By Kieron Gillen on May 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm.
That’s grasping for a Aztec pun rather than promising this has an MP-option, by the way. Bad wordplay aside, Brother None thinks this has flown under most of even the specialist RPG radar. Whilst not having had a chance to play it yet, I think I agree. It’s an interesting looking Aztec-themed, side-scrolling action-game/RPG crossbreed, complete with optional side-quests. You don’t get many of them, y’know? You can download its demo from here, buy it from Direct2Drive and see its footage below…
Bonus marks for mentioning “phonogram” in the game’s about pages too. What’s your favourite Aztec-themed game, readers? Mine isn’t Rick Dangerous.
22/05/2009 at 15:26 cullnean says:
dunno but this has given me an idea for a aztec/apocalpto mirrors edge mod
22/05/2009 at 15:33 Brother None says:
They lie! Rue Britannia has only 6 issues!
That said, looks interesting. I picked up a review copy so…uhm…I’ll definitely be looking at it. Hurray for novel ideas!
22/05/2009 at 15:34 newt says:
Been waiting for RPS to notice this nice little gem. The code has problems and the learning curve is basically non-existant but it’s still a wonderful world to explore (the attention to detail is just uncanny.. for an indie budget, that is) and the more I play it, the more interesting it gets in terms of gameplay.
22/05/2009 at 16:43 Gotem says:
is that a centaur? in an Aztec world? it’s nice to see a game come out based on those cultures anyway.
22/05/2009 at 16:58 Torgen says:
@Gotem
Maybe it’s a llama centaur? or alpaca? (yes, I know that would be Inca, but they could be invading ancient Mexico, or the Aztecs could be attacking the Andes.)
22/05/2009 at 17:38 Heliocentric says:
I can’t tell real aztec from indiana jones aztec. So while i do probably like aztec themed games i can’t speak with any authority on their authentisity. So that in mind i vote spelunkey.
22/05/2009 at 17:52 Lim-Dul says:
Sadly the game isn’t very good – mainly because of some frustrating game design.
The combat is repetitive (you fight like two enemy types in each level and each fight compromises solely of rapid clicking somehow less enjoyable than in e.g. Diablo clones) and most important of all there are no checkpoints which, coupled with the fact that you have NO CLUE what does how much damage or what might kill you in a level before encountering it, leads to losing your progress half-an-hour at a time.
After several of these “fuck you” moments I decided that the game isn’t worth playing any further.
Ah – and the soundtrack gets REALLY annoying after a while with no option to turn it off or even adjust its volume.
22/05/2009 at 17:57 Taill4f4r says:
There are some interesting ideas. But, I had the same experience as above. I wanted to see what was further on, but not enough to have to replay large sections over and over.
23/05/2009 at 10:43 the cheat says:
use a memory editor to freeze your health and the game will become bearable. it’s still gonna be just as boring and repetitive, but at least it won’t make you want to tear your hair out anymore.
23/05/2009 at 20:17 moyogo says:
Um, there are checkpoints – every time you exit a level. I guess I really have to disagree with comments made above re: difficulty level.
This game seems to be a real gem based on the demo.
23/05/2009 at 21:24 moyogo says:
Also, can someone point me to where BN’s article is? I can’t see it from here…
23/05/2009 at 22:08 Brother None says:
Article? No article, I mailed it as a newstip and hence it was posted.
I will review it, but so far I’m agreeing with most remarks above, I’m afraid, and do believe the infrequent checkpoint save system ruins an otherwise ok-to-good game.
24/05/2009 at 04:24 Mind Elemental says:
At first I was expecting a Dominions reference!
24/05/2009 at 09:07 Andrej Vojtas says:
Aztaka is definitely worth the try. It has the die = reply problem, but once you are aware of it, you play more carefully and it can even add to the experience. Looks very neat and the gameplay is interesting. I enjoyed the combat that combines evasive rolls, spear attacks and magic.
26/08/2009 at 16:05 jmercier says:
A bit late, but Aztaka has now more save point, and when you die you continue the game at the last “door”. I hope you guys will like the new addition.
Regards.