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"5s are an exercise in apathy, neither Solid nor Liquid. Not exactly bad, but not very good either. Just a bit "meh," really"
Very fitting.
Very fitting.
Your tweets about how difficult it was to avoid just saying "Blade Kitten is a thing that exists" were pretty spot on. I checked out the demo and it just felt...off. Wasn't impressed at all. Nice review as ever, Jim.
I'd tend to agree it seems like a comic that was created for the soul purpose of creating a game based on the comic. A game that had some great promise but never delivered. I only played the demo but the controls just weren't responsive, maybe it was just the animations were a little off who knows.
It did look promising but ended up mediocre at best.
It did look promising but ended up mediocre at best.
I played the demo for a bit and after about half an hour decided that I had seen enough of the game.
You know what I actually love about this game? Its odd blandness. The character and gameplay is so generic that it feels as if it were a parody of a video game like those on movies or cartoons.
I wouldn't get it for 15 dollars, but I would definitely get it. Call me weird, but I find those flaws to be strangely charming.
I wouldn't get it for 15 dollars, but I would definitely get it. Call me weird, but I find those flaws to be strangely charming.
I really didn't like the feel of the controls in the demo. Like you said, it was floaty and just...alienating. There are so many good side scrolling platformers available right now, I can't think why anyone would be okay with spending 15 bucks on this.
i completely agree with this review. i played the demo and i couldn't finish it. it was jut too bland for me to care.
I checked out the demo. So underwhelming, wouldn't even consider getting it. Not to mention the moments spent cringing at the pathetic attempts at dialog.
It makes me sad because I want to support 2D, or 2.5D, action platformers.
But I played through the demo and wasn't very impressed. Gameplay felt repetitive and the actual level design felt pretty... well, repetitive. Every now and then something new would come along, but would quickly be assimilated into the routine. It honestly felt like level design is some kind of nod to Excitebike.
A, A, B, A, C, A, B, A, C, A, D, A, A, B, D, A, and so on and so forth.
I did like the cell shaded art direction, though.
But I played through the demo and wasn't very impressed. Gameplay felt repetitive and the actual level design felt pretty... well, repetitive. Every now and then something new would come along, but would quickly be assimilated into the routine. It honestly felt like level design is some kind of nod to Excitebike.
A, A, B, A, C, A, B, A, C, A, D, A, A, B, D, A, and so on and so forth.
I did like the cell shaded art direction, though.
This game bugs me. It's trying too hard to be "so random" like Splosion Man, or Claptrap, or anyone who buys Gir merchandise from Hot Topic.
When are we going to get the AAA title, GOTY contending title with a pointy-eared young girl with perky breasts and pink hair that we deserve? Are we asking too much?
Where the hell is Mathew? Steam Suppourt keeps telling me its physically impossible to refund my spent bandwidth on this game, let alone my purchase.
Hey 5.5! by Jim to normal conversion that equals a must-buy!
Been wondering about this ever since I saw it pop up on steam.
Been wondering about this ever since I saw it pop up on steam.
Played the demo, and kinda enjoyed it... not enough to fork over $15 though. Game needs price drop badly. (to paraphrase a better game)
Pretty much agree with this entire review to the letter. I still haven't finished the game, and the artstyle makes me want to like it and loathe it at the same time.
Also, "the weeaboo art style"
I lol'd.
Also, "the weeaboo art style"
I lol'd.
I was interested before I played it, tried it, then deleted it right after. Idk, but the game didn't really seem worth the price to me. Some ppl say its worth it but I couldn't really get into it.
"All I know is that this is a game about a point-eared young girl with perky breasts and pink hair. All you need to know..."
and yes, since almost all hack-n-slash platformers gone to the consoles...i might be checking this out, I know I might regret it later, but i'm going to check this one out. :P
and yes, since almost all hack-n-slash platformers gone to the consoles...i might be checking this out, I know I might regret it later, but i'm going to check this one out. :P
I played the demo before reading Jim's review and I felt exactly the same. The most average game I ever played with really no point to it at all.
Hmm, and this was on the cover of the new GameFan magazine....
Is that new magazine still even in print?
Is that new magazine still even in print?
It would be dishonest if I told you that I wasn't at all entertained by the demo of this game. It definitely kept me entertained for most of the hour that I played it; however, being an old fan of the 80's/90's anime era, I couldn't help but wonder why this game is trying to make a break now in 2010. This game would have worked well back when this kind of theme was big. I don't feel that the kiddies (no pun intended) these days care about snarky, armored catgirl bounty hunters weilding weapons as large as their bodies with relative ease.
Aside from the theme, the quality of the game's presentation really turned me off. The game was rife with naive references to the American anime culture, from Engrish phrases ("Bonus GET!") to fanfares played with Japanese instruments. Seriously, did they intend the game to be this corny? Lastly, and most importantly, the gameplay was entertaining for as long as I played it, but I don't expect it to carry me throughout the entire game....the story definitely won't. I've played games of higher quality games for less money. Bionic Commando Rearmed and Prince of Persia Classic are two examples of cheaper platform-genre games that outdo Blade Kitten by great lengths.
Because the demo performed this poorly, I really hope that I never see the comic this game is based on. That would definitely waste time in my life...not because I'm reading it, but because I'm rage-ranting for hours about the comic's existence. See, I'm wasting time right now!
