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TheDustinVox Populi, Vox Dei; Latin for "the voice of the people is the voice of God." An odd title for a Flash game, but it's fitting enough. Not because this is a Marxist title by any means (it does channel some dystopian vibes from its gray industrial background, akin to Canabalt) but by virtue of the fact that the name is just as off-kilter as the rest of the game. You're a blue ninja attempting to save the woman who broke your heart from werewolves. You do so through stealth mechanics and by ripping the lycanthropes apart in a bloody fashion, like a Hunter from Left 4 Dead. Oh, and to top it off there's no background music. Say what?
Premise alone can only carry a game so far, so I'm happy to report that the gameplay holds up fairly well. The game introduces various mechanics throughout, but doesn't really commit to any of them outside of the visceral combat. When you leap on the wolves it's a weird role reversal; you the primal hunter, and the wolves your anthropomorphic prey. Your slashing and rending is brutal to the point that it feels personal. Intimate even. Not having music is actually a plus here, since it makes the wolfs' cries your sole auditory experience. While the level design is hit or miss, it incorporates enough variety that it'll keep you entertained. A particularly awesome bit was when I leapt at a werewolf at the top of a building -- I rode him in the air until he splattered onto a car a couple floors below. The other end of the spectrum occurs near the end, after you save your jilted lover. The two of you ride a slow moving elevator together in silence; all of the aesthetical elements, along with your lack of interaction, come together rather nicely. These alternating extremes of humanity and brutality somehow make the game seem honest.
The ending is poignant, but kind of hampered by the "To Be Continued" emblazoned at the top of the screen. Hopefully the sequel will either be another person's story told in the same universe, or a retelling of this game (in a Hobbit-to-LOTR kind of way.)This game definitely has its faults and the occasional annoying screen to pass, but it's off-beat (and occasionally gruesome) enough to warrant a playthrough.
Liked the review.
Liked the review.
Yeah Dustin is really coming
Yeah Dustin is really coming along in the sharpness of his writing style and analysis.
ixnay on the atinlay
I am that one asshole who just can't keep on living life without correcting your latin.
"Lascivio" means "I play". I am sure you do...but you probably meant to say "this is the place where to play". So you want the infinitive: lascivere.
Following the usual convention that the verb come last, you also want to switch the order of "play here", or: Hic lascivere
Of course, it might be more to the point to say "[go] to this place to play", in which case you would want: Huc lascivere
There is probably a more correct way to say it, but I've forgotten how.
Thanks
Aw shucks guys, thanks. Just think of it as compensation for some of my rougher early pieces. *cue wry grin here*
Unit: Edited to prevent further scorn from people who actually know the language. The extent of Latin in my self-taught homeschooling was trivial; conjugation was never my strong suit. =p Attic Greek was always more my speed anywho.
wow
I was actually extremely impressed by this game. It had a lot of good ideas, presented succinctly and unexpectedly. Like when I walked into the room with the deadly steam-shooting pipes, I rolled my eyes and thought "great, another game that runs out of ideas and resorts to platformer cliches..." UNTIL I noticed the neat spin he put on it by making the lights in the room flicker, leading you to use the sound of the steam to help you time your movements. Neat!
I also love the enemy-killing mechanic. It is a visceral thrill to jump on the wolves and tear them apart, but then you realize that killing a wolf requires you to (1) do the long jump, which can send you sliding into danger, and (2) spend several incapacitated seconds tearing them apart after you've got them down; both of which mean you have to be very careful about when and where you choose to make your kill.
In the sequel I hope he does more with the escort mechanic. The fact that long jumping or going invisible causes the girl to stop following you could lead to some interesting puzzle action. Reminds me of the first two Oddworld games, which I've always loved.