic stats, and a somewhat inaccurate hitbox for your attack. Yet barring the final fight, you never see anything nearly that challenging again. Outside of combat, the majority of time spent is going from point A to B, often with little direction, plenty of walking, but nothing else to do. This is amplified by all time periods occupying the same map. While this offers some unique sense of change, it also leaves all of the periods feeling too similar. Combined with spawning in each period almost opposite of where you need to go, and you spend the entire game in familiar territory either fighting simple melee scripted battles, and wandering non-interactive areas.
The final bosses are even fought back-to-back, have extremely disjointed hitboxes, and offer no recovery in-between despite sporting more health each than any other fights. And then after a few lines of text, you are booted to the splash screen.
Graphically, it's a passable title, utilizing a few new assets. One time period (and sadly the least played) has a great snow effect and palette, which provides some surprising immersion. However, seeing the same town layout over and over (beyond one thread which just axes out the town) as you are asked to annoyingly travel through it for menial tasks is a real chore. And that splash screen is a real eyesore; very bright and with poor color contrast.
Now, what ultimate ruined the experience for me was actually the music. I'll start with what I liked; which was that during the winter season I mentioned earlier, you hear a great clip of a blizzard blowing in the wind. It is -very- effective, despite clearly looping between each screen. I loved it, and would love to hear this quality of audio in more DMODS.
While generally appropriate, some tracks feel out of place, mostly the fairy period's MIDI. However, the real complaint is directed at the usage of "Boss Battle 2" from Final Fantasy Adventure. This is an extremely dramatic battle theme that requires a lot of buildup to use properly, and it's only of average length.
This theme blasts at high volume, uninterrupted, throughout a third of one character's thread, only to also appear for half of his next section, ultimately appearing for 20-25% of an about 35-minute game. It is the most grating midi experience I've had with a DMOD yet, takes place in an extremely repetitive combat section that consists of having to clear roughly 10 screens of a single bonca each without knowing how many are left or where. This can be ended prematurely by wandering into one locked screen from the wrong side of a fence, which is inexcusable design.
After so many years on the Dink Network before its' most recent patch in 2015, this is a glaring flaw that dragged the experience from a mildly interesting six to a frustrating four. For it to immediately resume during a wandering section (even if not for long) is aggravating, and painful to temporarily rested ears.
Ultimately, I had a poor experience with this title. I am impressed at the work put into it; the map is lush, the story is full of promise while both non-traditionally told and unique in the subjects it attempts to tackle. And that snow season is so cool!
Unfortunately, those same pluses bear the worst minuses. The map lacks interactivity, is both too small for variety and too large for it's lack of content. The story fails to really inform you of what's going on at any point, leaves much unexplained, and resolves abruptly without explanation as to how it got there. That snow season sets up a much more combat-oriented, character-driven, and interactive adventure than ever happens or is present to that extent in other threads. And I've honestly never had a game track aggravate me so much for so many reasons at such a high volume.
Sorry, but I seriously don't recommend this title to anyone beyond those desperate for something different, or historians.
Cycles of Evil.... "Through the pale door a hideous throng rush out forever-and laugh, but smile no more." That is quite possibly my favorite quote- and one that is quite suitable to the tale of the Cycles of Evil in my opinion. Alright, knowning the rather uncouth audiences that reside in this domain I will spare my sardonic philosophy and give a normal review that is not infested with explicative but inpronouncable words...(whew ... try saying that one out loud)
***Plot***
I believe that the plot is the true highlight of Cycles. As a matter of fact, without any plot there would be very little content to explore in this D-Mod as it almost completely revolves around the storyline. While it was a bit confusing, way too fast in some parts and too slow in others, I believe that it creates a rather dark and cynical mood which I find.......appealing. One key issue is that I wished that there were more characters to talk with, as the only ones that I saw were the ones that you had to talk to. I feel that this could have help develop a more complete and more human personality to the multiple characters that you play.
***9.5***
***Sound***
The music was good. Enough to set the scene, and I never had to worry about having to load a new midi every screen like some D-Mods do. The sounds were good and well placed... I can't complain, though there nothing really -special-.
***9.0***
***Gameplay***
The only major flaw to this D-Mod. The gameplay in it is very easy and infrequent, both of which are not good qualities. It must be taken into mind though that this game was not really centered around being an rpg. Indeed the ocassional pills and boncas seemed to have been thrown in by ReDink so that the people who can't stand not being able to hack at something sometime in a D-Mod would be satisfied... It is my opinion that those who wish to run around killing things for almost no reason, and want to play a D-Mod without Dink should download -Fighterz- rather than -Cycles-
***8.5***
FINAL SCORE
***9.0***
There you have it... I feel that those that have actually read this far in this review must have an interest in this D-Mod. Thus I have only one thing to say. DOWNLOAD IT!! It is an grimly entertaining diversion, especially if one is searching for activities and wishes to kill time. Think of it more like a movie than a D-Mod.
***Plot***
I believe that the plot is the true highlight of Cycles. As a matter of fact, without any plot there would be very little content to explore in this D-Mod as it almost completely revolves around the storyline. While it was a bit confusing, way too fast in some parts and too slow in others, I believe that it creates a rather dark and cynical mood which I find.......appealing. One key issue is that I wished that there were more characters to talk with, as the only ones that I saw were the ones that you had to talk to. I feel that this could have help develop a more complete and more human personality to the multiple characters that you play.
***9.5***
***Sound***
The music was good. Enough to set the scene, and I never had to worry about having to load a new midi every screen like some D-Mods do. The sounds were good and well placed... I can't complain, though there nothing really -special-.
***9.0***
***Gameplay***
The only major flaw to this D-Mod. The gameplay in it is very easy and infrequent, both of which are not good qualities. It must be taken into mind though that this game was not really centered around being an rpg. Indeed the ocassional pills and boncas seemed to have been thrown in by ReDink so that the people who can't stand not being able to hack at something sometime in a D-Mod would be satisfied... It is my opinion that those who wish to run around killing things for almost no reason, and want to play a D-Mod without Dink should download -Fighterz- rather than -Cycles-
***8.5***
FINAL SCORE
***9.0***
There you have it... I feel that those that have actually read this far in this review must have an interest in this D-Mod. Thus I have only one thing to say. DOWNLOAD IT!! It is an grimly entertaining diversion, especially if one is searching for activities and wishes to kill time. Think of it more like a movie than a D-Mod.
