[b] “Going Up?” (PC) (2020) [/b]
You may have seen the fake commercials for the mobile game ‘Hero Wars’. These commercials show a hapless individual dragging a protagonist hero from level to level on various towers with an enemy on each floor. If the Hero’s associated number is higher than the enemy’s number then the hero will slay that enemy and have their own number and the enemies number combine so that they can slay more powerful enemies. Usually, the commercial shows the individual making a basic mistake that costs him/her the game, making the viewer think ‘that is easy. I can do better than that’. These commercials are fake as they have nothing to do with the main bulk of the freemium game being presented, they are simply false advertising. They’re in fact designed to direct a bulk of the curious gaming population to the game, where hopefully a number from that bulk, (5% minimum) will fall prey for other sly marketing techniques and unfair algorithms already present in the game.
I bring this up because Gavin Ray a quirky self-employed Python tutor from Bellingham, Washington has taken this skeletal non-existent gaming concept and actually padded it into a real game. It used to sell for $1.50, but now it’s free on Steam.
Starting off with 100 gold, your objective is to climb a 7-floor castle tower using an elevator. The hijacked elevator and its kidnapped operator will go either up or down one floor at a time. On six of the floors each contain an enemy knight which needs defeating. Enemies can only be slain if your attack and defence stats are greater than the enemies and their health. You have a heart which shows your current health and 2 item slots for either weapons or defence items. Enemy knights on each floor also have a heart icon depicting their health and 2 item slots showing either the weapon or defence items they are carrying. Your quest is to reach the treasure room at the top of the tower.
To be honest, the main items you will need to track is actually the knights at the top of tower. If he has a shield then you will need to take a magical wand up with you. If he has a magical amulet then you will need to take a sword or a bow and arrow up with you. Shields block sword and bow attacks, amulets block wand attacks and potions replenish spent health.
Even though your given a 100 gold to start the game off with to buy items in your store, and are rewarded with runes and xp with each successful kill which you can then use to increase your character and equipment stats, its crucial that you make every move count. If you go down a level when you could have gone up, eventually you will find that the enemy stats will get harder and harder until they are simply too taxing to continue and you will become overwhelmed.
Another key point to take note of is that you will always get in the first attack using your weapon which is in item 1 slot. So, you will need to keep replenishing or replacing this item regularly as each time it is used, the stats of the item go down. Unspent items from knights you have slain, you can actually click on and either sell or combine them with your own if they match. You can also spend your rewarded loot to buy the 3 store items that the shop stocks up for you. These 3 item choices will only renew for better items when all 3 items are purchased. Again, you can then either resell them back to shop or combine them with similar matching ones you are carrying on you, or that you have stored on each level.
While you only have 2 inventory slots on you personally, technically you have more. Each time you slay a knight the 2 inventory slots on that level you can also use as inventory space. Only when you go down a floor will the items on that floor be automatically sold back to shop and the slain knight renewed for one with similar or better stats.
The kidnapped elevator operator will ask you something each time you visit a new floor for the first time, most of the time this is very repetitive and inconsequential chatter. The only time this is different is when she asks you about a coup? If you reply ‘Yes’. Then the store items will be cheaper when you get to the last boss knight.
Defeating the last boss knight will allow you access to the treasure room where you will be rewarded with a random figure of gold. The elevator operator will spittle something about balance being restored to the land and the game will conclude with an animation of dim-witted you, dragging a sack with a hole in it full of gold, across a landscape hoping to return home with your new fortune. Of course, when you get home you will probably just have an empty shopping bag and will have to venture forth again and take down another castle filled with evil knights. The game then just repeats and there is no benefits, or rewards, or achievements promoting further play-through.
It’s evident that Gavin Ray loves old RPG games and has his heart in the right place wanting to passionately promote and help local indie gaming developers and their dreams with his organised gaming jams and python tutorials. Still, I find it ironic that Gavin Ray made the peculiar decision of not adding music or sound to the game, even though his promo commercial for this game actually includes music. That’s some unusual irony right there. This is a fake game commercial, which he has padded into a real game and yet used a fake promo commercial to trick players into thinking it’s something better.
Can you get to the treasure room at the top of the tower?
https://youtu.be/TRc3b4tcM2s?feature=shared
My Reviews: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/6843548/
