Monuments of Mars

Clunky, outdated, but so good.

発売が90年か91年というもはやSFCが世に出ようかという 年代のゲームとは到底思えないFC最初期レベルのDOSゲー 当然のようにコマンドライン・インターフェイスだし キャラは透過色含めて4色だしBGMなんか存在しないし ジャンプの上昇中にコインに触れるとそこで上昇処理が 強制的に中断して即座に落下の処理が始まっちゃうし クリア後は新エピソードが欲しい奴は電話くれよなって 電話番号やら私書箱やら表示されるっていうなんかもう これあれだろ、文化史として保存しとく資料だろ？ もっと言うとリフトの下降中や斜面を下ってる最中は とっさにジャンプができなくなったり、どの方向から 触っても死ぬはずの敵の上に時々乗れちゃったり それどころかコインの上に立てちゃったりもする そもそもプログラムが大分ポンコツっぽいんだけど ノスタルジーには浸れるので懐古趣味の人にオススメ 全4Epで各Epとも20以上のステージがあり、計80強で 大体三時間もキーボードと格闘してれば終わるボリューム ちなみにローカルファイルの容量は26.3MBだけど、 内26.1MBがDosBoxってDOSエミュレータとマニュアル 本体は4Epで300KBなのでフロッピー1枚で収まります

a game from 1991. I got it in a bundle of 3D Realms games I think. First of all, to set the tone, here are some other games released in 1991: Civilization 1 Battletoads Zelda: A Link to the Past TMNT: Turtles in Time Streets of Rage Street Fighter 2 Sonic the Hedgehog Super Ghouls and Ghosts and a number of other gems. And then Apogee Software/3D Realms made Monument of Mars…… with a whole 4 colors. WOWEE!! TOO MUCH GRAPHIX So, despite being incredibly subpar compared to the vast majority of good games released in the same year, how is the gameplay? In one word – Mushy. Each level is the size of the screen, if you die, you start at the beginning. You have unlimited lives, but limited shots that carry over between levels. When you jump it isn’t a consistant distance. When you jump and grab a ….triangle (for points? I’m not sure) you immediately stop your jump height (unlike getting a power up in Mario) which can totally screw up a jump. Sometimes you fall slightly through the ground when you jump/fall though it has very complex animations to bring you back up. Complex, heh. It’s a puzzle game more than anything and it isn’t always clear what you can shoot. One instance I was stuck because I didn’t know this set piece of here was something I could shoot. And you have very limited shots so you don’t want to waste them. Level elements are also invisible. One time I was entirely stuck until I went one particular way and magically triggered something. I played a little under half an hour. Some of the puzzles are satisfying enough to solve. But overall, this is kind of a stinker. I can’t even say it was good for it’s time because it clearly wasn’t. There is a reason this is a forgotten game. If the release date was 1986 it would get a pass, maybe. But probably not, the original Metroid is better than this by far.

Pleasant surprise finding this inside the 3D realms bundle. One of the first games I recall playing as a kid, spent hours and hours of problem solving and frustration. Must have been 4 or 5 years old when I played this, I forgot it even existed. Weird pre-nostalgia feeling as I play it, totally awesome and unexpected. Thanks for making it available!

[h1] There are far better games and platformers from this era. [/h1]

Based on the FAST engine, Monuments of Mars takes most of the best elements of Pharaoh's Tomb and adds new challenges. Astronauts have been disappearing in ruins on Mars, and your job is to discover the secrets and rescue the survivors. Gameplay is quite different from the Nevada Smith series because many areas only become accessible after tripping invisible switches, and there are movable blocks. Having a changeable environment is a great twist. Your character has infinite lives, but it's still a good idea to save in case you get stuck somewhere and can't die. Poor collision detection makes some of the later levels more frustrating than necessary. Developed by Scenario Software, Todd Replogle misspelled the name of his own company, listing it as "Scenerio Software" on the title page! There are 20 levels in each volume, which must be played sequentially because there is no map screen. There are 4 volumes in this game, with only the first volume playable in the shareware version.