Well, this was an interesting D-Mod. The storyline is completely linear. Yeah. It's like a bad British Video Game (not that I've ever played one, it just sounded good). You play as several different characters, who are each located in different parts of the time spectrum. One thing that annoyed me was that you would get used to a certain era, then all of a sudden you've warped to another one.
STORY: 7 of 10
The story was not at all bad, just not the greatest, and slightly confusing. It's kinda like this: The guy 30 years ago did this thing, then the guy from the future was affected by that thing. Which sounds reasonable right? Right. But I noticed several instances where someone in the PAST was affected by someone in the FUTURE. That wouldn't be logical, but hey, it's not MY d-mod. That was the only thing that I didn't like.
CHARACTERS: 8 of 10
Well, I didn't like the farmer guy and the scythe (sickle?) at first, but I got used to it. It was pretty neat, actually. The only thing that I didn't like was the Faerie Era where everyone said "Have Heart, Sister" or something like that. That got old REALLY fast. I think that the monster-morphing kid was pretty cool. I wish you could choose what he turned into, though.
BUGS: 9 of 10
Only one MAJOR one that sticks out in my mind. The bug when changing eras, you get warped to the entrance of the village, but can't enter it. You just walk offscreen instead of warping. I heard this was fixed in version 1.1, but I haven't played it since then. I would have given this a 6 because it was bad - you had to load your game over to get it to work. But, since it IS my fault that I havent played the updated version, I'll put it at a 9.
GAMEPLAY: 10 of 10
Now, while this was a very short d-mod, I gave gameplay a 10 because of how much work was put into it. Changing characters every 5 minutes or less is tedious scripting work (I think). Since I would never do that, I'll give it a 10.
OVERALL: 9.0
While that's not what my scores average out to be, I don't feel this d-mod should be in the 8's. It uses some different scripting techniques and a different style of gameplay, and for that, I give it a 9. While I personally didn't like the faeries, you might. I just think it's prone to headaches to end every waking conversation with "Have Heart". That would give me one.
BOTTOM LINE:
If you have 30 minutes to kill, go for it!
STORY: 7 of 10
The story was not at all bad, just not the greatest, and slightly confusing. It's kinda like this: The guy 30 years ago did this thing, then the guy from the future was affected by that thing. Which sounds reasonable right? Right. But I noticed several instances where someone in the PAST was affected by someone in the FUTURE. That wouldn't be logical, but hey, it's not MY d-mod. That was the only thing that I didn't like.
CHARACTERS: 8 of 10
Well, I didn't like the farmer guy and the scythe (sickle?) at first, but I got used to it. It was pretty neat, actually. The only thing that I didn't like was the Faerie Era where everyone said "Have Heart, Sister" or something like that. That got old REALLY fast. I think that the monster-morphing kid was pretty cool. I wish you could choose what he turned into, though.
BUGS: 9 of 10
Only one MAJOR one that sticks out in my mind. The bug when changing eras, you get warped to the entrance of the village, but can't enter it. You just walk offscreen instead of warping. I heard this was fixed in version 1.1, but I haven't played it since then. I would have given this a 6 because it was bad - you had to load your game over to get it to work. But, since it IS my fault that I havent played the updated version, I'll put it at a 9.
GAMEPLAY: 10 of 10
Now, while this was a very short d-mod, I gave gameplay a 10 because of how much work was put into it. Changing characters every 5 minutes or less is tedious scripting work (I think). Since I would never do that, I'll give it a 10.
OVERALL: 9.0
While that's not what my scores average out to be, I don't feel this d-mod should be in the 8's. It uses some different scripting techniques and a different style of gameplay, and for that, I give it a 9. While I personally didn't like the faeries, you might. I just think it's prone to headaches to end every waking conversation with "Have Heart". That would give me one.
BOTTOM LINE:
If you have 30 minutes to kill, go for it!
Finally I get around to playing this DMOD to the end. It is the best non-Dink DMOD I've played to date. Concentrating heavily on a story which is told in vignettes, and generally very well done.
Good:
Very clever use of palette changing for the seasons. And nice modified graphics. Considering the file limit imposed on the competition the author has done very well here. 10 out of 10.
Map:
The map is functional, but not terribly exciting. And I could go behind the black hole as a fairy which kinda broke the suspension of disbelief for me. The occassional behind a door due to depth dot stuff is usual for a DMOD, but behind a hole should not have to happen. Small point I know...
8.0 out of 10. The changing map with seasons was good, but I have categorised that as a graphics enhancement.
Story:
Very interestingly done, having a story span years, and being told in vignettes is great. Story itself... after all is said and done, it wasn't that heroic as such... and this was meant to be an alternate hero dmod. Overall it is better as an alternate character based saga. In light of the evil hero dmod, this dmod could even fit that theme.
9 out of 10.
Bugs:
None really, other than minor map stuff. (see above) 9.9 out of 10.
Game Play:
It took me a while to get into the style of game this DMOD imposes on the player. In fact when I first tried to play this DMOD (when version 1.0 was released) I stopped after the farmer talks to Sam, as I got bored. This time I played all the way through... and still got bored. There were a number of fighting boncas which got repetative, go tell all the fairies something... I find doing an action the same time, more than twice without any variation a detraction. Also the changing of locations (fade down, warp, fade up) seemed to be really slow, and without a freeze until the fade_up was complete I'd sometimes walk onto the next screen while still in black which kinda spoiled the story telling process. A couple of sprites I felt should've had scripts attached like the dead Dad and the fence he was blocking. Killing monsters became very easy and no challenge towards the end, which upped the boring factor. Overall 7 out 10.
