Last weekend I went to my biggest geeky convention. The MCM London Expo. A magical place where geeks of anime, manga, video games, comics, table top games, cosplay and other hobbies unite! Now it's mostly geared towards anime (Japanese animation for those who really like their home of rocks and sand) which I went for in the first place. But there was also a gaming village with some of the biggest gaming names including Nintendo, Sega, Capcom alongside new and smaller studios. Over this week I shall give my insights into the games that I played there which have either never been seen before or have not yet been released here in the UK.
Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to check out everything due to my anime, japan, comic and cosplay fandom but I did get to play quite a few interesting new games. Before I went to the convention I was most interested in the smaller developers as you can often find things that aren't largely reported and they usually have a more honest approach towards gaming. One stand I was interested in belonged to UK developer, Curve Studios, who were premiering a brand new game that I knew nothing about. Explodemon. All I knew was that it was a brand new game that hadn't been shown before the public eye. Until now.
What's it all about?
Explodemon (pronounced explode-a-mon) is a 2.5D action platforming game made by a small developer called Curve Studios. The story is set in the kingdom of Nibia during an attack from evil alien robotic forces. All of Nibia's guardians are no more except for one, Explodemon. However in the humourous opening cutscene (cutscenes are presented in lovely colourful comic book fashion) the king of Nibia is much happier to admit defeat and surrender to these evil overlords. The reason? Explodemon is apparently "unstable" and there have been incidents in the past involving his powers.
However, Explodemon's resting place of slumber is shattered open, leaving him free to do what he does best: explode these guys into next year and restore Nibia back to it's former glory.
What's Invovled?
Explodemon isn't like other platformers. The main character's power is what you have already guessed. He explodes but doesn't die. But thanks to the folks at Curve Studios, it s far more than just that.
The intruiging thing about Explodemon is that for the powers that explodemon has, a lot comes out of it. Firstly exploding can be used to destroy near-by baddies but with one explosion being used at a time, it means you have to think more carefully about how you battle enemies as they won't die in just one simple hit. Whenever you explode you have to wait a couple of second for a meter to refill so you can do it again!
You can use explosions to battle enemies in different ways. If you run towards and enemy and then explode, you will start to dash at fast speed and bash right through them. This is a great tactic for fighting multiple enemies.
Even then, there are still more possibilities. Often there will be other objects such as boxes that you can send flying straight into the face of an adversary for a satisfying kill.
Even with all this, there is still more depth to the gameplay. On the left is a dual purpose meter from top to bottom which measures how in tune you are into the game play as well as acting as a life gauge. The more enemies you destroy the more the meter will fill, leveling you up temporarily. There are 3 levels and when you reach the top, Explodemon will become more powerful. Keeping this at full and not taking damage is just another thing for skilled players to achieve. There is also a more permanant levelling up system in place too. When collecting inverted triangle shapes, they can be used as currency to purchase more permanant upgrades to keep Explodemon at his exploding best. I would guess that some secrets or sections of levels will be accessible once obtaining certain power-ups.
But the gameplay mechanics don't end there! Explodemon is a platformer with a puzzling side. Explodemon can use his exploding for solving puzzles and interact with the level itself. For example, there maybe hard to reach areas or points where you are blocked off by walls and other obstructions. You can explode through the wall and repel items to go onto switches, go through laser doors or even blow up other items!
The level design is looking great. The levels are not simple A to B routes but feature a variety of secret areas and passages that veer off the path of the level itself. A lot of these secrets will require you to think and search at every step because if you screw with items in the level, you may not be able to access extra areas. These bonus paths also have in store many treasures and collectibles as a reward for finding them too. Completionists will certainly be kept more than busy here. But for those less confident in their skills, there are many tutorial points in the level which you can choose to read should you get stuck.
Explodemon has a great futuristic city look to it all and it harks back to an age when games used to use something called colour, instead of the usual browns and blacks we see too often in games today. The graphics are lovely with a polished and simple flair.
Some seasoned gamers will compare this to Splosion Man, a download game for the Xbox360 released last year. However, any similarities are coincidental. Curve Studios have been working on this game long before Splosion Man even existed! The first version of the game was played by the press long before 'Splosion Man was even announced. Just thought I'd get that out of the way.
Let Us See It!
Here is an official trailer of Explodemon from Curve Studios' youtube channel. I'm particularly fond of the music heard! I've even allowed it room to cover my banners on the right!
Anything Else We Need To Know?
There will be 12 levels in the full game. Now 12 might not sound like a lot but these levels are nice and lengthy trust me. It's good to see because in many games today the levels are over before they've even begun! I must've spent at least 20 minutes playing.
It will be exclusive to Playstion 3's Playstation Network to download. I don't know how much it will cost but I'll be sure to let you know when the time comes. Although having said that, part of the team commented elsewhere it'll "DEFINATELY" be under £10.
There isn't a specific release date yet but it's coming out before the end of the year. That much I do know.
What Do You Reckon Churchy?
Well it's probably obvious from the way I've written this but here goes:
All I knew before going to the MCM Expo was that some smaller developers like Curve Studios were present and that Explodemon was making it's first public appearance at there. I always like to give the smaller developers a try and was intruiged. I was not disappointed.
The controls are done exceptionally well. They are the type of controls that are extremely easy, simple to use. You take to them almost immediately, so the learning process is a doddle. This allows you to sink into the atmosphere of the game instantly and feel in control. My only bit of critical feedback I would give is that I would like to see more walljumping implemented combined with explosions. But seeing as how there is more of the game beyond what I've played, it could very well be there. Either that or I was just a bit rubbish.
Although there was the influence of Megaman in the main hero's character design (I think it looked more like Protoman to be honest), it still seemed nice and fresh. Megaman is a robot designed to do good and is controlled within his own power. Explodemon is an action thirsty guardian who wants to blow up as much as possible and for that reason he is a character who is much more fun!
What was great is that while I sunk into the game I was left with a real fun spirit that I hadn't felt in a long time. Although there is a influence of the old Mega Man games, I was taken back to the days of platforming on the first playstation, when 3D games where hitting the scene. The spirit of Crash Bandicoot, Spyro and Ape Escape was here. Not because the game felt like them in terms of mechanics or style but it was made by people who care and who wanted to create a spirit of fun.
I was kindly greeted by a woman who works at Curve but unfortunately I can't remember her name or her job title, so if you are reading this I am dreadfully sorry. Please tell me who you are and I will edit this straight away! I told you I wasn't professional!
However, she was really nice and we got a picture together on the main display screen.
I think what impressed me the most was the Studio's attitude. Today a lot of big gaming companies are soulless and have lost the reason for their original creation: To create games that are either fun, express a view or do something new that hasn't been done before. Curve studios are passionate about what they do. Although they have mainly just programmed the Buzz titles until now, you can tell that they were just making their way up the ladder. Watch Curve Studios, download Explodemon the second it comes out and support them. They more than deserve it.
Explodemon was easy and interesting to play but more importantly it is a hell of a lot of fun.
To get more info on Curve Studios go to their website:
www.curve-studios.com
follow them on twitter:
http://twitter.com/curvestudios
on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Curve-Studios/364770057937
or send them an email:
hello@curve-studios.com
Oh and for today's piece of gaming music. It is from the underrated action game WET!
A highly underrated game with a grimy rock n roll soundtrack!
Happy gaming guys and girls!
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Feel free to drop me comments on what you see also feel free to ask me general gaming questions. The more inventive the better!