Them's Fightin'
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In every games, especially in RPGs, the creators usually try to show off some aspect of the game that will, hopefully, grab people's attention making them want to play it. They'll show off artwork, screenshots, story teaser, even a catchy title that will grab your attention--any type of unique characteristic that their game will have they must show off. That is their form of advertising.
The Adventures of Bill seemed to have broken the rule of "unique-ness", in a sense. Everything in the game seemed clichéd. Saving a girl, hunting down the mad scientist, even the title wasn't anything different. But maybe that's exactly why the game shined. Mark took a rock and turned it into a diamond.
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Graphics |
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AoB was graphically impressive for the most part. Many scenes showed off stylish-cartoony raphics that would please many of it's audiences. Even something that looks like a simple blob was drawn very well and doesn't get boring to look at at all.
Some parts of the game were not as great, but still above average. The second town, for example, had tiles that were much to grainy. And the mansion was much too monotonous.
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Storyline |
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The game's story was simple: the girl of your dreams was captured by the mad scientist, and it's up to you to save her. Can't get any more clichéd than that, right? But the presentation of the story was incredible. The dialogue helped season the flavourless storyline and turned it into a tasty entrée, so to speak, even though it would be offe nsive to people who don't have an open-mind. After you finish your quest and save the girl, the game indroduces a very interesting part of the story, but then ends abruptly at a very climatic part, leaving you hanging and wanting more (well, at least some sort of conclusion). But the game did a good job in entertaining the audience with it's humorous storyline.
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Gameplay |
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In terms of gameplay, AoB was nothing special--just a standard RPG-style that is seen pretty much everywhere.
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Battle |
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Pretty standard, but still above many OHR games. Unlike most games, where you'd just hold the space bar until everything was dead, you couldn't do that here. Spells were a necessity. They were much stronger than regular attacks, but still had to be conserved for important boss battles. Definately more fun than holding a spacebar.
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Map Design |
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Most dungeons were pretty dull and boring. The only dungeon that was any good was the mansion. It wasn't just a simple straight path; it had puzzles and things to do. Every other dungeon was just going from point A to B, then back again. But there were only 3-4 dungeons, so hopefully there will be more to be seen in future releases.
The other maps were very well done. What the overworld had was interesting too look at, even if there wasn't much there. Each town/city had something different, like huge neon signs saying "SECRET LAB", or office buildings for Squaresoft. Towns cleverly matched the game's humor, which is a very skillful thing to do.
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Balance |
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The overall difficulty of the battles wasn't too hard. Stats were high enough to end the battle quickly, but low enough so that unwanted death is possible. Equipment was a necessity, but weapons didn't overrule spells. Distribution of stats were well thought out, and seemed logically correct.
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Music |
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Music was ripped from various familiar sources, and well placed.
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Enjoyment |
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Everything about this game is well above average, except the dungeons, which were pretty tedious. Battles were enjoyable. But it was the story that kept me playing, though (it needs a conclusion! ARGH!)
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Final Blows |
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Something different, and something not--mostly something different.
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Isolated, but heavily influenced |
Final Scores
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Graphics: 9/10.0 |
Cartoony for most. Dull for the rest. Even the dull parts were better than most OHR games, though.
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Storyline: 9.5/10.0
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Humorous dialogue and awesome presentation of something completely clichéd. |
Gameplay: 7/10.0 |
Better than most, but still nothing special.
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Music: 5/10.0
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Ripped, but well placed. Good enough that it won't kill you, but not good enough so that you'll even bother to notice it. |
Enjoyment: 8.5/10.0
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A very good game. Although the dungeons made me yawn, but still good for everything else. |
Overall Grade:
B+ |
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Final Thoughts |
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I honestly expected a newbie game. With a title like this one, you would to right? RIGHT?!? |
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