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Best Files » The Sword of Archon -- Episode 1 (Teaser)
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The Sword of Archon -- Episode 1 (Teaser)
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Author |
File Description |
Daveguy_700 |
Posted on 01/04/03 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
Style: |
Role Playing Only |
Here it is! The first episode of The Sword of Archon! Here is a description of the plot:
In 1100 AD, in the land of Masumia, three powerful mages were put down onto the earth: Dorren, Rangan, and Eidon. As they were going through their magic training, Rangan accedentaly killed his master. He was then thought of as a monster. The people named him Kuran-Dur (Terrible Demon) and banished him into cursewood. There he met the Snake-Man, a mutant snake with immortality, and he helped him forge a sword. With almost all his power, Kuran-Dur put a lot of magic power into the sword. He also put a curse on it. A curse that whoever draws it will be vulnerable to all of his magic. He hid it in the Snake-Man\'s lair under Mount Crater, and for 100 years he waited in the darkness. rumor grew of the sword, and all the kings of Masumia went searching for it. None of them were able to find it, until one day, The least powerful King in Masumia, Archon, heard about it....
DIRECTIONS:
Unzip the sound files into the Sound-Scenario folder
Unzip the Campaign file into the campaign folder
Unzip the Bitmap into the Age of Empires 2 folder.
Remember, this is just the first scenario of the story. The rest will come out later. HAVE FUN! |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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AnastasiaKafka
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 03/08/03 @ 12:00 AM
Action, adventure, and fun await you! The Sword of Archon, Episode One is a great teaser scenario of what should prove to be an outstanding campaign.
Playability:
I had fun playing this fantastic Adventure and Strategy teaser. The elements for play are interesting and varied. It has it's playability issues, although none could be considered bugs because they do not hinder the continuation of the game. I did find the required healing anticlimactic to overcoming the obstacles and reaching the in game objectives. I think a fantastic job was done in keeping the player from circumventing the intended play. I played 2 times with a couple of saves, only the healing that causes tremendous lulls in the action, did upset my experience a bit. I suggest that the player one position and the allies are researched with triggers so they may heal faster in buildings. The playable cut-scenes that player one reaches are entertaining. Some seemed like they could be improved technically with some minor tweaks, but none were cause for lowering the score for play. Perhaps a view change for the final cut-scene of Ruben, William, and Dorren the Wise seeking the boat would improve the scene. Maybe I did not explore enough, but I wanted to find more cart resources and items, as I really enjoyed the element...perhaps it was enough? Anyway, just so you know I enjoyed it while playing. Some elements where experienced as amenities to play with no real value in achieving the objectives, but they were interesting and helped to keep me on the map and identifying with my characters and the game world of the 'Kingdoms' of Masumia. What was also detrimental to my experience was the Unit stand-ins for King Archon are not named as such...this occurs at the Snake - Man and the meeting of King Archon with Kuran Dur. The scenario is fun to play, and the only major thing keeping it from the highest rating is the required healing that takes away from all the other experiences to be had, and also some confusion at the small encampment to the West where you are to 'escape' but it did not seem as an escape at all for me. It was just a battle to get past King Ersons Knights, and the game play there was made less interesting due to my exploring for a way around them. Finally, I want to caution you about my rating here, in that this was a very good 'teaser' scenario, and this rating could easily go up or down depending on the length of game. I think if I had gone any further the healing would have frustrated me to the point of reducing my enjoyment rating.
