|
sbking42's Spelunky (PC)
|
| [December 14, 2009 10:07:24 PM]
|
Spelunky is a platformer game where the player is an explorer who delves deep into caves searching for treasure. You face many dangers, including long falls, spikes, snakes, bats, spiders, ghosts, crazy trigger happy shop owners, and even your own bombs. However, should you survive, you will amass tons of treasures, including gold, jewels, and of course, kisses from the ladies you save. It is a game that any fan of Pitfall should appreciate, but with many cool unique elements. One word to sum up the game would be “addicting.”
The first impression that I get from the game is that there is one big bug to work out. The controls are pretty hard if you’re used to playing any modern computer game. This would be fine, but when you change the controls to something easier to use like WASD, there’s a bug that makes the character always look up! This makes the game almost unplayable, so I’m stuck with the clunky feeling retro style controls. However, the game itself seems pretty much bug free.
One of the most noticeable, unique gameplay elements that Spelunky has is its extreme diversity through randomized level layout. I have been a big fan of randomized dungeons since the late 90s when I first played Diablo. Every time you splay Spelunky, everything from the level layout, enemies, ladies, shops, and even the game’s intro will be a new experience. This is definitely what makes the game so addictive. Also, although the levels are randomly generated, the design usually feels somewhat intelligently designed. There is usually always a way to reach the end of the level, although it is possible to trap yourself without any bombs or ropes to escape.
The aesthetics of the game keep very true to an 8-bit look. The first four levels have a somewhat bland, brown gold mine sort of look. The fifth level has water, and is much greener. I never made it past the sixth level. The sounds are also very simple 8-bit style sounds.
There are a few NPCs in Spelunky. The most common is the lady, who appears in most levels. If you can carry her to the end of the level, she will kiss you, giving you one extra hit point. The second most common NPC are shop keepers, who appear randomly with various shop inventories of four items. I’ve encountered bomb shops, weapon shops (with cool weapons like knives, pistols, shotguns, etc), tool shops (with pickaxes, ropes, bombs), but the most unusual was a sort of kiss-shop prostitution ring. Here, there is a shop keeper and a lady, and for $10000 you can buy a kiss from the lady for extra health. If you try to attack the lady, the shop keeper will shoot you dead saying “only I can do that.” Some would get pretty offended… The shop keepers are indestructible, by the way. If you try to steal from them, or if you try to attack them, they will shoot you and will die instantly. Sometimes while trying to figure out the prices of their items you might accidentally hit them with one, causing them to shoot you in a very untimely manner. The last NPC I encountered was in between levels. Apparently if you pay him enough over time (he asked me for $100000), he will dig a shortcut somewhere.
This is a very difficult and sometimes frustrating game. There are no extra lives, but there are hit points, which are very rarely increased (you need a kiss). Some enemies and things like booby traps take away multiple hit points per hit, and falling on spikes will kill you instantly. If you die, you go back to level 1, although it will be completely randomized and new. This is definitely not a game for casual gamers, who will probably get frustrated and give up fairly quickly. But for determined, classic gamers, it is a very fun, addicting game that will make time fly by faster than one would like.
add a comment 
|
|
|
 |
sbking42's Spelunky (PC)
|
|
Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 14 October, 2009
|
|
