1 Response

1. Glazius Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   @GlaziusF

   Running on a high 40s spine/regen scrapper, diff 2 for ~goodfights~.

   It’s nice that Mission Engineer is so easy now, I can just run these missions on whoever I want!

   —

   Oookay, kind of an odd intro, all told.

   I generally expect a mission intro screen to tell me something about what I’m supposed to do, and the briefing fills in details after that.

   Well, the patrols are filling in some more. THE MINDWEB HAS YOU. Or something like that.

   Eheheheheh. “Synapse! Scout the crash site!”

   Oh, that’s an interesting assist. But really, they didn’t do much. Between me and Miss Sis Psyche, dude bit pavement.

   Still, I have to give him points for effort.

   Oh god, crazy roaming spirits in search of a host body. I’m sure that there might be some villain group somewhere that this guy would NOT be able to find “recruits” in.

   This is gonna get ugly.

   —

   Hmm. Same setup again. It doesn’t seem accidental. I really do like to know what I’m getting into, and it’s not like you’re running close to text limits on the mission intro text.

   If Different Trifecta is going to talk in Different Text Color, he should talk in it all the way through the briefing and the bug text.

   Ohhh dear. Looks like he’s not just satisfied with bringing Mayhem Psychos to the party.

   Uh, protip. The stock Psycho Clocky is actually from an alternate universe and his stock description makes mention of it.

   I’m pretty sure I didn’t just step sideways into Epsilon Tau 27-2 here.

   Well, congratulations on the balanced customs, the psycho clocks kicked their asses.

   Oh. It’s a hostage so large it’s indistinguishable from the scenery. That’s new.

   I realize that’s supposed to be Psycho Babbage, but given the size of the ceiling in here it actually looks like some support pillars came to life and are rambling around.

   Kind of a neat effect, really.

   —

   Heh. Okay, modestly interesting gimmick for number 3’s briefing here.

   I sneak into the mission and I think a patrol blows up the first restrictor. Fortunately that’s just a warning one and I manage to defend the second.

   It’s a little worrying when the cops hit me with AoEs as I’m trying to clear out the psychic gremlins.

   Hmm. Looks like Sister Psyche doesn’t trust me. Thanks for that, glowie. But I wonder where she’s been, all this time.

   —

   The special custom bosses are pretty keen. It’s nice that they’re in the same rough colors as their text.

   …but the clues are making me worry.

   Yep, yep, worry confirmed.

   —

   Oh _ho_. That’s an interesting last boss. Makes the third mission a little more understandable.

   It’s not the last boss.

   Now THERE’s an interesting… wait, what? That’s not the last boss either?

   Oh, THERE’s the real deal, finally. Hate that end drain but I had some luck with blues dropping, so I guess it works out in the end.

   —

   Storyline - ***. It’s a good storyline with a simple twist in the middle to keep it interesting, but frontloading the text in four out of the five missions so it’s basically “Hi there! (accept mission)” leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I realize there’s practically no difference at all but I still like to know what I’m getting into.

   Design - *****. No complaints here. The custom group and the various guest bosses look very much like psychic energy beings. while still being distinguishable enough from each other… well, the minions look exactly the same, but other than that they’re fine.

   Gameplay - ****. When the big dogpile from all three mind shards happened in the final mission, I was sure I’d reached the last boss. Hunting around for the real thing afterwards just felt like a bit of an anticlimax.

   Detail - ***. Check your stock descriptions and make sure they fit the thing you’re trying to portray - this also goes for the Mayhem Psychos and the Crazed. You can edit stock descriptions for the members of custom enemy groups now, so take advantage!

   Overall - ****. Rounding up on this one. Needs a little more polish and maybe some text tweaking, and a little different structuring of the final mission so the final boss fight actually feels like an end boss fight. But overall, solid work.

   Posted on July 6th, 2009 at 9:02 pm