Knights in the Nightmare
8/22/2009
Title: Knights in the Nightmare
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Strategy/Roleplaying/Bullet Hell Shooter
That "genre" tag is not an exaggeration...the best I can muster for this one is "SRPGBH." It's wild, and fun as hell. The story seems expertly crafted, but unfortunately it didn't interest me in the slightest. It's told in a sort of flashback of misery, but after a while I was just skipping to get to the good stuff. And the good stuff is really good. The game seems to realize it's confusing as hell, and makes every attempt to give the player a good time rather than just punishing him. Even grinding for experience and weapons is done outside in a pick-up-and-play style that fits perfectly with a portable game. The graphics and music are quite good, though he sparse voice acting is bafflingly bad. Unless I've been mispronouncing "havoc" my entire life.
Naturally, it's not for everyone. If you're looking for a by-the-numbers RPG or strategy game, then scram. Even though it's mostly forgiving, it's still got a dozen different tutorial situations and even more hints for stuck players. Still, charging up and tearing the hell out of an enemy and then scrambling to pick up all the goodies he drops while dodging his buddies' shots is a real rush, and racking up all that experience for your undead army provides a great "one more round" thrill I haven't had in a DS game in a while.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: Strategy/Roleplaying/Bullet Hell Shooter
That "genre" tag is not an exaggeration...the best I can muster for this one is "SRPGBH." It's wild, and fun as hell. The story seems expertly crafted, but unfortunately it didn't interest me in the slightest. It's told in a sort of flashback of misery, but after a while I was just skipping to get to the good stuff. And the good stuff is really good. The game seems to realize it's confusing as hell, and makes every attempt to give the player a good time rather than just punishing him. Even grinding for experience and weapons is done outside in a pick-up-and-play style that fits perfectly with a portable game. The graphics and music are quite good, though he sparse voice acting is bafflingly bad. Unless I've been mispronouncing "havoc" my entire life.
Naturally, it's not for everyone. If you're looking for a by-the-numbers RPG or strategy game, then scram. Even though it's mostly forgiving, it's still got a dozen different tutorial situations and even more hints for stuck players. Still, charging up and tearing the hell out of an enemy and then scrambling to pick up all the goodies he drops while dodging his buddies' shots is a real rush, and racking up all that experience for your undead army provides a great "one more round" thrill I haven't had in a DS game in a while.