Recommendation: Give this a go... it is diverting, but don't except any tough fighting, or being able to live the part as a new hero. This is a tale, with the player very much an outside viewer even though you get to move different characters around.
Overall score: 8.8 out of 10
Good:
Very clever use of palette changing for the seasons. And nice modified graphics. Considering the file limit imposed on the competition the author has done very well here. 10 out of 10.
Map:
The map is functional, but not terribly exciting. And I could go behind the black hole as a fairy which kinda broke the suspension of disbelief for me. The occassional behind a door due to depth dot stuff is usual for a DMOD, but behind a hole should not have to happen. Small point I know...
8.0 out of 10. The changing map with seasons was good, but I have categorised that as a graphics enhancement.
Story:
Very interestingly done, having a story span years, and being told in vignettes is great. Story itself... after all is said and done, it wasn't that heroic as such... and this was meant to be an alternate hero dmod. Overall it is better as an alternate character based saga. In light of the evil hero dmod, this dmod could even fit that theme.
9 out of 10.
Bugs:
None really, other than minor map stuff. (see above) 9.9 out of 10.
Game Play:
It took me a while to get into the style of game this DMOD imposes on the player. In fact when I first tried to play this DMOD (when version 1.0 was released) I stopped after the farmer talks to Sam, as I got bored. This time I played all the way through... and still got bored. There were a number of fighting boncas which got repetative, go tell all the fairies something... I find doing an action the same time, more than twice without any variation a detraction. Also the changing of locations (fade down, warp, fade up) seemed to be really slow, and without a freeze until the fade_up was complete I'd sometimes walk onto the next screen while still in black which kinda spoiled the story telling process. A couple of sprites I felt should've had scripts attached like the dead Dad and the fence he was blocking. Killing monsters became very easy and no challenge towards the end, which upped the boring factor. Overall 7 out 10.
Recommendation: Give this a go... it is diverting, but don't except any tough fighting, or being able to live the part as a new hero. This is a tale, with the player very much an outside viewer even though you get to move different characters around.
Overall score: 8.8 out of 10
I don't really know where to start with my review on this Romp D-Mod, but maybe the sentence "There wasn't a single second of boredom while playing this D-Mod." could be good to begin with. Let's now review individual parts of the D-Mod.
Plot/Story : Before the first season change, I thought this D-Mod was just about a single character. I thought that I was gonna be a farmer, taking care of my farm and nothing else would come. When I've realized how things really are, it hit me like a ten ton rock. I was amazed by the originality and idea for the story, it made me green with envy that I haven't thought of this myself. The jumps between present and past, the changes of characters and the story make this my number one favourite D-Mod. One might say it doesn't allow you to do anything unrelated to the story, but that's exactly the point. This D-Mod does a great job on interactive storytelling. The characters are perfect, especially the one (I believe his name's Timmy) with a small... problem. I give the plot 10 points for making me play it non-stop before finishing it and for the overall gaming experience.
Weapons/Magic : There's not really any need for more weapons or magic besides the ones that the characters get (the sickle, axe, tail, the fairy spell...). I really like how the farmer swings his sickle, haven't seen that yet. I can't help myself, but it's 10 points for how the lack of weapons for non-Dink characters was fixed.
Graphics : Now this made me gasp for breath. The season changing is outstanding and original. The pallete and sprites (like making the trees look different each season) changes are nicely done. I don't recall seeing the farmer's attack, so I guess it's newly created. Great job. The blizzard is definitely a plus too. Though it seems that I've forgot what do the rest of the numbers look like, it's 10 points for Graphics.
Saving : I prefer saving with the Escape key, in the menu, but that's only cause I'm used to it from other games. Savebots are good too, if they're on strategic places and allow easy access, but putting savebots in this D-Mod wouldn't be the best thing to do, since the map is quite small. I don't have anything against autosaving except for not knowing when will I get the chance to save my game. But since the autosaves are placed strategically, like they should be (after every season change), I rate the Saving part with 8 points.
Midis : I don't rate midis for a simple two reasons. 1) I don't pay much attention to the music playing because I concentrate more on playing the game and 2) different people like different music, what three people like, the fourth one might hate.
Monsters : This D-Mod doesn't contain much fights and the ones you get into are quite easy to win. Then again, this D-Mod doesn't really need fights more fights, since it's purpose is to tell a story. But I agree that the monsters (at least some of them) should be a bit tougher. 9 points for the Monsters part.
Conversation : I have to say something to the dialogues. They are all well written, but the part that I liked the most was the Autumn season, the way the Fairies talk. The titles they use to address each other, the words they say instead of 'goodbye' (if I recall correctly, it's "Have heart"), they're perfect. Only thing that's missing is more talking. Less fighting, more talking, that's not such a bad idea. I'm giving the Conversation part 9 points, losing one point because there could be more options when talking to someone (like when talking with the Fairies).
Overall : This D-Mod is awesome, it made me stay at the computer till I've finished it. Very interesting, original and nice story, the character chages and different seasons, as well as the time warps make this D-Mod unique and as I have already said this Romp is my number one favourite D-Mod.
Score : 9.3
Cheeze says:
"It's mainly the story that makes a good D-Mod, not just fighting, new weapons or magic. You have proven that by choosing an original and great idea for a story, you can make a D-Mod that is as addictive as any other. Great job, Dan."
Plot/Story : Before the first season change, I thought this D-Mod was just about a single character. I thought that I was gonna be a farmer, taking care of my farm and nothing else would come. When I've realized how things really are, it hit me like a ten ton rock. I was amazed by the originality and idea for the story, it made me green with envy that I haven't thought of this myself. The jumps between present and past, the changes of characters and the story make this my number one favourite D-Mod. One might say it doesn't allow you to do anything unrelated to the story, but that's exactly the point. This D-Mod does a great job on interactive storytelling. The characters are perfect, especially the one (I believe his name's Timmy) with a small... problem. I give the plot 10 points for making me play it non-stop before finishing it and for the overall gaming experience.
