Heroes Line

Heroes Line is a strategy game created by TDS using RPG Maker VX Ace.
This game features a unique combat system that is enticing, but not exactly complete.


Story:

You lead a group of heroes to defend the city from a horde of monsters. That's pretty much all you're really told. There could be a little bit more here. It doesn't need to be much actually since this game is just jump in and go. But it could tell us a bit about the city, some of the heroes, or even who the bad guys are.


Sound:

The theme music for this game is pretty good and seems to fit the feel of the game quite well. The cursor sound and the battle clash sound fit well. I just don't think there's enough variety of sounds here. Why can't the battle sounds be different dependent on the mode you choose or on how the battle is faring. (ie. you are winning or losing cold effect the sound of the music.)


Graphics:

Has a really cool opening scene. All the heroes are walking in a line getting ready to defend the castle. It looks pretty cool. Having some more battle areas would be cool though. There just isn't enough variety.


Gameplay:

Bravo for coming up with something so unique, haven't seen something like this around here. But it's definitely something you could work on.



I'm going to try my best to explain the gameplay here (using the picture above.) As you can see you control a squad of heroes which are placed in lines. When you press the enter key the hero front line will battle the enemy front line. The stats (Which are health, attack, and defence will determine the outcome of each fight.) The hero at the top of the picture will directly battle the orc across from him (Which indicated by the stats here won't go so well for you hero.) Luckily you can change characters around in the formation to suit your needs in the battle (ie. match strong heroes against weaker enemies or ... You can even use your weaker heroes to weaken the strong enemies for later.) The difficulty you choose at the start menu will determine what kind of heroes you get and what kind of enemies you face. I would recommend easy on your first try.

What's wrong with the gameplay?

The controls and the stats are never explained in the game. There needs to be a quick and fast tutorial to get let you know how everything works. You need to ease players into your battle system. Don't assume I know how to use it. I didn't even know about the bombs until I read your game description. That just isn't acceptable. The game holds the responsibility for explaining stuff, not your game page.

The battle is slow and takes too long. Should have a couple easy and quick battles to start off then progress to the more difficult kind. Switching the characters takes too long and isn't the easiest thing to do. For each difficulty you could have a couple of stages instead of just one long battle.


Overall:

Heroes Line is a game with a unique combat system that uses strategy. You need to use your brain to win through it and you can always improve you score. But it's not enough. The game's content is too little and makes you wishing there was just a bit more depth. I hope to see more stuff like this in the future, but as this is it's a 2.5 / 5.