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Steampunk brawler Hammerfight now available on Steam photo

Then again, maybe "brawler" isn't the right word -- Hammerfight is, to briefly summarize, a ship-versus-ship combat game where you swing boulders, hammers, swords, and other melee weapons around your steampunkified™ flying machine solely by moving the mouse. The faster you swing, the more damage your weapon does.

Hammerfight is now availble on Steam for $9.99, which would be awesome if the game weren't so goddamned frustrating.

I was planning on reviewing Hammerfight, but I doubt I'll be able to; the game seems to have absolutely no idea how difficult it is, and takes great pains to throw you in ludicrously unfair situations at every turn without bothering to include any sort of actual difficulty curve.

The moment you start up the game, you will be kicked in the balls. It only gets worse from there, as the game forces you to play through escort mission upon escort mission upon escort mission, while also forcing you to fight against literal armies of much stronger enemies wielding much stronger weapons who can maneuver with remarkable dexterity while your ship seems to control as if it were made of dark matter and loaded down with ball bearings. And this is on the easier of the two campaign modes.

But, I dunno, maybe the game gets better later on. The basic idea is pretty cool, at least.








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13 comments | showing # 1 to 13
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GamesAreArt's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 16:46
GamesAreArt
I'd try it if I had the money, and a computer that could run it. Looks interesting.
Django Reinhardt's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 16:51
Django Reinhardt
Any computer can run this game. It's actually really fun, but Anthony is right--I got stuck on the third or fourth level. I don't remember when I did, but I think I played the demo for this.
psycho terror2's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 16:58
psycho terror2
steampunk is rapidly becoming one of those words that incites me to kill someone every time i hear it.

if i ever hear steampunkified™ uttered in real life i think my head will explode.
kalidanthepalidan's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 16:59
kalidanthepalidan
I remember trying a build of this game a year or two ago and it was really hard then. Guess they never changed the difficulty.
GamesAreArt's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 17:00
GamesAreArt
Ehh, I could run it, but I dont have the money to spare. Plus, I have too many games to play already.
wedgejaeger's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 17:38
wedgejaeger
eh, you lost me at "escort mission." If there's one thing I'm not good at in video games it's "keep someone alive for a really long distance as everyone attacks them." not to say it's a bad game, just a dis on escort missions.
Tomas Denemark's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:07
Tomas Denemark
Yes, it is hard, but do not give up. Once you get a little comfortable with controling the ship, you will experience physics/fighting nirvana. After the initial escort missions, there are also fights in arenas, games and some battles in very interesting places.

Three little tips:
a) Start a new game and in the very first mission there is a dummy enemy you should attack. Do not attack him but just fly arround, get used to the controls and try to attack his boulder - do that several times and then start completing missions. After a while you will have access to another modes where you can do your training.
b) Not sure if this is still working, but in beta builds it was possible to chance mouse sensitivity in configuration file.
c) If some mission is too hard for you (except the final battle I think) the game will offer you skipping that mission (it will cost you all your gold)
GoJohnnyGo's Avatar - Comment posted on 10/29/2009 18:11
GoJohnnyGo
I distinctly remember playing this game quite a while ago, but it must have been an early demo. And yes, I seem to recall that it took a great concept and ran it into the ground.

Such a shame. This game could have been better, especially if it had support for the Novint Falcon device.
Jim Bunting's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/02/2009 21:05
Jim Bunting
This is an AMAZING game. Those of you who are unable to get the handle of your flying machine are unworthy of Hammerfight's uncompromising warrior culture. Shame on you.

Seriously - it gets easier with practice. There are some extremely difficult levels, yes, but mostly you get pure pleasure.
skulll9000's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/15/2009 17:16
skulll9000
"Escort mission upon escort mission?" I've only done like two escort missions and I've beaten the entire game and.. Does anyone know if there are anymore game modes other than arena, grimm, and hammerfight??? And has anyone gotten the other "Secret-Uber-Pwnage" weapons, I only have that one sword...
Hamster Alliance's Avatar - Comment posted on 11/16/2009 03:50
Hamster Alliance
I've been playing this for a few days now and it's really awesome. :D

It was quite difficult at first but I've finally gotten the hang of it and unlocked the armory to get new weapons and the odds seem a lot more fair now.
Stuart P Bentley's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/23/2010 16:30
Stuart P Bentley
What's funny is the line they took from this review for their store page ad blurb:

"The moment you start up the game, you will be kicked in the balls" - Anthony Burch, Destructoid

http://store.steampowered.com/app/41100/
Mark Griffiths's Avatar - Comment posted on 02/24/2010 15:17
Mark Griffiths
Just got it as part of Midweek Madness. Didn't think to check the review of someone who's opinion I generally trust or at least take into account.

But yeah, £2.50. They really took an obscure reference for that Steam page, didn't they?
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