Drithius
Magic & Loss
So, for the past week and a half, I've been playing this little game called Starcrawlers, a first person blobber combining aspects of Wizardry and Shadowrun.
Eight classes, 21 truly unique abilities per class, the game is nothing short of creative. Most classes have synergy not just within their own skill trees but with different classes as well. And, because you are limited to 5 active skills during combat, personal strategy and customization is very high.
Did I mention that there's numerous subtle (and some not so subtle) cultural references?
You control a party of four "crawlers" in a world where corporations run the 'Verse. Based out of your local space station town square (otherwise known as STIX), you run various missions for different factions, talk to your local bartender, and stock up on any necessary supplies. It's bare-bones, but it gets the job done.
Five shops each with their own purpose.
So what do you do with your team of crawlers? You can either simply follow the storyline and gradually sleuth how an interstellar ship mysteriously lost its entire crew or choose to ignore it and complete random side missions. Whatever you decide, your party will have class-specific options for dealing with obstacles. A Hacker for security systems, a Smuggler for getting the drop on a mercenary squad, an Engineer for doing the grunt work and unjamming a door, etc.
The goal in side missions varies, from escorting corporate scientists to simple assassination jobs. What won't vary is the sheer number of enemies you'll be fighting every step of the way; this is a turn-based game, so your characters' initiative and speed will be vital to victory.
Pirates! And a combat wheel.
The Good
The Bad
All in all, I've probably logged in over a hundred hours in this game and I would greatly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Blobber turn-based combat. While my main complaint would have to be the lack of variety in both enemies and environments, this is more than made up for with sheer diversity and FUN of the different classes and their skills.
In closing…
Eight classes, 21 truly unique abilities per class, the game is nothing short of creative. Most classes have synergy not just within their own skill trees but with different classes as well. And, because you are limited to 5 active skills during combat, personal strategy and customization is very high.
Did I mention that there's numerous subtle (and some not so subtle) cultural references?
You control a party of four "crawlers" in a world where corporations run the 'Verse. Based out of your local space station town square (otherwise known as STIX), you run various missions for different factions, talk to your local bartender, and stock up on any necessary supplies. It's bare-bones, but it gets the job done.
Five shops each with their own purpose.
So what do you do with your team of crawlers? You can either simply follow the storyline and gradually sleuth how an interstellar ship mysteriously lost its entire crew or choose to ignore it and complete random side missions. Whatever you decide, your party will have class-specific options for dealing with obstacles. A Hacker for security systems, a Smuggler for getting the drop on a mercenary squad, an Engineer for doing the grunt work and unjamming a door, etc.
The goal in side missions varies, from escorting corporate scientists to simple assassination jobs. What won't vary is the sheer number of enemies you'll be fighting every step of the way; this is a turn-based game, so your characters' initiative and speed will be vital to victory.
Pirates! And a combat wheel.
The Good
- Superbly varied skills! These aren't merely renamed skills from one class to the next; each has its own theme and underlying mechanics, whether it be a Cyberninia setting up his assassin strike or a Hacker infecting his targets with a virus.
- Two dozen competing Factions! Each mission you do will likely have both positive and negative ramifications. Gain enough reputation with one Faction and they may offer you unique items. Become hated enough with another and they will send assassin squads after you.
- Three different storyline paths.
- Very active developer(s) patching any issues that get brought up.
The Bad
- Too few enemy types and tilesets. After several hours in the game, you won't be seeing much of anything new aside from unique bosses and story content.
- Become hostile with enough Factions (and you will in any playthrough of significant duration), and you might be getting stopped every two steps inside missions to deal with hit squads.
- Those different storyline paths still utilize the same mission layouts with mostly the same objectives. It's mostly just someone else giving you the mission.
- Although there are items to ameliorate the necessity, a Hacker is all but required in your squad to deal with the plethora of security hacking and lockpicking.
All in all, I've probably logged in over a hundred hours in this game and I would greatly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of Blobber turn-based combat. While my main complaint would have to be the lack of variety in both enemies and environments, this is more than made up for with sheer diversity and FUN of the different classes and their skills.
In closing…