Elliot's Meh.

 

So this week I played Ansimus Games' "Elliot Quest" and amongst all the positive reviews it has been getting I have to say that this Alpha funding stage Zelda II homage didn't quite live up to the hype surrounding it. Elliot Quest begins on a vast island in which players explore, level up, and battle through an array of territories which on their face, seem interesting. Players are initially given only a bow and arrow set (unlimited) and throughout the game achieve weapon/skill unlocks and spells to aid in future battles, none of which are really talked about by NPCs or informative to the player. You are just supposed to figure it out as you go, I guess.

Most of the territories in Elliot Quest have a purpose but are a bit daunting in their make up. Enemies don't really seem to get harder and the bow never really receives much of a power up. In the demo version, players level up and Elliot's aim improves drastically, but in the $4.99 alpha version, players are plagued with dead on hits to a given enemy which read "MISS". This mistake was literally the WORST part of the much hated N64 game "Quest 64". Stand next to enemy, hit enemy, game registers hit as a miss. No real rhyme or reason here, just a miss. Players can go from firing arrows at such precision that they are opening gates via arrow while free falling, yet when a slime attacks they have suddenly fumbled their shit. I don't think so. 

[Quest 64 mechanics revisit to annoy in Elliot Quest]

Another issue I had with this game is that it never really gave me any incentive to keep playing. Not a conversation with a dying warrior, no cryptic clues or warnings of upcoming bosses, nothing. It felt sort of empty in a way. Like I was just enjoying the aesthetics of a retro game without really having a particular mission at hand. Elliot Quest has all the makings of a great game-to-be, but never really makes me WANT to play it aside from simple curiosity. Most worlds have sort of a confused objective and when players receive their eventual plunder from a given area, it just seems a little late in the game. Then again, because there is no set objective, the term "late in the game" holds no meaning. Why should I achieve double jump (wings) before a host of crystals I know nothing about? Why should I expect items that are more meaningful from extraordinarily hidden chests? How has the SHIELD avoided me this whole time?!

Elliot Quest never really answers these questions and yet, somehow you keep playing.

I can't be too hard on Elliot Quest because as Ansimus Games warned me, it is in early stages and "doesn't reflect the final quality"(even on the payed version for extra warnyness…). The positive elements of this game are self evident. Great visual experience, gameplay is light, music (by Michael Chait) has nostalgic SNES flair, there is room to grow as a player, boards can be challenging, bosses are fun. That all said, Elliot Quest has a ways to go before I will purchase another version. The Alpha, in all honesty should have been the browser demo. I was delighted by a lot of this game, but I couldn't help but feel like I was consistently wanting more from this world. Hopefully Ansimus will deliver on the final version.

 So check out the Elliot Quest website, try the demo and pay the $4.99 alpha price to experience this game . I wouldn't say it was a complete loss. Hopefully more reviewers can see past the obvious when it comes to Elliot Quest, really PLAY this game, and offer Ansimus some helpful critiquing. It will only make the final version as good as we all know this game CAN be.
Wicked Basement gives Elliot Quest a 4/10.
[PLAY IT HERE]

Growing up with Seedling.

In 2012, developer Connor Ullman released a game called "Seedling" which revisited the aesthetics of games like Zelda, Arkistas Ring, and the DQ series. Renamed from the beta "Shrum" title, Seedling is easily one of my favorite neoclassic indie games. The ominous music composed by Rekcahdam sets players in a dreamlike world where lands are to be explored, monsters destroyed, and treasure found. 

Seedling follows the very classic tambour of overhead action-adventure games. Players begin in their home village, seek out cryptic clues from friendly NPC's, gain power ups and unlock 100+ areas and dungeons to progress further. Each screen is carefully crafted to suit the storyline, keeping players learning along the entire 3-5 hours it should take to beat this game. Like some of it's "Nintendo hard" adventure game predecessors, Seedling NPC's offer minimal advice to the main character, which for some players has been frustrating. When Ullman received this feedback from the stuck/lost, he commented "You're not stuck, you're just not much of an adventurer." 

THAT fucking rules. 

In fact, Ullman has released an entire expo on his process while creating, releasing, and answering feedback to the game. [Read Here]

Seedling's bosses are generally pretty easy. Getting to them can be a bit challenging (especially in Basiniad//Lava World) but the overwhelming fun of this game and it's puzzles is anything but frustrating. The elements of "wander around" are certainly celebrated in Seedling. The whole way through, I was falling in love, experiencing nostalgia, taking breaks and reading up on easter eggs/hidden features online. It reminded me of that Xmas game you got and played obsessively all the way through winter vacation until school was back in session. The game WAS your vacation. The world was real for a fleeting moment.

Wicked Basement gives Seedling a 8/10

This game is certainly a wonderful homage, full of originality, smooth gameplay, and a very full world.