[b]INTRO[/B] > Di questo gioco ho ancora un floppy con la versione shareware (ovvero contenente solo il primo episodio, i restanti dovevano essere pagati a parte)... wow, decisamente erano altri tempi. [b]IL GIOCO[/b] > Monuments of Mars è un platform atipico, nel senso che ha una struttura particolare, diversa dalla maggior parte dei platform 2D "classici": ogni livello è una schermata nella quale bisogna raggiungere l'uscita schivando o uccidendo i nemici, raccogliendo bonus, azionando leve, pulsanti o computer e saltando di piattaforma in piattaforma; si hanno vite infinite (in caso di morte si ricomincia dall'inizio del livello corrente) ma munizioni limitate, per cui queste vanno razionate con un minimo di criterio se non si vuole incorrere in grossi guai successivamente. Il gioco è composto da 4 capitoli, ognuno dei quali è suddiviso a sua volta in 20 livelli (ovvero 20 schermate). Una cosa particolare da sottolineare è che questo gioco non ha alcuna pietà dei giocatori "distratti" - alcuni livelli vanno studiati e affrontati come piccoli puzzle, perché c'è il rischio di rimanere bloccati se si effettuano azioni sbagliate, con la conseguente necessità di dover fare un "suicidio volantario" per ricominciare il livello (in alternativa c'è un apposito tasto per ripetere il livello). [b]PRO E CONTRO[/b] > Il gioco è immediato e senza troppi fronzoli e, sinceramente, l'ho sempre trovato divertente - questo è il suo più grande pro, e ciò che mi fa consigliare questo gioco. Personalmente apprezzo molto anche la gestione oculata che bisogna fare delle munizioni - aggiunge un pizzico di sfida in più che non fa mai male. I contro però non sono da sottovalutare: il gioco è molto corto (ogni episodio si finisce in circa mezz'ora, per cui in due ore si arriva tranquillamente alla fine), la grafica CGA non è decisamente il massimo (è vero che il gioco è vecchio, ma a quei tempi, senza andare a scomodare le console, su PC c'erano già titoli con grafiche coloratissime come il primissimo Prince of Persia o Civilization) e, malus in fundo, il controllo del salto non è esattamente il massimo, specie in movimento. [b]- PRO -[/b] [list] [*]Senza troppi fronzoli e immediato [*]Il dover risparmiare le munizioni rende più interessante la sfida proposta [*]Alcuni livelli sono davvero ben strutturati, specie nei primi due capitoli [/list] [b]- CONTRO -[/b] [list] [*]Grafica CGA già vecchia ai tempi [*]Il gioco è molto corto [*]La meccanica del salto non è esattamente il massimo [/list] [b]CONCLUSIONE[/b] > Al di là dei contro, che possono far storcere il naso ai più, se cercate un gioco con cui divertirvi senza troppi pensieri, facendo un autentico tuffo nella semi-preistoria dei giochi per PC (un gioco in CGA su Steam!)... Monuments of Mars può fare al caso vostro.

As a kid, I used to love playing several Apogee Software games. Of course, I never had the full versions, only shareware, but I still spent many hours playing them, the platformers in particular. And yet... Monuments of Mars is one I'd never actually played. And, if I did, then I don't recall it. So, coming to it with a fresh perspective, I can say... Time has not been kind to this game. While I can still see myself enjoying other classics from this era, like, say, the original Duke Nukem or Secret Agent, this one I pretty much forced my way through. Fortunately, it's not a very challenging game, otherwise I don't know if I'd have made it through it. Plain and simple, the controls are very clunky, with inconsistent jumps and movement. The level design is also rather simple; the game is divided in four chapters of 20 levels each, each level being a single screen. Most of the time, you'll be figuring out how to get to the exit, perhaps interacting with different switches or looking for a key to spice things up. Storywise, well, it's once again simple, which is expected for a game as old as this one. You play as an unnamed astronaut who's been tasked with rescuing missing astronauts from Mars, while investigating mysterious "monuments" left behind by some unknown civilization. As far as graphics go, well, this game was made for PC in an era in which PCs weren't all that powerful, so it has a very limited colour palette; sound is also just a handful of beeps and boops. All in all, I can't really recommend this game. Then again, it's been delisted from Steam, so if anything, I'm just sharing my thoughts.