Weapons/Magic : There's not really any need for more weapons or magic besides the ones that the characters get (the sickle, axe, tail, the fairy spell...). I really like how the farmer swings his sickle, haven't seen that yet. I can't help myself, but it's 10 points for how the lack of weapons for non-Dink characters was fixed.
Graphics : Now this made me gasp for breath. The season changing is outstanding and original. The pallete and sprites (like making the trees look different each season) changes are nicely done. I don't recall seeing the farmer's attack, so I guess it's newly created. Great job. The blizzard is definitely a plus too. Though it seems that I've forgot what do the rest of the numbers look like, it's 10 points for Graphics.
Saving : I prefer saving with the Escape key, in the menu, but that's only cause I'm used to it from other games. Savebots are good too, if they're on strategic places and allow easy access, but putting savebots in this D-Mod wouldn't be the best thing to do, since the map is quite small. I don't have anything against autosaving except for not knowing when will I get the chance to save my game. But since the autosaves are placed strategically, like they should be (after every season change), I rate the Saving part with 8 points.
Midis : I don't rate midis for a simple two reasons. 1) I don't pay much attention to the music playing because I concentrate more on playing the game and 2) different people like different music, what three people like, the fourth one might hate.
Monsters : This D-Mod doesn't contain much fights and the ones you get into are quite easy to win. Then again, this D-Mod doesn't really need fights more fights, since it's purpose is to tell a story. But I agree that the monsters (at least some of them) should be a bit tougher. 9 points for the Monsters part.
Conversation : I have to say something to the dialogues. They are all well written, but the part that I liked the most was the Autumn season, the way the Fairies talk. The titles they use to address each other, the words they say instead of 'goodbye' (if I recall correctly, it's "Have heart"), they're perfect. Only thing that's missing is more talking. Less fighting, more talking, that's not such a bad idea. I'm giving the Conversation part 9 points, losing one point because there could be more options when talking to someone (like when talking with the Fairies).
Overall : This D-Mod is awesome, it made me stay at the computer till I've finished it. Very interesting, original and nice story, the character chages and different seasons, as well as the time warps make this D-Mod unique and as I have already said this Romp is my number one favourite D-Mod.
Score : 9.3
Cheeze says:
"It's mainly the story that makes a good D-Mod, not just fighting, new weapons or magic. You have proven that by choosing an original and great idea for a story, you can make a D-Mod that is as addictive as any other. Great job, Dan."
This is good... This i REALLY good.
It is about some strange events happening in a small town. At first it just seem to be a slow beginning like the start of any adventure... But suddenly the story jump 30 years into the future! So you start playing this new Hero. A little by litle you begin to understand the plot and you must find out what happens next.
There's really no new graphics. No map. No special weapons. You can't level up. You simply play along the story, allmost like a movie. With a lot of flashback (I think one the other reviews mention that to)! While this may sound lame you really get captured by the story. It is really exciting...
GOOD: The story. The whole D-mod is the story. It's also cool to control diffenrent characters in different scenes and the end have a suprising twist.
BAD: You don't have that much to say in the story. It could maybe use a subquest or two, or just an alternate ending. But no. There's not that much fighting either and you are pretty much sure to win those that are.
Eventhough this review may sound a bit negative it deserves it's score. Simply because you don't notice the lacks when you play.
I hope this D-mod will bring many new of the same kind with it. Especially ones with a bit more freedom of choices...
It is about some strange events happening in a small town. At first it just seem to be a slow beginning like the start of any adventure... But suddenly the story jump 30 years into the future! So you start playing this new Hero. A little by litle you begin to understand the plot and you must find out what happens next.
There's really no new graphics. No map. No special weapons. You can't level up. You simply play along the story, allmost like a movie. With a lot of flashback (I think one the other reviews mention that to)! While this may sound lame you really get captured by the story. It is really exciting...
GOOD: The story. The whole D-mod is the story. It's also cool to control diffenrent characters in different scenes and the end have a suprising twist.
BAD: You don't have that much to say in the story. It could maybe use a subquest or two, or just an alternate ending. But no. There's not that much fighting either and you are pretty much sure to win those that are.
Eventhough this review may sound a bit negative it deserves it's score. Simply because you don't notice the lacks when you play.
I hope this D-mod will bring many new of the same kind with it. Especially ones with a bit more freedom of choices...
An alternative hero DMOD that does two things really well, and introduces some new techniques that could be better.
What Dan has done, and it perhaps wasn't his first priority, is tell a great story. We, in essence, learn the secrets of what seem to be a perfectly normal, peaceful, little town. The story is told through cut-scenes of present day, as well as cut-scenes of the towns past. Whereas most DMOD's are interactive RPG's with the occasional cut-scene to help further the story, COE is essentially a series of cut-scenes with some interaction thrown in to further the story. COE reverses the way we play.
So telling a story is one thing Dan did well, the other is obviously using alternative heros (or anti-heros). Through-out the interactive part of COE you control a number of different characters, not all of them, in my opinion, are heros so much as characters to bring us to the next cut-scene. And that, is where I find fault with COE. The character was used as a vehicle to transport us to another scene. In a perfect world, the player would have more to do with the eventual outcome. You cannot fail in this game, and you cannot win. What you get, however, is one hell of a story, and that makes up for it.
My guess is that Dan intended to make COE much more interactive, but with the restrictions of the Alternative Hero Contest, simply ran out of space and time to do so.
The palette technique used in COE to change the different seasons was done well. I particulary liked the bright green grass used for spring (or was it summer), and the snow fall during the winter portions is the best I've seen in a DMOD. The issue I had with the technique, is it wasn't as seamless as it might be, but I certainly couldn't have done it any better.
One last aspect to point out is the use of AutoSave. There are no save-bots, and the game can only be saved after certain portions were completed. In COE, the lack of saves is not an issue. I would like to see this in other, harder games, it would add a level of difficulty for sure.
In summery: COE told perhaps the best story of any mod to date, but lacked the interaction we have come to expect. At some points in COE, the combination of the unfolding story, and the well placed midis really got your adenaline flowing, and, like a good book, pulled you into the story and didn't just keep your interest, it demanded it.