Enjoy!

[Play it HERE]

A quick spoileresque tip for the end of the game, which was my only complaint. You must knock the owl boss into the lava pit 3 SEPARATE times after it has gone to it's nest. Players can knock it into the lava for hours and it will accomplish nothing if the boss has not "sat down" three times. This had me fighting the owl endlessly, until I finally read up on this small issue. So take your time, he/she is a surprisingly easy boss for the finale.

-Nintendo Entertainment System-

Splatter House: Wanpaku (naughty) Graffiti [J] is the definition of Nintendo Hard Level: Fucking Arbitrary.

Before there was Rick, the zombie killing ex-sherriff who leads a ragtag group of idiots though post apocalyptic Atlanta, there was Rick, the hockey-mask wearing, undead slaying, Mansion wrecking muscle man who tore through the beat-em-up platformer genre like a hot cleaver through a corpse…

---But before even THAT, was a game so ignored by later versions of it's own franchise that only the deepest, dankest basements in JAPAN are known to house it. A game so silly, so Nintendo Hard, so "Japaneezee" that it seems SplatterHouse overcompensated for the rest of it's history in efforts to keep this title down. Ladies and Gentlemen, SplatterHouse: Wanpaku Graffiti.

So we all know the story…

Rick's girlfriend is stolen and he has to fight zombies, blob-men, and vampires to get her back. Where Wanpaku is different is that all characters are comically super deformed, Rick is apparently undead himself, and bosses are hilarious caricatures of western pop iconography (mostly Hollywood and Michael Jackson).

This game blows. Yes, BLOWS. There are fun parts and the hack n' slash is amusing but players are given only ONE LIFE to wreck this whole game. There are continues which start you back at level's beginning and it takes just a few enemy collisions to send you into Game Over rage. On it's surface, S:WG seems like a totally easy game, and it is, but given the perimeters in which players are forced to progress, the game just ends up being turned off before anything meaningful happens. Codes are given to "save" a game, yet Rick starts back up from a continue with one life, so really it's a total crapshoot.

Mostly it is a typical side scrolling platformer. Kill creatures, collect health via candies, and try not to throw your laptop/Famicom out the window. Wicked Basement gives this game a 3/10 (notice the image above? ehhhh????) but we wanted our readers to at least enjoy the concept that Rick from SplatterHouse was first a cutesy, Jason knock-off who fought Michael Jackson Dracula and totally blew it on his first game. The Horror!

[Play it HERE]

Abadox: The Deadly Inner War

It's halloween time! And that means Wicked Basement will be releasing games that reflect an even more spooky kind of sensibility. First on the list is side-scrolling shoot-em-up gross out game, Abadox: The Deadly Inner War, where players star as a lil' cosmonaut fighting his way through the disgusting innards of an alien species. 

The game starts you off with the worst weapon possible, but then after a few kills a few power-ups are available. Shields, sprayers, machine guns, all a part of the later portions, all of which you will desperately need to beat this game. The term "Nintendo Hard" has been used to describe this sinister sick-out-fest, but I would rank this 7/10 for overall hardness. Granted some of the restarts are bogus, only three lives are granted to you, and enemies fly at you in an almost unfair fashion, Abadox still maintains a fun learning curb that takes on an heir of NES supremacy. Sort of like how you felt after beating Dragon Quest before all of your friends. You had made it. Pro level shit.

So get ready for an epic battle from the disgustingly classical cannon (or the classically disgusting…?). Warm up the thumbs, order some take-out, be ready to throw your controller across the room. It's Abadox!

[Play it HERE]

Alt Liv

The magnificent God Seed…

[Alt Liv- God Seed]

Lakeview Cabin: Horror, Slapstick, 8-bit.

So I was a little dubious of Lakeview Cabin, given that every review site on the web gave it rave reviews and said things like "BLENDS HORROR AND COMEDY PERFECTLY". I thought, could this little flash game really deliver such a claim? The answer is, Yeah I guess so.

Finnish indie developer Roope Tamminen, who brought us games like Barbarium (which I love), Hallucivian, and Quantum Corps has created a fun little puzzle game for the demented, Room 237 fans in all of us. You start out as a red-headed vacationer, locked on an island with a few items at your disposal. The object of the game is to use these items to summon the physical form of a ghost who is creepily haunting your lake-view get away, then chop her into bits and destroy the curse. 

Along the way are funny little functions like drinking beer, getting naked, or being caught in a bees nest. I'm not sure this qualifies as blending comedy and horror "PERFECTLY" but it was pretty funny. After your first random encounter with the freaky ghost lady, you should be able to summon her on command with the key "O". This will start up her ghoulish music and you better have a plan in line because she will kill you. Before getting too into the objective though, look around the island, smash boxes and check out some of the sights (binocular view of the left side of the island is a good one ;] ) for some funny easter eggs along the way. All in all this game is a cute, fun time waster. One can't help but laugh and then feel empowered when you figure out a new item or finally kill that bitch in the lake.

