Mercury: Cascade into Madness

RPG Maker без гринда? И такое бывает. Если вы фанат таких игр, может вам и понравится. Мне не зашло.

If you can get over the appearance of this game and the keyboard only controls, you are really in for a treat. It's got a solid story, good gameplay and actual results to your actions. Not sure why there are so few comments on this game, guess most people have just passed it by since it looks like just another cheap game made to turn a buck. I suppose the best way to explain the game is this: It's not a hollywood blockbuster, but a kickass B movie.

[b]'The price of freedom is eternal vigilance' - Desmond Tutu[/b] [i]Mercury: Cascade into Madness[/i] is a vigilante game concept by [i]Matthew Ashworth[/i] that focuses on the female protagonist, Michelle, who is physically attacked by gang members leaving her mental state at breaking point as she spends months attempting to overcome her fears. We see Michelle develop her fighting skills during this inner turmoil that finally leads to her 'personal demons' challenging her cowardice during a night confrontation that steels her resolve into vowing vigilante revenge upon the gang who ruined her. The actress, Jodie Foster, describes a movie role where she plays a victim in [i]The Brave One[/i] with a quote that perfectly describes this RPGmaker game :- [quote=Jodie Foster]It's kind of about a vigilante, somebody who has been a victim of a crime and who can't quite get over it and then finds herself mowing people down.[/quote] The world in which we see Michelle gradually transforming into Mercury is a futuristic cyberpunk setting where advanced technology is abundantly in use throughout gang-riddled corrupt regions. MIchelle begins to gain allies throughout her early quest for revenge who all share the same purpose as herself, in a sense this plot writing is akin to the fictional DC world of Gotham City in its bleak, dark battles that are layered with twisted uprisings against societies' rules. The story can be seen as linear but, thanks to the varying ways you can shape Michelle's character with good, neutral or bad choices, there are multi-routes that branch outward adding depth to the story with its many side-quests and decisions on which allies assist you. This was my biggest admiration of this game as it not only allows multiple playthroughs but it also adds a variation to the ending too as well as giving the player complete control over how Michelle acts & fights whether it be through stealth, persuasion through charisma or just outright disregard for rules by killing whoever and stealing/breaking into premises to loot items. These decisions affect how the characters act towards you and guide the story towards a finale that is heavily impacted by Michelle's journey of retribution. The character's skills are learnt using SP (skill points) ranging from 1-3 as reward for each optional sidequest and main linear chapter completion, there is a variety of skills to choose from whether it be Lockpicking, Stealth and/or Charisma for the choice of what style of approach Michelle can adopt while the regular abilities involve the strengths such as Weapon handling, Focus and many others. Michelle can also learn Passive skills to use during battle that vary from recovery to boosts or debilitating attacks which are essential as the chapters progress. The AI of the enemies depends on the 2 settings available (Normal or Challenging) where the harder setting will see the enemy adapt to your tactics while also limiting the use of health 'stations' to 1 throughout the game's regions. There are 4 types of weapons with differing levels as the chapters progress and multiple armours that offer defence as well as status effect protections, these can be bought at regional Shop 'stations' or from Michelle's main ally - Allen at his store. The game has multiple game save slots from the [esc] menu that can also be deleted, the settings menu provides for varying screen resolutions alongside the usual sound/effects and it offers a Walk/Run choice as well as colour settings. There are over 50 Achievements that do require multiple playthroughs to unlock them unless you save each path choice and load each time to uncover all choices in 1 sitting! Some Achievements though do depend on the character choice developments of Mercury and her Good Vs Evil route choices. The OST is very effective at being reflective of the chapter levels by that I mean they set the mood of the story's action as it develops but it can be muted if players don't enjoy it. The character sprites are very well created giving a realistic look to faces and outfits that fit the cyberpunk world. [u]For any players who avoid games that have profanity be warned there is a lot throughout this game as well as graphic violence[/u] [i]Matthew Ashworth[/i] I feel did a great job in creating a believable story where the characters are immediately causing the player to react in a positive (or negative) way within a futuristic society that is extremely corrupted & heavily influenced by technology. It is a fragile world that has every character (and NPCs) reacting to the changing circumstances of the story and the player's ability to shape and choose which directions the story arcs in as well as what Allies are involved in battles is crucial to the player interest throughout the replays. I would love to see more adventures beyond [b]Outrage[/b] for Mercury and her Allies as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment to this game. ~~~Liked what you see? You can find more at [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32839633]Have a word[/url] ~~~

RPG Maker作品！！不过定制的很多很棒~人物比例也是真实比例！ 能做到这个地步应该已经超棒的咯~音乐也很不错~ 虽然剧情似乎有些阴暗~ 一开场女主就干掉2个惹事的保安！然后就是英雄救美的场景~

RPG Maker strikes again! This is another low effort retro-pixel JRPG ripoff spamming the Steam catalog, made with the RPG Maker video game construction kit... in their own words, "Our easy to use tools are simple enough for a child." This is one of the better RPG Maker games, which is a lot like being the tallest midget. Gameplay: Exactly the same as every other RPG Maker game Story: Slightly better than every other RPG Maker game Reasons for playing: Absolutely none (same as every other RPG Maker game) Graphics: Slightly better than every other RPG Maker game Should you buy this? Absolutely not.

An interesting game with a lot of choices and great story. You have different ways to play it, even using stealth methods so it add something new for an old rpg-maker game. if you dont want to do all the adittional quests, an evening its enough to finish it. Thanks a lot and wait for another one))

Another good small RPG from Astronomic Games, similar to their City of Chains. I like City of Chains and I liked this one. Few details: - The game is made with RPG Maker, but has realistic graphic instead of JRPG-style - You can invest your skill points in skills like Stealth and Charisma to reduce the amount of fighting. - No random encounters with enemies. (Huge plus! Can't play standard JRPG games with endless enemies) - Intersting story. If you expect something big like Pillars of Eternity or Divinity Original Sin this game won't do. If you want to spend an evening playing a game with an intersting story and quests you should give this game a try.

More RPGMaker trash, although this one has pretty visuals, but it doesn't change the RPGMaker's gameplay.

+1 Good short story, choice and consequences, multiple endings!

I would absolutely recommend this game. If you are tired of some of the "cutesy" rpg games out there & want something more mature themed, this is for you. The difficulty is fair & the graphics are decent for an indie title. B++