Taking a look at the romps you can download at TDN, you will see many efforts that failed to deliver a even a small percentage of COE, yet the scores given to them by reviewers are unusually high. For that fact, you really have to weigh the offerings. I'm not sure COE delivered everything the author wanted it to, but it entertained me, it taught me, and it inspired me. I can think of maybe one other romp (The Creeping Sands) that had was able to do that.
What Dan has done, and it perhaps wasn't his first priority, is tell a great story. We, in essence, learn the secrets of what seem to be a perfectly normal, peaceful, little town. The story is told through cut-scenes of present day, as well as cut-scenes of the towns past. Whereas most DMOD's are interactive RPG's with the occasional cut-scene to help further the story, COE is essentially a series of cut-scenes with some interaction thrown in to further the story. COE reverses the way we play.
So telling a story is one thing Dan did well, the other is obviously using alternative heros (or anti-heros). Through-out the interactive part of COE you control a number of different characters, not all of them, in my opinion, are heros so much as characters to bring us to the next cut-scene. And that, is where I find fault with COE. The character was used as a vehicle to transport us to another scene. In a perfect world, the player would have more to do with the eventual outcome. You cannot fail in this game, and you cannot win. What you get, however, is one hell of a story, and that makes up for it.
My guess is that Dan intended to make COE much more interactive, but with the restrictions of the Alternative Hero Contest, simply ran out of space and time to do so.
The palette technique used in COE to change the different seasons was done well. I particulary liked the bright green grass used for spring (or was it summer), and the snow fall during the winter portions is the best I've seen in a DMOD. The issue I had with the technique, is it wasn't as seamless as it might be, but I certainly couldn't have done it any better.
One last aspect to point out is the use of AutoSave. There are no save-bots, and the game can only be saved after certain portions were completed. In COE, the lack of saves is not an issue. I would like to see this in other, harder games, it would add a level of difficulty for sure.
In summery: COE told perhaps the best story of any mod to date, but lacked the interaction we have come to expect. At some points in COE, the combination of the unfolding story, and the well placed midis really got your adenaline flowing, and, like a good book, pulled you into the story and didn't just keep your interest, it demanded it.
Taking a look at the romps you can download at TDN, you will see many efforts that failed to deliver a even a small percentage of COE, yet the scores given to them by reviewers are unusually high. For that fact, you really have to weigh the offerings. I'm not sure COE delivered everything the author wanted it to, but it entertained me, it taught me, and it inspired me. I can think of maybe one other romp (The Creeping Sands) that had was able to do that.
This is one of the three entrances for the Alternative Hero Romp Dmod Contest, written by Dan Walma (redink1).
Unlike most of the existing dmod's, this one is not your typical game. Basically, you are playing along a pre-set storyline. All you can do is like a inexperienced director trying to layout a script written by a superb writer. You even cannot do anything about the film editing...
There are a few different time frames, and you are forced to jump from one scene to another. It is just like a suspensive film. You have to be clear-minded to remember what is going on, and in the end you will know the whole picture. In general the plot is well thought, although some of the plots are not as clever as the other parts, and some of the storylines can be told a little bit more. But in fact, it is better than most of the hollywood films out there. ;p
There are quite a few new tricks in this dmod. The new menu page is a nice surprise. The way the author changed the seasons by applying different palettes is just excellent. From now on, authors can have another methods (and tools) to make their dmods even more colorful! In different scenes, you are playing different characters. Some of them have some fighting to do, but most of the time you just have to walk up to certain screens to let the plot continue.
However, this is NOT a film. This is still a game. Despite very original, the gameplay tends to become a little less interesting as the game goes on. Although the total number of the screens is not that big, a few times going back and forth (even the season changes) becomes a little repeative in the end. One or two new fighting skills might be able to add a lot more aspects to this dmod, but oh well. The autosave is somehow not so good, but since you don't really have other subquest to do, there is no immediate need for different save.
In short, this one is by far the BEST dmod created by redink1 (Yes, FIAT and EOT2 included). The screens are filled with lots of "things" that reflect the corresponding seasons. Rich plot and truly original. It shows a possibility for a game of the same type to have a multiple endings and lots of sub-quest. For this game, in spite of its rich content, it is still a romp (or a weirdo, ;p) and you can probably finish it within 15 to 20 minutes.
It is very hard for me to decide what the score I should give it. Most of this game is just brilliant, but some of it still falls short. I guess I am expecting a lot higher from the webmaster of Dink Network.
Unlike most of the existing dmod's, this one is not your typical game. Basically, you are playing along a pre-set storyline. All you can do is like a inexperienced director trying to layout a script written by a superb writer. You even cannot do anything about the film editing...
There are a few different time frames, and you are forced to jump from one scene to another. It is just like a suspensive film. You have to be clear-minded to remember what is going on, and in the end you will know the whole picture. In general the plot is well thought, although some of the plots are not as clever as the other parts, and some of the storylines can be told a little bit more. But in fact, it is better than most of the hollywood films out there. ;p
There are quite a few new tricks in this dmod. The new menu page is a nice surprise. The way the author changed the seasons by applying different palettes is just excellent. From now on, authors can have another methods (and tools) to make their dmods even more colorful! In different scenes, you are playing different characters. Some of them have some fighting to do, but most of the time you just have to walk up to certain screens to let the plot continue.
However, this is NOT a film. This is still a game. Despite very original, the gameplay tends to become a little less interesting as the game goes on. Although the total number of the screens is not that big, a few times going back and forth (even the season changes) becomes a little repeative in the end. One or two new fighting skills might be able to add a lot more aspects to this dmod, but oh well. The autosave is somehow not so good, but since you don't really have other subquest to do, there is no immediate need for different save.
In short, this one is by far the BEST dmod created by redink1 (Yes, FIAT and EOT2 included). The screens are filled with lots of "things" that reflect the corresponding seasons. Rich plot and truly original. It shows a possibility for a game of the same type to have a multiple endings and lots of sub-quest. For this game, in spite of its rich content, it is still a romp (or a weirdo, ;p) and you can probably finish it within 15 to 20 minutes.