One thing that kept me on a consistent groan though, was the key issue. Let me just spoiler alert here a bit: You don't need the key in the bathroom but it unlocks some useful stuff in the shed. Take a log, throw it into the outhouse, chop it in the outhouse, the key will fall down. Okay that's all we're giving you. Play it below!

[Play it here]

Love.

[DQ]

River City Ransom Underground looks superb.

[The way sweeter Japanese game box to the original]

That's right kiddies, legendary RPG/Beat-em-up plat former "River City Ransom" is getting an OFFICIAL supercharged makeover thanks to the neoclassic pioneers, Conatus Creative. 

Conatus's lead designer, Bannon Rudis teams up with gaming OG Yoshihisa Kishimoto to bring this epic NES classic back to life via Kickstarter. Rudis promises modern controls and smoother gameplay as well as new playable characters, a more interactive map and some very interesting, specialized combos/attributes for his new army of Techno-street-warriors. Alex and Ryan aren't the only ones charged with beating the snot out of everyone in River City anymore.

Currently the team is wrapping on pre-production so get over to their website and donate what you can to help them release this game as soon as possible. Also, check out the [PLAY HERE] link below for the original RCR and kick some asses in the meantime. 

[Play the original HERE]

Metal Monday. It's Tuesday? Metal Tuesday then.

[1349- "Sculptor of Flesh"]

Hyper Light Drifter is melting my brain...

A nightmarish, futuristic, magnificently artistic, completely immersive dungeon crawl RPG/Platformer has made it through it's KickStarter phase and destroyed it's fund raising goal of $27,000 with a whopping $645,158.00. Fuck Yes.

Hyper Light Drifter is coming soon for PC/Mac/PS4/PS Vita/Wii U/Ouya and I am totally shitting my pants about it. Just watch this KickStarter trailer, WATCH IT:

"Drifters of this world are the collectors of forgotten knowledge, lost technologies and broken histories. Our Drifter is haunted by an insatiable illness, traveling further into the lands of Buried Time, steeped in blood and treasure hoping to discover a way to quiet the vicious disease. Echoes of a dark and violent past from the dead eras resonate throughout and he can't help but listen."

I am aghast.

From what I can surmise, HLD will be a pretty serious game changer. The gameplay promises to be something like Diablo and A link to the past combined, featuring super quick combat, massive worlds to explore, frightening bosses, and highly intelligent enemies and NPC's.

The setting is superbly eerie, as creator and Lead Designer Alex Preston puts it,

"Visions for this game have been fluttering in my skull for ages; something dark and fantastic, with giant forests to navigate, huge floating structures to explore, deep crumbling ruins to loot, massive throngs of enemies to rend, and behemoths both flesh and mechanical to overcome. I want it all to be as beautiful as possible, forging color with the dark and eerie wastes and intimidating landscapes."

Preston works alongside Lead Programer, Beau Blyth aka "TeknoPants"(the genius behind Samurai Gunn) and Chiptune mastermind, Disasterpeace to create his dark and fantastic vision.

Wicked Basement donated some $$$ to their paypal and will be getting an advance copy in 2014. We will be positively obsessed with playing and reviewing this game so stay tuned for more, visit HLD's KickStarter and even Pre-Order through the Heart Machine website.

This is going to be such a wonderful melding of genres, a huge step forward for indie gaming. We anxiously await pressing play (and then B, many many times) <3

Facebook plug!

We have a Facebook!

Yes, finally we got a fb and it is up and running for readers of the blog to post stuff too. Keeping it as more of a social project than the blog, most of WB's content will still be here but we wanted friends and fans to share their favorite Basement items along with us. 

"Like" us and post something!

That Feel.

<3

The wonderful music of Lifeformed.

Lifeformed, which is the musical project of Terrance Lee, is a very interesting take on chip. Ambient filters create a chip+ type of sound that landed Lifeformed a deal with the creators of Dustforce (Steam), who asked him to score the game. Check out the score here, preorder Dustforce before it is out fully this January. Cheers!

[Lifeformed]

RushJet1

Some of the most underrated chip is undoubtably the body of music composed by RushJet 1. He has redone/remastered Megaman scores BEAUTIFULLY, composed a host of his own original work and even hosts a Youtube channel for a look into his production methods.

Staying out of the spotlight has been RushJet's Modus Operandi for the most part but we hope to talk to him soon about his years watching chip explode. In the meantime, enjoy some of his great music.

