The joy of a well timed action. Going through a high octane pace while bouncing of walls, dodging projectiles and avoiding intricate obstacles on your path. Slashing or dashing past your opponents that hinder your way, like the great action hero you've aspired to be. These are the things that Dead Mage and Cresent Moon Games has instore for us, on Shadowblade. An action platformer that is reminiscent and inspired, by such titles as the shinobi and strider hiryu series.
The game starts out when a mysterious ninja sets out on a mission to give a message to his master, about the imminent rise of the amida clan. By doing so, he goes through a an urban obstacle course. Filled with danger and difficulty. This is the only narrative element that is presented, which shows the main character's motivation. It's simplistic and efficient, I must say.
So here are the gameplay features that's present. There are two types of controls in this game. First is a touch or gesture based, while the other one is a traditional button type configuration. Having tried both schematics extensively, I came to the conclusion that the traditional controls works best. I observed that there's a lack of response when chaining a set of moves. For example, you can't do a quick succession of wall jumps no matter how hard you try. It's as though, the input is not being recognized. I would like to add that on some stages, it's quite possible to finish it using the gesture control. The main problem lies when you go to through a difficult level and trying the get all the objectives. The types of moves you can perform in the game are the usual run, jump, double jump, air dash, wall jump and hanging on a ledge. For me the implementation is spot on and very satisfying to perform. Although you can't change the momentum of a double jump which surprised me. I guess it's a portrayal of physics, so you have to memorize the distance and be careful when you do it. The combat elements in this game is minimal and not a big part. You can even just avoid the some enemies, if you want to. You can button mash a bit or perform a quick kill which I find very enjoyable. Fast kills can only be performed by a well timed attack so it's quite gratifying to do.
Now let's talk about the level design. The initial chapter is pretty much a tutorial phase to get you familiar with the mechanics and controls of the game. So you may find going through it with ease and taking every objective along with out a problem. It's when you enter chapter 2 that the difficulty spike elevates. The traps and situations become very intricate. There's a sense of challenge progression as you go through stages from this point, which brings excitement. The three objectives you can attain are represented by a shuriken, I find it to be clever since they're stars in some sense. You can attain them by finishing the stage on a specific time, collecting all the glowing spheres and getting the hidden jade character. This gives an exploration aspect on the game design, that's a nice touch to the over all experience. Finding the fast routes and hidden areas gives an additional fun factor. Apart from the platforming, there are some rare levels that are arena based. Where the objective is to kill waves of enemies on a designated time in order to get the shurikens.
The whole presentation of the game is superb. On the menu there's an unsheathing katana to show the game's credits. I would also like to add that when you push the start button of the game a shuriken is thrown on a wooden background beside it. I just like the playful aspect with regards to the theme. The character design, level backgrounds and some particle effects makes the aesthetics very pleasing to the eye. The sound effects and bgm are also done pretty well. It sets a pleasant, oriental action vibe. I must say though that this game is not without its flaws.On rare occasions I found bugs that can make you go through walls and get eaten by a solid floor which sends you to an unknown abyss. When this occurs you have to restart the game. So those are game and momentum breaking bugs.
After going through the whole game. I feel this is one of the best action platformer on the market. The slick pacing and great level design, gives you a very entertaining experience. I find myself going back to play over and over again in order to get every achievement. Which I also find quite rewarding when attaining them. If you're a fan of the league of evil series or any adrenaline inducing platformer, be sure to check this title out.
Subject: 
Tue Feb 11, 2014 1:47 am
