1 Response

1. Glazius Says:

   Storyline
   Design
   Gameplay
   Detail

   @GlaziusF

   Running this on a low-40s ice/axe tanker, +0 x2 with bosses on.

   —

   So this is a Three Strikes And You’re Drakule contingency? Diabolical. I suppose I’ll have to do something about it before I have to chop my own head off.

   And the only way to do it is to take it from the people who are trying to kill me. …I wonder why they’re not just using this? Does the ancient brotherhood of Drakule hunters only validate your parking if you actually kill Drakule?

   Also I should probably get an opening clue for whatever spell Heksung puts on me.

   …Ninja dudebro. Is the spell an ancient relic of the lost kingdom of Coldonesdry?

   Anyway, he’s illusion/DBlast, the huntress I have to off is Kat/EBlast, including a nova in desperation mode. Nice touch.

   Of course, the system text when she falls seems to hint that she’s going to be a future antagonist. Have to keep that franchise ticking!

   The order seems somewhat subdued and conventional, though. Maybe toss in a couple of patrols or something — I really like von Heksung’s overblown style, but it doesn’t really come out.

   No clue for the ritual scroll seems a little odd, though.

   —

   In order to kill Drakule, I must first kill Drakule. Very Zen.

   Another rampage through a club. Well, one does what one must. The EB at the end is a psy/dark dual blaster, but his fatal flaw is mistaking passive aggression for the actual sort.

   At the end, I now prosess Drakule’s heart. I hope it doesn’t attack.

   —

   Oh. System text from the first mission came back to bite me a little. Though it seems odd. You’d think the hunters wouldn’t use so many bladed weapons if blood was so dangerous to them.

   The busy message is a laugh, though.

   Anyway, my spawn serve as a workable distraction up to the point where I round on their leader. Kat/DBlast, with Blackstar on low health. I wonder if they have all the desperation moves working now.

   —

   And now to purge my mind of the Drakule that lurks within. It’s an Oranbega map, but it looks to be a pretty small one. Clearly Drakule has already begun to corrupt me.

   My fear seems to be a normal death mage, with an escort of trembling CoT.

   He acts as the gatekeeper for more mental aspects, all of whom pop in once his entire enemy group is subdued. (maybe it should just be him?)

   Sorrow and Doubt are Ghosts and Hydra - again, especially for Sorrow (whose escorts can just run off into a corner and get stuck) they should probably be boss-only.

   Rage is a Cimeroran, and Frustration… aw snap. I have dudebro on my mind.

   The Drakule Within is a psy assault/DArmor EB. He summons an ambush haflway through which just means more defense for me.

   When I drop him, he pops Soul Transfer to get back up, which unfortunately autostuns me and I get conked by his minions, meaning I wake up outside the MA with the mission completed but Drakule still in my mind. You should probably just turn that power off.

   —

   Storyline - ***. I think I might rate this higher if I’d never played the Drakule arcs. Heksung keeps up the over-the-top cheesiness I’ve come to expect form him, but the story is very serious, even dark at points. Killing off one of my fellow victims… that’s just cold, man. All the other missions are played fairly straight, too. (You could probably just have the third mission be to drop one of the past brides who just completely overslept.)

   Design - ****. Aside from the whole “if getting blood on you is a bad thing, why are these hunters using bladed weapons?” angle, the customs were pretty reasonable. The missions were pretty empty, aside from some cliche battles and the required boss fights. The last mission was the busiest in that regard, which was fitting, but missions 2 and 3 were completely optional save for the boss fight. I might have liked to have a ranged ally in the last mission representing my own willpower or something — it’s nice to find your whole mind isn’t against you.

   Gameplay - ****. Even with the occasional novas the bosses were a good challenge. The only off move was the end boss’s immediate revenge, which could lead to the scenario I described.

   Well, that and the psychological spawns needing the entire entourage, which had me tracking around in search of what turned out to be one of the ghosts that had run away down a long corridor.

   Detail - ***. The first mission would have been a bit better with some comedic reason why the Drakule hunters wouldn’t just perform this ritual on me. The missions overall would have been a little more enjoyable with some incidental humorous setpieces, like the spawn trying out a recipe for soy-based hemoblood in the club or similar nonsense. More clues than just some dude’s still beating heart would also have helped to lighten the mood a bit.

   I don’t know how you are on space, but it’d also be nice to see the figments of my imagination with their own enemy groups and names. Ninja dudebro could probably be “Despair”, as he seems to be an incarnation of a lack of hope, and “Doubt” might actually be better as “Pride” or similar, seeing turning into a world-conquering monster as a positive development.

   Overall - ***. This would probably be a star higher if I rated it on its own merits. But as an installment in the more light-hearted Drakule series it’s a capable work but not very light-hearted.

   Posted on March 21st, 2010 at 7:52 pm