Archive: 13 posts

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For any of you that have never played this series, I finally have a video review by Jtn of Leper Messiah to entice you with, and I've also completely redone the visuals on episode I, chiseled down the slowdown a hair with non-emitting offical Infinite Life Checkpoints, and made episode II much easier with them. I'm currently playing around with ep II to try and bring the visuals up to par with 0 and I and get a little bit of that blue-period going on with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0M3foABZdo "Score Preview Gameplay: 9.0/10 Aesthetics: 9.5/10 Sound: 9.5/10 Replay Value: 8.0/10 Cohesive Bond: 9.0/10 OVERALL: 9.0 / 10 Not an average" I'm very happy with this review, as I don't know them from Adam, and feel it was as fair as could be and extremely professional. Remember that name if you ever want a pro review

2009-02-01 17:46:00 Author: Unknown User

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wow that was a great review, its all true as well - its a great series...perhaps one day the HEIST series could earn such renown *Dream* EDIT: In case it isnt clear in the above post, PLAY THIS!

2009-02-01 17:57:00 Author: Mrgenji Posts: 803

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Friendly bump for those who haven't played this level. It really is a different experience than most other levels, and if not for the gameplay, at least for the overall atmosphere.

2009-02-04 04:54:00 Author: Jtn Posts: 1

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Yeah the guys that did the series review did a phenomenal job. Great levels. They're some of my favorites and have been for about 2-3 months now. Go play these!

2009-02-04 19:52:00 Author: Neverynnal Posts: 374

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I noticed OCK and Voltiare and a few other forum regulars over there getting reviews now as well - they'll soon all be flooded

2009-02-04 21:03:00 Author: Mrgenji Posts: 803

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Great review to an amazing series. If you have not played these levels from Ninja yet then stop reading and do so NOW!

2009-02-05 06:38:00 Author: OCK Posts: 1536

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I've played the first part of your False Idols serie, here are my thoughts: Pros: - Great atmosphere and art direction - Loved the working hour glasses and theme consistency - Really liked the design of the boss - The dialog was well written (though, as with most poem-like things, I've got no idea what it was all about, mostly more my personal problem than a problem of the level I guess) Cons: - Framerate. On numerous occasions (most notable: during the last jetpack session and while fighting the boss) the framerate dropped to around 5-10 frames per second. That really made the play a lot less supple. My guess is to much fire/gas and whatever you filled the hour glasses with. That would be the only con at the moment I can come up with. I'll definately will try to play the rest of the series ASAP. Tried your race level on the train (or something). That looked great and was a lot of fun in general. Had a bit of a tough time with some jumps due to the movement of the car, but that's the point I guess.

2009-02-06 10:16:00 Author: Wyth Posts: 263

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Just uppin' and replyin'... The sand in the hourglasses is actually electrified glass triangles. The triangle is the simplest shape, and easiest on therm. If I remove any of them it no longer pours with any noticable effect... if I remove it completely, then they lose any semblance of being an hourglass. The thing that drives me nuts, is that the level doesn't lag offline on my moon, and will often run fine by myself just depending on the mood my connections in or how busy a an LBP day it is... but 9 times out of 10 it's frame rates are dropping worse than NES slowdown. I wish there was a way to correct it without deleting it, rebuilding, and completely changing the concept of the level to something that just... doesn't impress visually and has no theme or purpose. I was really happy that the reviewer recognized it as a limitation of the graphic engine itself, and not a lack of creativity or skill on my part.

2009-02-09 14:25:00 Author: Unknown User

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Ah, well you got a point there. Nice thinking on the triangles. You might want to experiment with NOT electrifying them. My on the fly feel with the engine is that it really takes a hit because of that. Experimenting with materials and/or stickers might get a good look. Sucks that it's not consistent in performance, makes it hard to check if you did it right. PM me if you make any changes. I'll be happy to check. Editing to add my further experiences. I played the prologue and second part yesterday. I liked the idea of th prologue. It looks great and has a good atmosphere. I did doubt the idea of the level, your poetic text said I had to suicide (I thought so at least) but it's such a hard thing to do with 15 years of gaming instincts that those doubts are a tough one. I liked the false idols I better than false Idols II, the gameplay was more fun and clear in the first one. The looks and some wizardry concerning the looks are again great (like the portal at the first spawn). The dual path thing is fun too, really makes you want to play twice. The "evil" part was a bit too much hard jumps on really small platforms, and nothing else, landing on small things is fun but getting to a full run on them to make the next jump is a bit annoying, especially if it's not flat. The good part is better, the hand of god idea was fun, looks and sounds good. Too bad it's not used to its full potential, it would be great to do some swings or jumps or drag puzzles around the thing, make something up. I did find some kind of a bug: I flipped the switch twice, so I did trigger the evil music, blow up the world and got the evil text but the stairs were still pointed up. You might want to make a permanent switch trigger all that, first time around I thought the hand of god was the evil path because of it. All in all a great job though

