clarity buff The Ethereal Plains [Review by Dante]

[Radiant Arin 412]

Game Title: The Ethereal Plains

Developer: @Besus

Game Engine: VXAce

URL: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/13656-the-ethereal-plains-demo-available/

Download Link: http://www.besusproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/etherealplains/Ethereal_Plains-D1.02.zip

 

 

POSITIVE POINTS: Hard to go on, considering the amount of length that I was stuck in for the first dungeon. If I had to put something down here, though, it would probably be the practical use of "cutscenes". It feels like I'm watching a movie rather than playing a game.

 

NEGATIVE POINTS: A lack of clarity and sense of direction in the first dungeon made me yell "fuck" and "this" a lot in combination at my computer screen. Multiple times.

 

STORY:

 

 

Just over a thousand years ago, humans were seen as the superior species on the planet, however their physical limitations held them back. Because of this, Idol’s (the guardians of the planet Vole) helped to aid their physical shortcomings by granting them Enchantment. Using Enchantment, humans were able to accomplish tasks that were either too difficult, or downright impossible to accomplish physically. For decades, humans thrived from these powers. However after a rebel group began to abuse these powers, the Idols thought it would be best to take it away from everyone before more began to abuse them.

 

Now, two-thousand years after Enchantment was taken away, humans go about their lives as normal; often yearning for the days they had those powers. Shortly after these abilities were taken away, the Idol island of Graven fell from the sky. Little is known regarding why, but when the island fell, it took all traces of Enchantment with it.

 

Lately rumors have begun circulating that Enchantment may still be present on the planet. This has caused some excitement throughout the world and caught the attention of Armor. Because of this, Armor’s entire focus has gone toward re-discovering this lost power, changing the once-respected organization in to a common enemy of the people they once protected. Armor’s obsession will soon lead them to find out just how powerful Enchantment is; and what repercussions pursuing that power will have on them and the planet of Vole.

 

So basically, what he have in short is every time-centric cliche'd broken (one thousand years, two thousand years later) and the typical abuse of power plot line. The introductory movie makes a nice attempt at replicating this with the use of animations (though some would scurry off to the side as the camera scrolled), balloon icons, and not just with massive walls of text. It was kind of funny to see the woodworker struggling to chop the tree down, but that also brings up an inconsistency: after two thousand years, wouldn't have humans been able to find the technology for something as simple as a chainsaw? 

 

However, after the initial cutscene is over, we're thrown into another cutscene that incorporates Noah, who I assume is the MC, and Alaric, the commander of a small platoon named "Armor". The two initiate a plan to break through a small fortress and you get the dirty work (pun coming up) by entering the sewers to sneak around.

 

AUDIO/GRAPHICS: The Audio is all custom, and the Tit Screen Music is really relaxing to listen to, as well as the introductory movie sequence music. The Tilesets are all provided by Mack's Tilesets and are used well to create a dark dungeon atmosphere, though there is a mix between Mack's and the regular RTP, referenced by the screenshots in the game thread.

 

The first dungeon is dimly lit, so it made it kind of hard to navigate the dungeon without having to max out the contrast on my computer screen. And because of the size of the map and the numerous lighting effects used (no doubt by Khas, which, given the circumstances I'm okay with, but otherwise I'd say no), my game had the unfortunate "lag-until-you-can't-play-anymore" syndrome.

 

GAMEPLAY: Probably not the greatest point ever. Or maybe I just suck at games. Anyways, half of my review is centered around the fact that I could never get past the sewer level, and that, combined with the lack of sense of direction and clarity, the puzzles don't make a whole lot of sense. I managed to push the boulder down to the first floor, and then what? What then? This lack of handholding makes it nearly impossible to try and figure out where you're supposed to be going. Just a small hint on the wall is enough for me to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. You also have four statues that you must light on fire, but considering the size of the map and the lack of sense of direction, I only managed to get one.

 

The game utilizes pixel movement. This is terrible for one particularly jarring reason: when you're right next to two events, you'll activate one and then activate the other. In this case, I was pushing the boulders out of the way puzzle (by the way, why are there boulders in a sewer-type of dungeon?) when one of them would activate all by itself, leaving me more confused and befuddled. It would also mess up the path I was creating.

 

The game also has an Autosave function, though I don't really see the point in using it because you can save anywhere in the game. Do either one or the other, or make save points, but using them in conjunction doesn't really.....work.

 

Apart from the excruciating gameplay, the menu is all RTP stock, save for Yanfly's Item Menu, which, after giving some thought, is typically jarring and forces you to scroll through pointless menus that you'll never use. In fact, I may be advocating the regular RTP stock menu system, or XS Item System or whatever it's called, before Yanfly (irrelevant, I know, but I'm venting). The equipment menu is bland, though.

 

I wish I could have tested the Battle System, but again, the lack of clarity and handholding is generally what made me lose interest in this game. I want to continue on it, because it honestly does look and feel good, but not being able to get past the first dungeon is a real turn off.

 

The game apparently has anti-lag installed, but after playing at 4 FPS, I find that hard to believe.

 

OVERALL EXPERIENCE: Grueling, to say the least.

 

RATING: 2.5/5. Brownie points for awesome cinematics.

[Ltbenjamin 4]

wow this game is incredible, Im tired of all these negative reviews if your going to bash a game at least play more than the beginning and if u cant get past a part talk to the maker then try again before you bash. a review based on the fire area of gameplay is pretty baised, as a forum we should help each other by motivating. we do all need criticism but i think yours is over the top. the dungeon was easy. the story is amazingly gripping and the cutscenes are fluid. tons of work went in this game i can tell. 10/10 for me, pick this up and play it! (note:it may have been improved since that review)

Edited May 11, 2014 by Ltbenjamin