Master of Malice
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Last modified 2012-09-16 04:25:08
I liked Master of Malice, a lot. I'm sure most people wouldn't, but I had a lot of fun playing through this.
Malice is an "RPG" with a dungeon/exploration context. The battles are menu-based and use the default text box and message line. It's a bit slow. I recommend setting the game to MZX speed 3 for maximum enjoyment, and not just for the battles. This game's is dungeon is massive, and walking through it takes a long time. You'll have to explore blindly and backtrack once you find new items. On speed 3, though, the game is more exciting and more playable. You get some cool spells along the way, and some items. Still too easy--I think I beat it without dying once.
There are no bugs, and the game is a complete work. Keep in mind, though, that all enemies in the world will respawn if you enter the castle, to which you will have to return several times.
The game is virtually devoid of sound--there are a few sounds which fit in acceptably with the game. For such a long game, though, I'd have liked more sounds.
The music is... well, like the game. I like it a lot but it's not for everyone. In fact, I love it. Nytar pays almost no attention to the rules of music theory but somehow creates songs that are entirely appropriate for the game world, with stock soundtracker-type instrumentation that's perfectly appropriate in a MZX game.
Graphics are good. They range from spartan but clean to very nice. All actors are 1x1 tiles and are nicely drawn--you can only do so much with a single 8x14 tile, but these look about as good as they possibly can. Only the default palette is used, but this does not detract from the style.
Despite my personal opinion of this game, I can still only give it three stars. Most people will probably find it too hard to get drawn into the game world, and the systems do result in overly simple mechanics, bordering on mind-numbing. However, I was so drawn in that I played it for several straight hours from start to finish. Give this one a chance, if you like it you'll really like it.
Malice is an "RPG" with a dungeon/exploration context. The battles are menu-based and use the default text box and message line. It's a bit slow. I recommend setting the game to MZX speed 3 for maximum enjoyment, and not just for the battles. This game's is dungeon is massive, and walking through it takes a long time. You'll have to explore blindly and backtrack once you find new items. On speed 3, though, the game is more exciting and more playable. You get some cool spells along the way, and some items. Still too easy--I think I beat it without dying once.
There are no bugs, and the game is a complete work. Keep in mind, though, that all enemies in the world will respawn if you enter the castle, to which you will have to return several times.
The game is virtually devoid of sound--there are a few sounds which fit in acceptably with the game. For such a long game, though, I'd have liked more sounds.
The music is... well, like the game. I like it a lot but it's not for everyone. In fact, I love it. Nytar pays almost no attention to the rules of music theory but somehow creates songs that are entirely appropriate for the game world, with stock soundtracker-type instrumentation that's perfectly appropriate in a MZX game.
Graphics are good. They range from spartan but clean to very nice. All actors are 1x1 tiles and are nicely drawn--you can only do so much with a single 8x14 tile, but these look about as good as they possibly can. Only the default palette is used, but this does not detract from the style.
Despite my personal opinion of this game, I can still only give it three stars. Most people will probably find it too hard to get drawn into the game world, and the systems do result in overly simple mechanics, bordering on mind-numbing. However, I was so drawn in that I played it for several straight hours from start to finish. Give this one a chance, if you like it you'll really like it.