Creatures of War is a side-scrolling survival horror game in which you play as a government agent sent to Ko'Verest Island. Your mission is to rescue the son of the U.S. president, who was part of a tour group that made the unfortunate choice to land on the island. The local government denies the island's existence, and, reminiscent of a famous movie from the 90s, it is filled with dinosaurs, much like in Jurassic Park. The president's son has gone missing, prompting the U.S. government to send an initial team, known as Delta Squad, which consists of eight elite operatives, to the island for reconnaissance and to rescue him. However, upon landing, all communication with Delta Squad was lost the last known audio heard was gunfire. That’s where you come in, Mike, from Charlie Squad. Your mission is to rescue the president's son and uncover the fate of Delta Squad.
You infiltrate the island on a jet ski, armed only with a pistol and a flashlight—much like Leon Kennedy. It's amusing that, as a solo operative conducting an infiltration, you wouldn't have some additional weapons. It seems Mike must have been in a hurry and forgot to pack extra firearms. As you explore the island, you begin to encounter the scattered survivors of Delta Squad; some are alive, while others have fallen victim to the various creatures and dinosaurs present on the island. You also get to acquire multiple weapons and face massive dinosaur bosses that drop expensive treasures that can be sold for a profit on a Tram Train (the only safe spot with a merchant that can sell you new firearms).
From my experience playing the game thus far the areas I enjoyed include:
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[*] I appreciate the developers' creativity in featuring various dinosaurs, including many we have never heard of before, and hybrid creatures that combine dinosaurs to create new and dangerous beasts.
[*] Having a guidebook that shows the sizes of various dinosaurs and includes some trivia facts so you can read up facts without danger of being attacked.
[*] Massive assortment of guns to choose from (if you can afford it)
[*] New Game Plus lets you replay with your powerful guns and dominate the early game enemies you once struggled against.
[*] Open-world exploration allows players to choose which areas to tackle once they acquire specific items that enhance their movement.
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In my opinion these are the areas of opportunity for this game:
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[*] You have limited inventory space, with only 10 slots available. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a way to increase this capacity. It would be less of an issue if the guns you equip didn’t also take up space, allowing you to free up to four additional spots. However, since the inventory slots are shared between equipped weapons and other items, you need to be more cautious about what you carry.
[*] If your inventory is full and you drop an item to pick up something else, the dropped item will disappear from the world, which can be frustrating if it’s something important.
[*] There is no save system; the game saves at certain points, which can be really frustrating if the save spot doesn't trigger after dying multiple times trying to get past a specific location.
[*] There are no options to change the controls, and some of the button placements didn't work well with my hands, making it uncomfortable to play.
[*] There is no official safe pause; if you pause the game or open your inventory, the world continues to play in the background. This can accidentally result in you getting attacked and killed by a dinosaur in your blind spot.
[*] The platforming mechanics can be buggy at times. If your character does not land fully on a specific spot, they may "fall" through the ground and die, which can be quite frustrating. Even if your character survives the fall, they will take severe damage, making it more efficient to simply restart the section instead of wasting healing items.
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Overall, I still recommend the game. If you enjoy titles like Dino Crisis and Resident Evil, you might find this one quite enjoyable (plus support indie devs). Since the game has a side-scrolling perspective, you won't have to worry about sudden jump scares, you might still panic when a giant T-Rex charges at you at full speed, trying to eat you. At least you won’t suffer a gruesome death in one hit!
[h1] Baseline Questions [/h1]
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[th]Question[/th]
[th]Answer[/th]
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[th]Fun factor[/th]
[th] Fun is leveraging the various guns you can acquire as you face down all kinds of threats from the simple Toucan all the way to some hybrid dinosaur that makes the ones in Jurassic World pale in comparison, like anyone wants to fight a hybrid of a Saber Tooth Tiger hybrid with a Cryolophosaurus (yes this is a REAL Dinosaur)[/th]
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[th]Length[/th]
[th] I would estimate depending on your skill level and such it should take at the fastest 8 hours but honestly you are looking at closer to 15-25 hours. [/th]
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[th]Ease of learning[/th]
[th] The game is quite straightforward; for the most part, all you need to do is aim your gun at the various creatures and fire. However, the bosses require a different approach. You'll need to understand their attack patterns and play more like a "Metroidvania" type game where some bosses can kill you in a single hit. [/th]
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[th]Player interaction[/th]
[th] The Game is single player so there is no interaction with other players in the game. [/th]
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[th]Strategic value[/th]
[th] The strategy revolves around deciding which weapons to take with you, as you only have 10 inventory slots. While you can equip 4 weapons, these slots overlap with others, meaning you also need to consider space for ammunition, medical supplies, and key items. Additionally, there's the ongoing dilemma of whether to sell an item for immediate cash to purchase necessary supplies or to hoard your gems to create a more valuable treasure for future sale. [/th]
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[th]Balance[/th]
[th] The game can be incredibly ruthless if you don’t manage your money wisely. For instance, some bosses may tank hundreds of rounds but only lose about 10% of their total health with each hit. It's essential to budget carefully for your purchases since money is limited; you can't just grind for more in earlier locations by finding enemies to kill. [/th]
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[th]Visual design[/th]
[th] The graphic designs of the dinosaurs and hybrid creatures are unique and interesting, while the biome locations are diverse as we explore different environments. The colour scheme can be dark at times but hey that is what a flashlight and night vision goggles for.[/th]
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[th]Theme[/th]
[th] In my opinion, the game closely mirrors Resident Evil 4. The storyline involves the President's kid being kidnapped by an evil organization that is experimenting with biological weapons. You play as a lone operative sent to rescue them. The game features a merchant who takes advantage of your needs by selling guns and healing items for extremely high prices ($400 for a small bottle of water). Additionally, there is a loot system that allows you to combine gems into various treasures, increasing their overall value. [/th]
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[th]Replay value[/th]
[th] The Game has a decent amount of replay value as you can attempt to beat the game using a different weapon loadout since you can only carry four guns at a time. [/th]
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[th]Price[/th]
[th] Overall, the price is reasonable given the depth of the game. [/th]
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[th]Expandability[/th]
[th] Not much expandability since the way the game is programmed all the plot and characters are embedded into the story. [/th]
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YouTube VOD Link for Creatures of War: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpFOsaYrTh8
Steam Community Group: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ArdentVitalNation
Steam Curator Page: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43629573/