Aside from the theme, the quality of the game's presentation really turned me off. The game was rife with naive references to the American anime culture, from Engrish phrases ("Bonus GET!") to fanfares played with Japanese instruments. Seriously, did they intend the game to be this corny? Lastly, and most importantly, the gameplay was entertaining for as long as I played it, but I don't expect it to carry me throughout the entire game....the story definitely won't. I've played games of higher quality games for less money. Bionic Commando Rearmed and Prince of Persia Classic are two examples of cheaper platform-genre games that outdo Blade Kitten by great lengths.
Because the demo performed this poorly, I really hope that I never see the comic this game is based on. That would definitely waste time in my life...not because I'm reading it, but because I'm rage-ranting for hours about the comic's existence. See, I'm wasting time right now!
I liked it, but didn't love it. It would do well to be priced at $10 instead of $15. Just a few things could push it to a higher review. The amount of gameplay was good, but I'd like it chopped in to more, smaller levels. Bite-size chunks. That can't really be changed, but a slight alteration to the sound/graphics of combat could give fighting a more 'solid' feel. The biggest problem is that the control feels floaty. For 2D platformers, it really should be more precise.
As a person with a fetish for catgirls and Strider, this seems right up my alley. I can wait until the inevitable $2.50 Steam sale come December, though.
The large levels are nice, and so is being able to climb around on most surfaces as you look around for stuff (also, there IS at least a little depth to the combat, since downing opponents with certain special techniques earns extra cash), but I have to agree with those who felt that the controls were too floaty - a good platformer is all about precision, as opposed to hacking away at enemies in hopes that your rechargeable health meter will last longer than they do.
This game looked interesting, but then I played the demo and wasn't impressed at all. I played it for a little while, then deleted it and I don't remember what I rated it.
This game looked interesting, but then I played the demo and wasn't impressed at all. I played it for a little while, then deleted it and I don't remember what I rated it.
the problem with calling it a weeaboo art style is that the japaniese took the idea of big round eyes from us and we still use them in most of our cartoons. After ww2 we shipped over alot of our movies and before most of them we played cartoons, they got the eyes from betty boop and micky mouse
So...it's superior to Final Fantasy XIII,right?
Right,so with that pre-requisite joke out of the way,I don't what I know feel sadder about: that the only 2-D side-scroller starring a pink haired cat girl is from some Wannabe Wantanabe instead of an honest-to-goodness Japanese game studio (who are too busy failing at trying to be Epic Games or channeling Todd MacFarlane) or that the game just isn't very good.
If these guys are going to emulate old school Japanese action gaming and pop-culture, why not do it right? Combine Strider 2,Gunstar Heroes/Guardian Heroes, maybe a dash of 2-D Sonic with 'Metroidvania' elements then,while they're at it, crib a good lot of the heroine's moveset from Felicia from the Darkstalkers series or Bagi from the Osamu Tezuka film of the same name.
Right,so with that pre-requisite joke out of the way,I don't what I know feel sadder about: that the only 2-D side-scroller starring a pink haired cat girl is from some Wannabe Wantanabe instead of an honest-to-goodness Japanese game studio (who are too busy failing at trying to be Epic Games or channeling Todd MacFarlane) or that the game just isn't very good.
If these guys are going to emulate old school Japanese action gaming and pop-culture, why not do it right? Combine Strider 2,Gunstar Heroes/Guardian Heroes, maybe a dash of 2-D Sonic with 'Metroidvania' elements then,while they're at it, crib a good lot of the heroine's moveset from Felicia from the Darkstalkers series or Bagi from the Osamu Tezuka film of the same name.
@Argmyleg- It is just as true that folks from the United States of America pioneered that animation style as it is that they invented videogames themselves.
The biggest problem comes from Americans not doing enough to distinguish themselves when they 'take it back'. Rather than try to mimic what changes their admirers from overseas have made to techniques and tropes popularized by their forebeares,they should show them a new way to do it that they would have never imagined.
If the Japanese can turn the powered armor from Starship Troppers into Mazinger Z and Gundam or cat-women seen in series such as Poul Anderson's Ensign Flannery or Epic Comic's Timespirits into a ridiculously tough pink furred half-human half-cat hybrid or teenage girls with cat eyes, ears and tails,surely these guys can manage to make something that approaches the level of,say,the Na'vi. (yes,I know that they were more lemur-like that cat-like,but that isn't the point!)
What the Japanese managed to do to gaming (including saving it from the original incarnation of Atari's fumbles)would be a lot harder to match than character concepts, though it isn't as if there weren't a ton of great 2-D games to draw inspiration from,whether from Japan,the USA or even France (see Flashback and Another World/Out of this World).
The biggest problem comes from Americans not doing enough to distinguish themselves when they 'take it back'. Rather than try to mimic what changes their admirers from overseas have made to techniques and tropes popularized by their forebeares,they should show them a new way to do it that they would have never imagined.
If the Japanese can turn the powered armor from Starship Troppers into Mazinger Z and Gundam or cat-women seen in series such as Poul Anderson's Ensign Flannery or Epic Comic's Timespirits into a ridiculously tough pink furred half-human half-cat hybrid or teenage girls with cat eyes, ears and tails,surely these guys can manage to make something that approaches the level of,say,the Na'vi. (yes,I know that they were more lemur-like that cat-like,but that isn't the point!)
What the Japanese managed to do to gaming (including saving it from the original incarnation of Atari's fumbles)would be a lot harder to match than character concepts, though it isn't as if there weren't a ton of great 2-D games to draw inspiration from,whether from Japan,the USA or even France (see Flashback and Another World/Out of this World).
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