It is very hard for me to decide what the score I should give it. Most of this game is just brilliant, but some of it still falls short. I guess I am expecting a lot higher from the webmaster of Dink Network.
This D-mod is one of the three entries in the Dink Network Alternative Hero D-mod Contest 2002. The others are Lyna’s Story by Paul Pliska and Quest for the Golden Nut by James Perley.
Storyline: This might be one of the hardest to understand D-mod. You do not know what is going on, untill you are almost at the end of the game. Then you begin to understand what the plot is about. It is very well worked out and it reminds me of a movie with flashbacks. I played it once more, just because I wanted to understand everything that was going on.
Map and Graphics:. The changing of seasons is very well done. I was quite amazed when I saw it at first.
Music:.The music that plays at the fairies scene is outstanding. The other midi’s are fair.
Good: The storyline and plot are great.
Not so good: The map is a too big for the story; the game only needs a couple of screens since there is nothing else to do or to find besides the main quest. I do not like autosave, I prefer savebots or pressing escape.
Overall: A D-mod that features a new kind of story and plot and could set the pace.
Fit for: If you prefer a game that has a great story and plot, but almost no fighting.
Storyline: This might be one of the hardest to understand D-mod. You do not know what is going on, untill you are almost at the end of the game. Then you begin to understand what the plot is about. It is very well worked out and it reminds me of a movie with flashbacks. I played it once more, just because I wanted to understand everything that was going on.
Map and Graphics:. The changing of seasons is very well done. I was quite amazed when I saw it at first.
Music:.The music that plays at the fairies scene is outstanding. The other midi’s are fair.
Good: The storyline and plot are great.
Not so good: The map is a too big for the story; the game only needs a couple of screens since there is nothing else to do or to find besides the main quest. I do not like autosave, I prefer savebots or pressing escape.
Overall: A D-mod that features a new kind of story and plot and could set the pace.
Fit for: If you prefer a game that has a great story and plot, but almost no fighting.
Having just played Cycles, I found it to be a very interesting work. I was so enraptured by it, that I lost my self in the story and didn't even realise how time was going by until I had finished it all in one shot.
The plot:
You play as four different characters each in a different time and season. You reveal the dark past of the seemingly innocent town as you go. The time of the game encompasses several hundred years, although most of the game happens within a 50 year stretch. Expect only the unexpected with this dmod.
The only negative thing I have to say about the plot is the ending is too sudden. It's as if anticipating a sequel, but is a bit too abrupt even for that.
All in all, I give it a solid 8 for plot.
Graphics:
It uses his extra tree pack, which gives the scenes some variation. All in all, it's well done if nothing spectacular. Using the average mod as a basis, I give it a 9.
Sound:
Music is well placed. Nothing really special about it, though. I rate it a 7.
Gameplay:
Almost completely directed to the story, the gameplay has been totally changed. There are no changes of items, shops, magic, or just about anything else. It is an unusual system, and very interesting. For originality, I give it a 9.
Total score: 8.3
The plot:
You play as four different characters each in a different time and season. You reveal the dark past of the seemingly innocent town as you go. The time of the game encompasses several hundred years, although most of the game happens within a 50 year stretch. Expect only the unexpected with this dmod.
The only negative thing I have to say about the plot is the ending is too sudden. It's as if anticipating a sequel, but is a bit too abrupt even for that.
All in all, I give it a solid 8 for plot.
Graphics:
It uses his extra tree pack, which gives the scenes some variation. All in all, it's well done if nothing spectacular. Using the average mod as a basis, I give it a 9.
Sound:
Music is well placed. Nothing really special about it, though. I rate it a 7.
Gameplay:
Almost completely directed to the story, the gameplay has been totally changed. There are no changes of items, shops, magic, or just about anything else. It is an unusual system, and very interesting. For originality, I give it a 9.
Total score: 8.3
This has got to be, one of the best D-mods I've ever played..
Its got such a great story line..
it gripped me in as soon as I started.
I think the creator should do more.. Hint Hint.
Good: Pretty Much everything.. Loved the Story, Loved the Idea, Great Plot.
Bad: It ended.. Could've been longer, But yeah, overall great.
Loved it. <3
Its got such a great story line..
it gripped me in as soon as I started.
I think the creator should do more.. Hint Hint.
Good: Pretty Much everything.. Loved the Story, Loved the Idea, Great Plot.
Bad: It ended.. Could've been longer, But yeah, overall great.
Loved it. <3
This D-Mod is among one of the bests.
Story: Story is about a house that is surrounded by evil. You play as many characters from "long time ago" into newer times.
8.5.
Map: Map is nicely done. There are four seasons. (You know them all, don't you?
) Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall. The map is very small. There is a little village and a little bigger area north of it.
8.5.
Graphics: The trees were nice. The seasons' garphics/tiles were nice. And even better, they're all new!
9.0.
Music: Fits, though sometimes it's too heavy/rock for the scene.
6.0.
Gameplay: Great! You play as 4 characters always for about 2-10 minutes. It's really cool. All these characters have somekind of ability. I liked how you suddenly had to fight a guy who you had played just a while ago.
9.7.
And, there were plenty of cut-scenes. Probably ven more than The Rise of the Goblins. It was like a small movie.
Good: Story, map, graphics, gameplay.
Bad: Music is sometimes out of the scene. Also, the story is kinda hard to understand, and especially in the end, when it jumps from time to time, from place to place and from character to another, but that's only what I think.
Overall: 9.2. A GREAT D-Mod that you should play at all cost!
Fit for: Anyone!
I've got only 3 words to say:
DOWNLOAD. IT. NOW!!
Story: Story is about a house that is surrounded by evil. You play as many characters from "long time ago" into newer times.
8.5.
Map: Map is nicely done. There are four seasons. (You know them all, don't you?
