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Feeling dead? This will raise your spirits!

  • pianotm
  • 02/20/2016 09:53 AM
  • 3269 views
Name: Halloween Wars

Developer: Avee

Story: The story is actually pretty common standby but always fun: we celebrate every Halloween blissfully unaware of the evil that lurks all around us, for every year on this Rite of Samhain, a portal to the realm of the dead opens and evil spirits pour forth. When that happens, a group of young elementalists in training patrol the streets to put a stop to evil.


Four valiant heroes that must save the world before bedtime.

Gameplay: Okay, this game is just fun. Each area is divided into zones that you have to select. There's no wandering. Your character runs at a specific pace gathering candy. If you choose to use a piece of candy you collected before your next fight, it will give you power up, whether it's added experience, a temporary strength boost, or a shield, or a bonus attack element. You can only use one power up at a time. During each fight, you'll battle various nightmares, each obviously inspired by famous movie monsters. There's a mashup of Jason and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and there's a possessed TV obviously inspired by Poltergeist and The Ring. Battle is conducted through the ages tested game of warriors; rock, paper, scissors. Some, like the Lumberjack or Freckles have a predictable pattern. Others, like the TV Creep seem completely unpredictable, and it often feels like they're predicting your every move. Upon leaving each level, whether you fail or succeed, you'll have a certain amount of points you'll be able to use on improving your stats. All of the characters are unique with their own individual weaknesses and strengths. Really, the balance is excellent and every moment of this game is fun.


Don't let this innocent TV fool you. The ghoul girl that comes out of the screen looks
perfectly capable of swallowing your soul and your candy together.


Graphics: All custom graphics. This game does not use RTP...or any traditional RM2k3 graphic in any sense. Nevertheless, the game requires RTP to run. All of it is stylish, original artwork with a Goosebumps vibe to it. I really can't think of a single bad thing to say about this game that isn't nitpicky. The cutscenes aren't very long either, and you have the option to skip them. Additionally, I wish I had thought to get a screen shot of the town map. This game looks professionally made on simply every level.


Little do these children know that a worse horror awaits them on Halloween...treats from dentists.


Music: Between Michael Jackson and A Series of Unfortunate Events, this is a copyright nightmare waiting to happen...but it's just so perfect for this game!

Conclusion: I have really lucked out. I just got three really good games in a row just because I was specifically looking for games that haven't been reviewed. I highly recommend this one. I want to give it a 5. Oh, why not? It even has a difficulty setting! This game is just great all around! I simply can't believe nobody's reviewed this game, yet. It really is excellent. I suspect people are associating it with the yearly Halloween event games that we do here. Get that notion out of your head. This game is on a whole other level. Geared to kids, it's fun for all ages, as cliche as that sounds.

Posts

Pages: 1
...Mmh... Not sure if you're being sarcastic here... because the majority everyone thinks the gameplay is horrible, including me.

But if you're being honest, I'm glad that you could see some positive points and had an overall good experience playing it :)
I tried reviewing this a while back and.. stopped.
So.. glad piano was able to enjoy it! Good on ya ~
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
If I didn't like it, I'd have said so.

Avee
...everyone thinks the gameplay is horrible, including me.

Well, I suppose I just looked at it different. I was frustrated at first, but then I started winning, and I really started to get into it. Thinking back on it, I really can't find that I feel any different about it. But now you two have me feeling insecure. I've pointed out plenty of bad games. Surely my judgement's not that bad.
I don't doubt your judgement, I'm just really surprised that anyone would enjoy the game.
The most recurrent complaint was about the randomness of enemy behavior, at least in Normal Mode. Easy Mode fixes that by giving enemies very simple patterns that have no randomness, but still I think that it can be a chore to learn all the patterns...
But I guess it can feel satisfying to get them down and beat a stage with ease.

Being the designer I knew all of the enemy patterns while I test played, so if anyone's judgement is unreliable it would be mine only.
pianotm
The TM is for Totally Magical.
32347
Hm. And I played it on normal, too. Sounds like easy is a somewhat different experience.
It is a lovely crafted piece, so it definitely wasn't my cup of tea. I do think it's possible to enjoy, so that is perfectly fine, too. It's good on you, and just goes to show different types of enjoyment for the same game.
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