[Link to original albums]

[Wicked Basement's favorite song :) ]

[Megaman III Remaster]

Doukutstu Monogatari! I mean, Cave Story.

What can be said about Cave Story that hasn't been said before? In 2004, a freeware game was released after 5 years of production by Studio Pixel (Daisuke Amaya) that would forever raise the bar for the retro indie game scene. Considered a masterpiece amongst gaming aficionados, Cave Story is a completely wonderful, immersive experience that tugs at your heartstrings and gives you that "new gameboy game on Xmas morning" feel. The. Whole. Way. Through.

A genius combination of games like Pokemon (Red and Blue), Zelda II, Contra, Megaman, and a touch of Castlevania, this game will hook you from the start. Filled with cute yet dangerous enemies, puzzle-like maps, and challenging bosses, Cave Story seems to take on that delightful middle ground between a casual everyman game and a Megaman style, "throw the controller across the room because the boss kicked your ass 3 times in a row" game. Luckily, save spots are frequent though, so if you ARE throwing a fit, deep down you know it's because YOU fucked up. This game is extremely fair to the player.

[Both versions of "Quote" the robo-boy]

In the game, you play the character, "Quote"(above), who is a robot boy from the "surface world", flung into an underground cave-like world, filled with rabbits (called Mimigas) and more robots who have been either damaged, powered down, or just kinda depressed. 

Seriously.

[The mighty "Balrog"]

It becomes apparent over time that something called the Demon Crown was used along with hallucinogenic Red Flowers to take over the "above world" years before, that the Mimigas can be transformed into giant beasts with the flowers, and "Quote" has no recollection of this. Players uncover mysteries about Quote's past, make friends with various characters for item upgrades and attempt to stop the current antagonist from acquiring the Demon Crown again, taking over the world, etc. I am being a bit of a reductionist here but the story is actually very dense and interwoven with the NPC's that players meet along the way, good and bad. One of my favorite characters, Balrog (photo above) is that classic "Bad dude before, but has a heart of gold and ends up helping the ol' team o' good guys" character, who provides some fun learning-type boss battles and some comic relief throughout the game. A quick tip: Remember to talk to EVERYONE during your adventure. Certain bosses, stage changes and progressions are really contingent on having dialogue with the locals. Even if it is something as mundane as "Yeah, I'm sick so I can't help you out."

Doukutsu Monogatari, Cave story, Awesome game I cannot put down, whatever you would like to call it has since come out for WiiWare and the 3DS with positive reception. However, the original game itself is STILL free and STILL available with an English Plug in. How kick ass can it get, right? Realizing Wicked Basement is a litttttle bit late on the fandom, we still wanted to throw a review and a download up on the site because this game is WORTH the hate mail we will get for having JUST played it ourselves. This game is like a wonderful dream created by someone who truly understands WHY the golden age of gaming was so golden. The character design, the music, the story, all of it works perfectly together to create a really fun game that ends WAY too soon.

Available for Mac and PC!

[DOWNLOAD HERE//MAKE SURE TO DL ENGLISH PATCH TOO]

[Link to a nice walkthrough for those of you who like to investigate every nook]

I would say play this game YOUR way, then maybe the second time check out a walkthrough. The only time I needed any assistance is for those god damn puppies, which the one I was looking for was literally right in front of me. Enjoy the game!

NULLSLEEP - The King of Chip

If chiptunes was pop music, trying to write an introduction for NULLSLEEP  would be like trying to write an introduction for Michael Jackson. Impossible, everything that could be said about the King of Chip has been, but i'll try. Nullsleep is probably the reason chip carrys any relevance today in circles outside of only the most depraved basement dwelling geek maladroits.  Basically us lol. Anyway, Nullsleep's near endless volumes of auditory accomplishment, Blipfest championing, evolutionary progress cannot be constrained to one tiny blogpost. So i'll trickle it to you guys like a slow drip from an intravenous needle. 

Here is some of his earlier work that got me in the habit. Enjoy!

DIRTY ROM DANCE

BALLISTIC PICNIC

GALAXY TONIGHT

Live Chip-tune band  INFINITY SHRED on The Verge. I wrote about these guys in a previous post

under their now disassembled moniker Starscream. Despite it's name change, the band continues to deliver top shelf goods. I cannot get enough of this galaxy traversing, cosmos unfolding. fractal entity revealing sound. They have managed a kind of digital springboard into an auditory unknown. Enjoy the show.

Awe.Some.

Animated short, "Coin" just kicked my ass.

Not a game. Still unbelievably suhweet.

Cannot fucking wait for this. Super. Time. Force.

Kill mercilessly, plot maniacally, rewind, switch characters, team up, DESTROY.

Super Time Force is (supposedly) coming to Xbox Arcade before the new year and has gotten some serious bumps from reviewers world wide. Keep your eyes peeled.