) Summer, Winter, Spring, and Fall. The map is very small. There is a little village and a little bigger area north of it.8.5.
Graphics: The trees were nice. The seasons' garphics/tiles were nice. And even better, they're all new!
9.0.
Music: Fits, though sometimes it's too heavy/rock for the scene.
6.0.
Gameplay: Great! You play as 4 characters always for about 2-10 minutes. It's really cool. All these characters have somekind of ability. I liked how you suddenly had to fight a guy who you had played just a while ago.
9.7.
And, there were plenty of cut-scenes. Probably ven more than The Rise of the Goblins. It was like a small movie.
Good: Story, map, graphics, gameplay.
Bad: Music is sometimes out of the scene. Also, the story is kinda hard to understand, and especially in the end, when it jumps from time to time, from place to place and from character to another, but that's only what I think.
Overall: 9.2. A GREAT D-Mod that you should play at all cost!
Fit for: Anyone!
I've got only 3 words to say:
DOWNLOAD. IT. NOW!!
I was a bit surprised at how much people like this D-mod. I mean, sure, it's slightly humorous, and I like the idea behind it (that it goes from one period of time to another to create the whole story), but there's so much missing. You can't make any choices of your own, or sidetrack into an unrelated part, it completely follows just the one path, giving me a feeling like "what's the point?" And I'm not saying other good D-mods don't do this, but even so, those are usually more of a challenge, and therefore not so short, which this one was. Also, I didn't like the fact that you couldn't lvl, and that it took place in such a small area.
If it were remade into a good game I could enjoy it, because, like I said, I did like the idea behind, but as it currently is, I wouldn't bother wasting my time playing through it again.
If it were remade into a good game I could enjoy it, because, like I said, I did like the idea behind, but as it currently is, I wouldn't bother wasting my time playing through it again.
Introduction: A jolly good d-mod that does not include Dink in it.
Story:9.1:Exceptional: There are four main characters 1. The farmer with a sickle (scythe)2. Timmy a little boy that can shape-shift into a purple bonca.3. A fairy who gets kissed by a wizard. 4. A boy who has a suit of armor and goes hunting. These four people meet together ina twisted d-mod.
Graphics:5.0:Fair: I found no new graphics.But i did like the colorful trees in the spring.
Style:8.0:Good: I found no actual funny humor, in this d-mod (how could you Dan?). But i give no minuses for that because it is so short there is barely enough time for humor. I still found it very fun. I found no bugs at all.I liked auto save.I loved that it changed seasons. But i got slightly confused when it changed like every minute.
Music:6.3:Fair: Midis, that's all i have to say.
Overall:9.1:Exceptional:An exceptional d-mod with some good story and plot.
Fir for:Anybody who needs to have fun while killng time.
Story:9.1:Exceptional: There are four main characters 1. The farmer with a sickle (scythe)2. Timmy a little boy that can shape-shift into a purple bonca.3. A fairy who gets kissed by a wizard. 4. A boy who has a suit of armor and goes hunting. These four people meet together ina twisted d-mod.
Graphics:5.0:Fair: I found no new graphics.But i did like the colorful trees in the spring.
Style:8.0:Good: I found no actual funny humor, in this d-mod (how could you Dan?). But i give no minuses for that because it is so short there is barely enough time for humor. I still found it very fun. I found no bugs at all.I liked auto save.I loved that it changed seasons. But i got slightly confused when it changed like every minute.
Music:6.3:Fair: Midis, that's all i have to say.
Overall:9.1:Exceptional:An exceptional d-mod with some good story and plot.
Fir for:Anybody who needs to have fun while killng time.
This is a good d-mod for if you want a quick, fun and fast game. This is my first reveiw (i know its a bit too late!) but i was testing out all d-mods, even bad ones since 2004, going over all aspects of the game.
I liked the whole seasons thing with the snow and fresh leaves, etc. everything in the time line was well placed, so nothing changed over the course of game.
I made this review as short as possible cause i need to get back to the d-mods, and the d-mod that im making. So i give this game an 8.9,(i deducted points for the weirdo bonca boy in the story) and I reccomend it for all smallwood fans out there.
I liked the whole seasons thing with the snow and fresh leaves, etc. everything in the time line was well placed, so nothing changed over the course of game.
I made this review as short as possible cause i need to get back to the d-mods, and the d-mod that im making. So i give this game an 8.9,(i deducted points for the weirdo bonca boy in the story) and I reccomend it for all smallwood fans out there.
Wow! This D-Mod is great, really. The story is very strange and you have to think and be alert to understand it. Since so many people already have describe the story, I'll just say a few word...
Story[9.5]: Fantastic, I love it. The story is about this house and what's happening around it.
Music/sounds[9.0]: They were good, I liked them.
Map[9.2]: Cool, I love the season thing. A bit ugly in the town, but thats all...
Graphic[9.0]: I like the new trees!
Overall: This D-Mod was very amusing, and all who like movies shall play this, it was like a movie D-mod. In a strange way it reminds me of blair witch project.
Score: 9.4
Story[9.5]: Fantastic, I love it. The story is about this house and what's happening around it.
Music/sounds[9.0]: They were good, I liked them.
Map[9.2]: Cool, I love the season thing. A bit ugly in the town, but thats all...
Graphic[9.0]: I like the new trees!
Overall: This D-Mod was very amusing, and all who like movies shall play this, it was like a movie D-mod. In a strange way it reminds me of blair witch project.
Score: 9.4
Another great D-Mod by King Daniel Walma.
Basic Story: You are in a town. At four different time periods in the town, you play one different character. You use each character to try to save the town from the evils running amok.
Storyline- Great! Not incredibly difficult and easy to understand.
Plot- Great also! Four different characters and defeat the evils.
Graphics- Really good. Set over different seasons and autumn tiles excellent.
MIDI's- Great. Fits the situations nearly perfectly.
Difficulty- Not very hard. Enemies are beatable.
Lasting Appeal- About an hour, but you can enjoy every second of it.