2009-02-09 15:04:00 Author: Wyth Posts: 263

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I wanted to through my two bits in on this thread as well. This is a fun series of levels that I felt offered ideas and concepts as well as running and jumping. The prologue is abstract and similar to other game as poetry levels I have seen online but this was fun to play through for the experience of it. (Not unlike some art exhibits I have gone to where someone has created a multimedia art collage to try and express some emotion, concept or whatnot.) Technically the prologue has a lot of action going in it for such a intellectual basis. There is a gale, wind effect with flying debris that throws the character around, the sound and light and movement of the ship added to the scene being set nicely. I didn?t see it as a gaming level as such but more of a interactive metaphysical poem and as such didn?t have any qualms about ending by dying. The glare of the lights during the scoreboard was a bit annoying as I felt that the scoreboard didn?t fit with the level?s theme and as such meant that the show was over but the mood lighting was carried over there as well and made it difficult to see the leader board. Oh well. I had the same frame rate slow down during the second level, False Idol?s 1, but I liked the effect that it had on how I perceived the level. It got very slow for me during the end of the level and it seemed that it was a part of a dream sequence or that the action was taking place in an altered reality which lent to the ambiance. Technically there were some very cool parts with the working hourglass and the emitted arrows and the design of the level was put together well enough that I didn?t get stuck or lost. There were a few sparse areas towards the beginning and I generally don't enjoy dark levels but there was enough light in the right areas so that I didn?t get frustrated. False Idol?s 2 was another level with cool imagery but in a different theme that reminded me a lot of Greek and Roman mythology. I enjoyed the confusing, decayed feel of the level and it made it feel like it was also in a different universe, zone or perhaps inside the mind of something big. I agree that the jumping as you go along the path of destruction was very hard but the upside was that you die very quickly and there are enough checkpoints so that you don't lose too much progress. Even though it was frustrating in sections I didn?t need to restart the level to pass it and I felt a fair sense of overcoming a challenging obstacle once I got pas it so it didn?t seem poorly designed. Having multiple paths that diverged early enough and were different in gameplay added to the replay value and I enjoyed the alternate take on the theme of the level. However it seemed odd that if I chose mercy over destruction why would I have a giant god?s hand trying to smash me? I think that there was some reasoning in it but looking back on it now it seems a bit funny. All in all I like this series because these bring some good gameplay elements and combine them with some ideas, concepts and emotions that allow you to see the levels at different levels. I wouldn?t praise them as brilliant art or intense gaming levels but they do come to a comfortable meeting ground.

2009-02-10 17:26:00 Author: Trindall Posts: 297

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Thank you for the extensive feedback on the entire series... I really appreciate the time taken to play them, and grace me with a full page of thoughts. heh, believe it or not I had thought to myself, why would you be punished for choosing salvation too. I just resolved that the character - who is now effectively a God after slaying Janus and seizing control of his destiny and of time itself ("so shall we enter as one" "we are now us and I am no more"), must still earn that position of power and decree his intent... to either be merciful or vengeful. In a certain school of thought, forgiveness is an arduous path to walk and to turn the other cheek is to be met with a righteous slap. If you are to truly be the savior, you must ascend above and be judged worthy to hold such righteous power. The prize bubble at the end of the upper path is The Hand of God, to infer that you have attained this power, but only after earning it. Hence; "to be worthy of power if power you have" - in this ancient and periodic template, God is more his wrathful, old testament self and is something to be feared and respected. I want it to be interpreted as well as brisk and playable, so I don't flood it with text... it's something where the person just has to read between the lines and come to their own conclusions. Like I did with episode 0 though, I may be inclined to fill in the gaps with a 1.5 episode. I also have a 3rd episode that has been stuck in progress for a few months. If anyone ever gets the chance, watch a film called IZO... it's about as close to what I'm doing with this series as it gets. Be warned though, it's very weird, cryptic, and bloody... and is very long and subtitled.

2009-02-11 13:11:00 Author: Unknown User

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I played therst part of the series and the level was a blast. I loved how Ninja worked and tweaked every aspect of it, especially the cameras and I was disappointed that he had so few hearts and plays. This is definitely one of the better level I played since it was full of win. Loved it absolutely. Can't wait to put my hands on the next episodes.

2009-07-05 07:39:00 Author: OmegaSlayer Posts: 5112

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OMG. Didn't realize you showcased our reviews here. Sadly I haven't talked to Jtn in a long time. It's a real shame.

2009-07-13 01:31:00 Author: obsoleteXeo Posts: 134

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