Scurge: Hive

Hidden gem of the GBA/NDS that released with a trove of useful features! Save states always feels like a given when it comes to older games, also having speed up and reverse adds to the experience along with built in cheats is nice to see! I'm happy to see old gems getting re-released. So far haven't noticed any particular issues! I'll need to play through further to see if it holds up properly compared to the originals

Emulation is based on mGBA (with proper notices), so it should be perfect. Sadly no ROM included, though it's clear it's been modified slightly. Also includes a brand new Japanese translation, which is its first ever release; to my knowledge the translation did not exist in fan patches before, so it's a neat bonus. Only genuine update according to the dev is some graphical smoke fixes, though I haven't verified that. I'm biased towards Ratalaika's ports; they consistently include proper open-source licenses, and they all have a similar simple-but-feature-complete UI that I like, though aesthetically it's pretty bare bones. Generally works perfectly on Linux/steam deck, as it's a very lightweight exe. Edit: Controls match the original, I was mis-remembering, and have since updated the review.

A GBA Classic, now perfectly playable on your PC. Think of a 2.5D isometric metroid game. Controls for the menu is a bit wonky at first and I wish you could just click things with your mouse, but that's about it. Luckily once you figured it out, you can remap the keys quite easily. I truly love this game. It's very clearly inspired by Metroid (Fusion in particular if I'm not mistaken), and I remember playing this game at a friend's house. For the longest time I actually forgot the name of the game but I'm glad I found it again. Nintendo ain't releasing the Metroid games for PC so this is as close to a PC Metroid game as you can get. It's not a perfect port, like I said the menus are a bit wonky and it's still a GBA game in the end, but what I appreciate is oh my god they actually fixed the controls. In case you don't know, the GBA has a problem with isometric games where the controls are a bit..Strange to say the least. Pressing up makes you not go upwards but diagonally upwards to the right. To go straight up you actually had to press both left + right. It was a strange yet SOMEHOW popular quirk a lot of these isometric games had at the time. And I'm glad to say that annoying quirk is completely gone now. Up means up, and diagonally up means diagonally up. Case closed. It makes the game a lot more playable. I haven't played a lot of this yet and will update my review if I get more issues with the game but for now, I'm just enjoying my classic game. It's a great port. Though..15 dollars seems a bit much for a GBA rerelease like this. I'd say grab it on sale for a couple of bucks if you could. 10 bucks would've been enough honestly.

Emulation is junk. Can't remap controller buttons either. Wish I had tried it out during the refund window.

Fantastic GBA game. Kinda hard and the isometric view is a little wonky when it comes to some platforming but overall I love the game. Lots of backtracking too, though I like that kinda stuff.

It's a good game with some rough edges to it, though i'm not sure I would call it a Metroidvania. Story and aesthetics are clearly inspired by Metroid Fusion but I think it's best described as a linear isometric action-adventure game. Throughout the game you have to manage an infection meter that effectively acts as a time limit, but save points are never to far away, optional collectibles don't exist and puzzles are very easy to solve. Enemies are numerous and agressive, but they all drop health so it's never to difficult. The game's biggest flaw comes from it being a GBA/NDS title, with the screen a bit too zoomed in, though I don't see it as a dealbreaker. The port itself is perfectly functional, if a little basic and runs well on Steam Deck.

Познакомился с игрой впервые в 2012ом году на китайской консольке func gp-06. Игра безумно понравилась своим стилем, этакий космический биопанк, но все же тогда показалась сложной, да и устройство не обладало высокой отзывчивостью, так что дропнул ее. Но сейчас разбирая свои старые вещи, нашел ту самую консольку, нашел название той самой игры и уже сейчас полностью заценил ее официальный порт, но уже на стим деке. В целом ощущается здорово, инпут лаг не заметил и вообще замечательный платформер если бы не финальный босс, который портит все впечатление от игры, благо в эмуляторе была возможность включить читы и пропустить этот нудный файт))). Ну а еще почему-то есть небольшое искажение звука, которое чувствуется еще сильнее если включить ограничение кадров, но это мелочи.

Scurge: Hive è un metroidvania isometrico concepito per le indimenticabili console portatili GBA e NDS nell'ormai lontano 2006. In questo gioco impersonerete Jenosa Arma, una cacciatrice di taglie che dovrà compiere una pericolosa missione. Equipaggiata con un’armatura bio-protettiva che le permette di resistere alla contaminazione per un tempo limitato, Jenosa deve esplorare ambienti ostili, risolvere enigmi, affrontare creature infette e gestire costantemente un indicatore di infezione in tempo reale di gioco che minaccia di sopraffarla. Questa meccanica, peculiare e tesissima, scandisce il ritmo dell’avventura e dona al gioco una tensione costante, mentre il design isometrico unisce esplorazione, combattimento e piattaforme in un equilibrio quasi claustrofobico. Questa versione ha inoltre introdotto le seguenti opzioni per il gioco: - Rewind e turbo - Save state - Filtri per lo schermo - Galleria - Trucchi Il gioco vi permetterà anche di scegliere anche se giocare con la versione occidentale, oppure con quella giapponese. Se amate il genere a cui appartiene Scurge, vi consiglio di recuperare questa piccola perla del passato.

A pretty incredible top-down (vaguely zelda-ish in a sense, but still more sci-fi like Metroid) search action game with actually decently difficult combat and fun weapon and item ideas that deserves to have way more recognition than it got. This version is just a modified build of mGBA shipping with an embedded ROM of the game (that you sadly cannot extract), so keep that in mind. They added some achievements and cheats, but that's about the only "extra features" you'll find in this. Runs fine though.

A pesar de ser directamente un juego emulado en vez de una conversion del codigo fuente, debo decir que me encanta volver a jugar uno de los videojuegos que mas debia de volverse una saga.