Author Archives: St. Elmo's Fire

The Reconstruction Part 1 (Guest Review)

  12/02/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      3 Comments

The Reconstruction is an RPG made in RPG Maker XP. When it was released in 2009, I absolutely adored it. It is still probably among my favorite games of all time, and is definitely one of the best RPG Maker games I have ever seen. It has since spawned both a prequel and a sequel, both similarly excellent in my opinion.

It’s not without its flaws, though, and I think it would be a pertinent exercise to look back and see how well the nostalgia holds up. This won’t be a single-post review, but a long series spanning the entire game, much like Farla’s reviews of the Pokemon games. Unfortunately, since I’ve already played it, I can’t do a running commentary. I can’t exactly do a retrospective nostalgia trip either, since I doubt most of the readers are familiar with the material, in which case I think spoiler-free is the best policy. As such, my own comments will probably be limited, but we’ll see how things go.

(Post-Completion Addendum: I was really bad at following through with this, and this will probably make no sense if you haven’t played the game yourself. I would advise reading my review of the prequel first if you’re skimming, as that one is more self-contained.)

Also: It is freeware, and can be downloaded here if you’d like to follow along. (more…)

   1. The Reconstruction, Reconstruction Series, RPGmaker, Video Games      , ,

Telepath RPG: Servants of God – Guest review

  07/27/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      Add Comment

Last time, I looked at the first entry into the Telepath RPG series. This is the next game in the series, Servants of God. It’s clear that this is where the developer started seriously pursuing game design as a career. It’s bigger, more professional-looking, and it has a price tag.

I remember being so hyped about this game when it first came out, and it is certainly a solid piece of work, but it’s not without its flaws. I think it definitely shows the lessons the developer learned from his earlier games and is an overall improvement, but it’s actually remarkably different from the first Telepath RPG in a number of ways.
(more…)

   RPGs, Telepath Series, Video Games      , , ,

Telepath RPG – Guest review

  07/20/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      Comments Closed

The Telepath RPG series is comprised of story-heavy western-style RPGs with tactics-based battle systems. There are currently three games in the series (though two of them can really be counted as part of the same game), as well as two spin-off games focused on gameplay over plot. Another entry to the main series is currently in development, as well. This review will focus on Telepath RPG Chapter 1 & Chapter 2, the first two games in the series.

(more…)

   RPGs, Telepath Series, Video Games      , ,

The Void – Guest review

  06/22/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      2 Comments

The Void, also known as Tension or Turgor, is an adventure…horror…survival…thing made by Ice-Pick Lodge, the same people who made Pathologic, which you’ve probably never played either. Unfortunately, though it improves on almost all of Pathologic’s faults, I do not have nearly as high of an opinion of it. (Also, naked women herein.)

To start with: the presentation of this game is gorgeous.

photo 509863_turgor_golos_cveta-4.jpg

(more…)

   Adventure, Horror, Video Games      , ,

Defender’s Quest – Guest review

  05/30/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      1 Comment

The simply-named Defender’s Quest is a tower defense game with RPG elements. Your “towers” are party members that level up and can get upgraded equipment and all the standard RPG stuff. Typical for the RPG genre, there is also a strong story element, even moreso than in Immortal Defense. Before and after every battle, you’re treated to an extensive cutscene where multiple characters interact.
Unfortunately, however, though the early game is excellent, the whole experience falls apart around the halfway mark and never really gets better.
(more…)

   RPGs, Video Games      , ,

Immortal Defense – Guest review

  05/28/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      3 Comments

Immortal Defense is a tower defense game. Normally those don’t hold my interest for very long, but for some reason I ended up finding this one fairly engaging. One reason is probably because it has a plot, but it also used some interesting an innovative gameplay mechanics that I believe alleviated some of my misgivings about the genre.
(more…)

   Video Games      , ,

The Spirit Engine II – Guest review

  05/04/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      Add Comment

The Spirit Engine II is an interesting game. The title itself is a bit of a misnomer. It actually has nothing at all to do with the original Spirit Engine game – I guess the developer couldn’t think of any new title, so he just used the name brand of his previous game, a la Final Fantasy? I haven’t played the original game, though, so I have no idea how it compares and will only be discussing this one.

(more…)

   RPGs, Video Games      , ,

Logical Journey of the Zoombinis – Guest review

  04/06/2013       St. Elmo's Fire      5 Comments

photo logicaljourney_zps12f7c243.jpg
I remember Zoombinis from when I was younger. My sister and I would play it obsessively. I don’t think we ever finished it, though. Revisiting it now feels somewhat strange – I don’t really remember enough for it to be nostalgic, but it’s interesting to try and see what entertained me as a child (and by extension, most children – Zoombinis was pretty popular) from an older perspective.

(more…)

   Point-and-Click, Video Games      , ,