Overall- A great D-Mod and really enjoyable. Recommended to every person here at TDN. Given: 9.7
Basic Story: You are in a town. At four different time periods in the town, you play one different character. You use each character to try to save the town from the evils running amok.
Storyline- Great! Not incredibly difficult and easy to understand.
Plot- Great also! Four different characters and defeat the evils.
Graphics- Really good. Set over different seasons and autumn tiles excellent.
MIDI's- Great. Fits the situations nearly perfectly.
Difficulty- Not very hard. Enemies are beatable.
Lasting Appeal- About an hour, but you can enjoy every second of it.
Overall- A great D-Mod and really enjoyable. Recommended to every person here at TDN. Given: 9.7
Let's get to the "criticizements" already...
Graphics. New trees and more terrain tiles. Sweet.
Music. Hmm forgot them.
Sounds. Nonnew.
Map. At least it's not square-like.
Humour. Hmm
Story. I still haven't realized it completely. It's pretty odd and you keep switching your position on the time line.
Overall. A confusing D-Mod. Don't expect an easy story. But what's with that boncaboy?
Total. Look above.
Graphics. New trees and more terrain tiles. Sweet.
Music. Hmm forgot them.
Sounds. Nonnew.
Map. At least it's not square-like.
Humour. Hmm
Story. I still haven't realized it completely. It's pretty odd and you keep switching your position on the time line.
Overall. A confusing D-Mod. Don't expect an easy story. But what's with that boncaboy?
Total. Look above.
This is a very original DMOD. I think it hints at what can be done with the Dink engine. Some of the map goofs SimonK mentions are unfortunate and the overall linearity of the gameplay brought the overall score down for me.
The wholesale suspension of the RPG mechanisms (abilities, XP) is a bold move. I'm not entirely certain I like that, but it took a lot of moxie to try a stunt like this.
Future DMODs in this style should feature a bit more action and perhaps a but less intercutting. With all the seasonal motifs (I loved the fall and winter scenes), I expected some kind of Haiku.
The wholesale suspension of the RPG mechanisms (abilities, XP) is a bold move. I'm not entirely certain I like that, but it took a lot of moxie to try a stunt like this.
Future DMODs in this style should feature a bit more action and perhaps a but less intercutting. With all the seasonal motifs (I loved the fall and winter scenes), I expected some kind of Haiku.
First off this D-Mod is great. It is about the story than the action in this mod. The only way to save is by autosave which is usefull for the people that get so far and forget to save it. The story is about a quiet out of the way village that no one thinks about, but evil always surrounded it. The only bad thing I found in it was the swearing. This D-Mod is not acceptable for younger players.
This DMOD, set over many years, is like no other. What makes it different is the fact that its storyline is emphasised above all else. Little skill is needed, but as the story unravels you become more and more intrigued.
Excellent graphics are used, withlots of new ones for different seasons. The MIDIs are mostly very good, but I disliked the ones used for "Spring".
There are some minor bugs, but nothing that spoils the experience.
Excellent graphics are used, withlots of new ones for different seasons. The MIDIs are mostly very good, but I disliked the ones used for "Spring".
There are some minor bugs, but nothing that spoils the experience.
Good d-mod
Good story.
There's not much gameplay (fighting anyway) but the story makes up for it. I played it a couple of times to understand the plot although I still can't quite understand the ending. Still a nice short little d-mod to download. There was something about it that made me want to keep playing and I hope more d-mods like this are made.
Good story.
There's not much gameplay (fighting anyway) but the story makes up for it. I played it a couple of times to understand the plot although I still can't quite understand the ending. Still a nice short little d-mod to download. There was something about it that made me want to keep playing and I hope more d-mods like this are made.
Oh my God!
I loved it...it was like watching a great movie...or more specifically a great STORY! This is quite possibly the best made fan mod for any game in terms of a story. It is not only deep, but complicated and original. The way it is told would win it an academy award if it was a movie and the scripts for the characters make them come to life. (especially the fairys and their society.
A great thanks for an unforgettable experience.
The Vault Dweller
I loved it...it was like watching a great movie...or more specifically a great STORY! This is quite possibly the best made fan mod for any game in terms of a story. It is not only deep, but complicated and original. The way it is told would win it an academy award if it was a movie and the scripts for the characters make them come to life. (especially the fairys and their society.
A great thanks for an unforgettable experience.
The Vault Dweller
i can say only this... THIS IS GREAT!! full of action(d-mods what need thinking are also good, but so hard!) and a good plot. more like this!
Cycles of Evil is a great attempt at making a fully plot based linear gameplay experience. You play as multiple characters at different times and play a peice of the story with each of them to, at the end, form a stable outcome. There's almost no fighting, except for a few extremely easy bosses. There are no secrets, very few NPCs and nothing to be found. There's no longer a menu to choose items and magic, but rather a screen that shows you which season it is. That brings us to the sly palette changes that go with each season. Using a neat palette swapping technique, the colors change according to the season. Everything will look a little yellowish in the summer and you can make out the snow looking winterscapes.
The downsides of this d-mod are neglectable, mostly since it's a romp in nature. The story is rather short, you can finish it in under 15 minutes. It's also very easy, but I guess that's not really an issue when it comes to these kind of games, since the battles are there to offer some change.
I can see some great potential in these kind of games, but I guess their true brilliance can only be seen in a game of larger scope, where not everything is situated in the same small territory.
Overall, I must admit that I was surprised by this d-mod. It offered a great experience and I hope there will be more d-mods like this one in the future, be it with some minor adaptations. This brings my final score to 9.1
The downsides of this d-mod are neglectable, mostly since it's a romp in nature. The story is rather short, you can finish it in under 15 minutes. It's also very easy, but I guess that's not really an issue when it comes to these kind of games, since the battles are there to offer some change.
I can see some great potential in these kind of games, but I guess their true brilliance can only be seen in a game of larger scope, where not everything is situated in the same small territory.
Overall, I must admit that I was surprised by this d-mod. It offered a great experience and I hope there will be more d-mods like this one in the future, be it with some minor adaptations. This brings my final score to 9.1