4
Balance:
The balance is very good in this episode teaser. I saved often and used the save once to replay my favorite part of the encounter with Kuran Dur's shadow. Yes, there was some game play elements that could be considered basic but they were combined with others in a quest, making advancement a challenge. This is good balance because on Moderate it was moderately difficult, and playing again on hard made the elements harder even though I knew what to expect. I found the game play to be intuitive, especially where the 'running' strategy was needed. Some players might punish this aspect in review thinking the play to easy. I did not because where this strategy worked. it was combined with the need for other different strategies along the path of play. Again the healing is an issue for this category too, as in the open map play, one can always double back and heal in an allied building. Of course this ruins the fun of advancing through successful strategy, but because you must do this and are instructed to do so there is some confusion with the balance in this regard. In other words if player goes back and heals more often the game play becomes too easy in a sense, and is different from restarting at a save point and trying a new strategy. I'm confused about this so I have not deducted for it, but I still wanted to point it out as feedback for balance. In conclusion, I have to separate the quickness of play, or the brief nature of a 'teaser,' from that what could be considered easy. The game play is fun, but I am concerned that it might slightly disappoint a player with more experience than I have in a few places. Hopefully you will receive additional feedback in regard to my concern for this fantastic 'teaser' of strategic game play with what is otherwise excellent balance. 4
Creativity:
Excellent implementation of the elements for game play. Basic and intuitive strategy required for the new spins on tried and true game aspects. I imagined that you found inspiration in some of my favorite games for the fantastic elements of the playable scenes, and the entrance to the 'cavern' comes to mind...well done! I think it touched on my experience as a player and was a boost to my enjoyment of the 'mysterious cavern.' The story is original and has a fantastic plot that is well developed and well portrayed by the aspects of the scenario teaser 'Episode 1.' Just a note and not a suggestion is that I thought it would have been better and more exhilarating if you had ended the story at the end of the battle with Kuran Dur's shadow. Which by the way put this over the top in creativity for me! The entire scenario had a storybook adventure feel to it, and the creative game plot is totally integrated into it. I suggest some additional work with the audio aspect of this game. The creative vision in this teaser is excellent.
5
Map Design:
The map design was very good, and a good portrayal of the fantasy world of Masumia. My favorite areas of play is the Snake - Man's cavern, and the battle with the Axe-men, where the visual portrayal was excellent, and the technical aspects blended in. I was not that impressed with the towns, as they seemed average, other than the building selections. The technical design was fantastic, these areas that were designed for play with elevations and cliffs becoming strategic advantages for the positions was very good, and blended well with the scenery. The technical map design worked to keep player on the right paths except when nearing the mountains where the cavern is, and when nearing Tulen. All and all it is a very good design, but the towns were the disappointment for me. My least favorite was Eidon where the four towers that are a very good aspect were marred by the placing of the houses and the other buildings around it. Of the 4 tower design, the West tower was excellent in it's placement, while the other two to the North and the eastern tower was UN-imaginary. Suggestion would be to place the towers to the corners, like the western one is and to leave either some street space around them or crowd them with larger buildings. The houses did not work for me there. Great design, but I am holding the highest rating from this 'teaser' based on the towns that seemingly could be improved.
4
Story and Instructions:
The story is excellent and well developed. The in game continuation of it is intriguing. The plot twists in game are portrayed well by cut-scenes and game play. The only problem I experienced was the dialogue at the small western encampment that I mentioned in Playability. The 'escape' dialogue was confusing and not a good instruction or portrayal of the game play or story there. I needed to know where I was 'escaping' to, and since my obstacle lie before me it did not feel like an escape at all. Another in game instruction to hide at the point outside of Tulen was confusing and a poor portrayal of the scene there. I didn't feel like I was hiding and listening in on the conversation between characters there. I suggest you revisit the scene and give the player a hiding place and maybe show them through change view and/or map reveal where to hide.
These aspects of story and instructions can be improved. The instructions were good and precise other than that. I do want to mention that I found the intended humor to be very funny and a good addition to the aspect of game plot. However, I want to caution the use of click talk dialogue for the sake of having it. Not that I would lower a review for it, but just as feedback. Right now I think you have a good balance of these kinds of dialogue in click talk, but I suggest; to be more creative with dialogue, and to have it's humor and information be a part of the experience in Masumia. You have to chose what world you want me to play in, so to speak. I like the world you created with the story and so some of the humor that relates to other experiences are detracting from it. Since this is a 'teaser' and there was only a small portion of the story and instructions to review, the elements of confusion I experienced keep me from giving the highest rating. This keeps with my precedents for Demos and Teasers.
4
Final Thoughts:
Such a tease! I'm looking forward to the completion of this episode and more. I recomend this scenario short with a fascinating story, and intuitive game play that requires strategy and quick thinking. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.2 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.0 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 4.0 | Story/Instructions | 4.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,659 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 300.67 KB |
Added: | 01/04/03 |
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