The Next Penelope

En mode Ulysse31, Next Penelope du futur doit affronter les prétendants et leur botter les fesses elle-même sur un crédo micro-machines (course vue de côté). 1h sur la première course, à ne jamais réussir : quand je double le 1er, je suis toujours 2e, et la course est sans fin. Une expérience mystique, onirique, métaphysique et philosophique, sur une musique bouncy et des graphs juicy. Je voulais mettre un pouce rouge, mais il remonte tout seul, buggé lui aussi.

Quick Score: 3/5 Really good visually, and a decent foundation. But extremely short and feels very underdeveloped mechanically with zero replayablity. The entire exp and upgrade system is pointless. The games difficulty is extremely low. The only challenging sections are 2 bonus events at the very end that are more frustrating than difficult. Overall very underwhelming, but it was fun for about 2 hours. Would never recommend this at full price.

[h1] Ok F-Zero clone with top down view. Fast racing and plenty of different modes. Sometimes it's hard to see what's in front of you (just like in Micro Machines) so make sure to memorize the track first. Gameplay is somewhat fun but I don't like auto acceleration (vehicle drive by itself). Leave mines behind, boost and teleport on short distance at the fraction of your energy which is also health so use it wisely. Encounter boss battles and some challenges that will kick your bottom. Big con there's no separate racing mode and the only available mode is story mode. Despite some years behind holds well. Another con no resolution option in the settings. Music is ok. Controls are tight and grip is good. Generally plays well. [/h1]

If I could give a neutral recommendation I would, but you know this is Steam. I understand this was made by one guy and I give props to him, he made a game that's functional. However, it's mired in some strange quirks and wonky design. So running down the list of issues I had with this game. First, the camera too close in on the vehicle and the fix is an IN-GAME UPGRADE. Coupled with no map of the stage (Only a dinky Progress bar at the bottom of the screen) it can lead to you failing over and over until you learn the stage by memory and the mechanics associated with it. I'm gonna call this one a cardinal sin by racing game standards. Second, The controls sometimes don't work and are needlessly loose. Maybe it's my controller, but I had a hell of a time playing this game on it and I play games with it fine all the time. I think it's just this title at this rate. I'll give this one a pass, but only because it might be my controller. Third, the Difficulty is another issue and only hurts this title. It starts at "Medium" and only goes to "Very Hard" with no in between. Some stages are super-easy, but it's labelled as "Very Hard". Other stages are labelled as "Medium" but will kick your teeth in for no reason. This odd curve of difficulty combined with the "Life as Energy" system just adds just needless frustration. Finally, The Mechanic of "Life as Energy". Your energy is so truncated due to equipment usage and the energy costs for them that many stages are hurdles due to it. Expend too much or run into a wall enough times and you just might as well restart the level. Most of the racer levels have energy recharge pads, but other open area zones don't and you only get the "Mine" option to recharge your energy meter. However, the Mine needs to kill a target to gain energy back for you, but the mine itself doesn't have a proximity detonation and you can kill yourself with it by running into it or by chunked down by the cost. The mechanic adds needless complexity and many pieces of equipment are dubious in usefulness which leads to many unneeded restarts. All in all, I had a bad time playing "The Next Penelope". Some of the issues are fixed by the in-game upgrade system, but many aren't and lead to a slanted experience. However, if you can put up with the odd mechanics and strange layout, give it a shot.

The controls take time to get used too but it's a fun game and an interesting take on the Odyssey.

Ce jeu n'est en fait pas un jeu de course à proprement parler. Il est divisé en 6 mondes de 3 niveaux chacun. A la fin d'un monde, le joueur gagne un nouveau pouvoir, comme le boost, le tir, le grappin, les mines, etc... Et une fois tous ces pouvoir obtenus, le boss final. Chaque monde possède 3 niveaux donc, lesquels suivent tout le temps la même architecture: le premier sert à apprendre le nouveau pouvoir du monde, le deuxième est une "course" à la Death Rally où il n'est nul besoin d'accélérer ni de freiner, et le dernier est un combat en arène contre un boss où il est souvent utile de tirer à profit du nouveau pouvoir obtenu précédemment. Voilà pour la structure. Après, la DA déchire, un style Albator mélangé à du Ulysse 31, le feedback est excellent et l'ambiance sonore aussi. Le jeu est plutôt dur, mais pas insurmontable non plus: en refaisant une course 4 ou 5 fois, on réussi généralement rapidement à la connaitre par cœur et à la maitriser, d'autant que les niveaux sont plutôt court. Le contrôle du vaisseau est très particulier, avec énormément d'inertie, mais c'est pareil on s'y fait vite. Seuls une course (celle sans les barrières en bord de piste) et un boss m'ont posé problème, mais en insistant un peu c'est passé crème. 3h30 pour le terminer, sachant qu'il existe aussi des défis de scoring que je n'ai pas encore essayé pour le moment. Du coup, une bonne expérience, pour peut que l'on sait où l'on met les pieds.

The game look nice sounds nice to, shame the controls let it down and it might be me, but how the hell do you quit the game. I had to ctr+Alt+Del to quit the game. You can see why its on sale...

Not fun

frustratingly difficult for the wrong reasons. very pretty and a nice idea but execution holds it back

Its fun for a little bit. But the xp = better camera view, the garbage story and the wonky controls kinda bummed me out of the game before playing for one hour.