How many times have warned visionaries of all stripes: you see a spaceship, is not filed evidence of life - flew its tenth gipertrassoy. But the conquerors of interstellar space continually ignored basic safety precautions while on their heads dashing bunch of trouble.
From the study of the mysterious space ship start event action-RPG entitled Greed: Black Border on a modest Austrian studio ClockStone Software. Just over two years ago she presented to our Court of fantasy role-playing game Avencast: Rise of the Mage. Stars from the sky, it was not enough, and, speaking of honor, was just another variation on the theme of Diablo, but tailored so right that left a very positive impression. Agree to an independent team, starts its way in the industry with a hunting simulator, achieving serious. Therefore, we might have hoped for a new project ClockStone, designed in the spirit of science fiction, does not hit the dirt face. Unfortunately, these expectations were not fulfilled.
 | |  | Any unwanted item you can instantly destroy it. Formed a useless pile of junk for us to be happy acquire at market prices only local huckster. | | Even opponents, equipped with firearms, prefer melee combat, and will chase you until they die under a hurricane of bullets. Therefore, the ability of the hero with dashing Flip-flop to evade the enemy shots virtually no demand. |
Frankly speaking, role-playing games Greed: Black Border can be attributed only to a very big stretch. Once our protagonist in the first scene, planted on an abandoned cargo ship, the security system is crazy, and the crew has turned into mutants, the story falls into a state of clinical death, only occasionally moving plot. We, like, we should find out what happened on the ill-fated spaceship, but it will result in the destruction of the banal anything that moves. Although noticeable that some work was carried out on the script: for example, from time to time come across references to the history of Earth's colonies, and their uneasy relationship, but directly to the gameplay is not reflected. Quests? Remember a word, if you decide to play the Greed - here reigns stern action, as is required of us only get from point A to point B, leaving behind only piles of corpses of alien scum and melted remains of the enemy robots.
Role-playing system is woefully primitive: at our disposal three basic parameters and the same number of branches abilities. Yes, you laugh, gentlemen developers? In other modern slasher character development and it is more complicated.
Situation is no better with the inventory: the hero can wear a helmet and armor, and the types of weapons tightly tied to character classes. True, in any of the items worn, you can insert an additional element that increases some of the parameters of our ward, but this customization in Greed and limited.
 | |  | Example of a simple puzzle: Remember a couple of seconds right route and go for it. Two or three false step will lead to a hero's death. | | Each chapter ends with a battle with a giant boss. |
Like a redeeming flaws role component Greed, action in the game initially produces the most enjoyable, not least because of the rare opportunities for the genre to war in the fantastic scenery. However, over time the entourage get tired, and as usual, seemingly control method revealed a serious flaw. As in most RPG with an emphasis hack'n'slash, for moving the character's base attack and meets the left mouse button - but in the case of Greed standard solution is not benefited. Our characters are armed with long range weapons and keep the distance between the crowds of enemies and the protagonist is often vital. But it is necessary to click past the enemy, and our zvezdonavt, instead of watering the adversary fire with enthusiasm suicide leap in frontal attack.
Another nail in the coffin of Greed inject level designers. Sometimes can not believe that any of the game in general worked. In the first few hours it seems that the game consists entirely of gray, poorly lit rooms and corridors, which differ from one another no more than two drops of water. The huge length boring levels and soundtrack add to a sense of downright cosmic yearning. Subsequently, the action is transferred from the ship ... No, not at the ball, but on the surface of an unknown planet, but even there there is the same: ugly desert landscapes can serve as a visual aid of how not to do levels in modern games.
Equally poor, as a set of locations, and local bestiary in which combat robots coexist with zombies and giant insects. Throughout the game, we'll meet again and again with the same mutants and robots, which at its very beginning - just the strength and vitality of the monsters will increase proportionally to the level of hero. But even in the leveling action-RPG is not valuable in itself - it is important not just to see that the character becomes stronger, but is constantly faced with new challenges. But Greed virtually poses interesting problems.
From the endless destruction of crowds repetitive enemies from time to time are diverted to the puzzle solving and arcade passage of the traps. And if the first on the right of any pre-schooler, the latter are so complex, as if created, based on unbridled munchkins. Already very difficult to overcome the desire to remove Greed and forget about this game as a nightmare, after a dozen-other unsuccessful attempts to break through the barrier of the protective rays or instantly kills the hero's gear. The more so for them we will have all the same dull monotony.
 | If there is no difference ... |
The choice of the player characters are three classes available - a powerful attack, Space Marine and a fragile-looking girl-scientist. Each of them can use only one type of weapon, change that to something else is impossible in principle. Attack aircraft are operating a flamethrower, and therefore forced to constantly be chosen closer to the enemy. Paratrooper everywhere carries around a huge gun, and graduate student prefers to stay away from enemies as far as possible and kill them with a safe distance from the light plasma rifle. Of course, different and special abilities trio, but the gameplay depending on the character selection is almost unchanged - in fact, the classes vary much less than it is in the action-RPG.
Curiously, all the characters complicated biography. Each of them before he served in a special unit of the colonial army but deserted when it was necessary to perform a task that is incompatible with high moral principles of the hero. I only wish during the game in their history have not received further development.
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