This is currently a featured map and well-deserves it.
So few maps are really about gameplay. Dota maps are about showing off abilities and effects through an established form, Unit war maps are about narrowing the standard melee game, and TD maps are about unit composition ratios and often garden design. Level Up Bound has taken a simple idea, little more complicated than Frogger, and made a cerebral and challenging 25-stage puzzler.
Despite having to make a frantic dash through explosions, this is not a click fest nor a test of reactions. To succeed, the player needs to identify the explosive patterns and determine the proper path. As a playthrough makes obvious, this is not for the easily frustrated. Despite being so simple, the game has kept this reviewer entertained over at least 7 games, and it's not just because of the difficulty.
The terrain(tiles) are very clean and do not distract from the game. Their appearance (though not custom) is reminiscent of a lot of 'hidden temple' shareware games which fits perfectly with both the mysterious and exigent music and the map's genre. The explosions, too, are of an appropriate size and style that they give the game a clean and professional look: there's no cluttering of the screen nor distraction from the game.
The game just seems planned and honed even now, in its first release (afaik), with very few flaws. This is not a Final Fantasy Epic. This is not a modified melee game. This is the Starcraft toolset being used to make an entertaining puzzler.
9/10
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This is currently a featured map and well-deserves it.
So few maps are really about gameplay. Dota maps are about showing off abilities and effects through an established form, Unit war maps are about narrowing the standard melee game, and TD maps are about unit composition ratios and often garden design. Level Up Bound has taken a simple idea, little more complicated than Frogger, and made a cerebral and challenging 25-stage puzzler.
Despite having to make a frantic dash through explosions, this is not a click fest nor a test of reactions. To succeed, the player needs to identify the explosive patterns and determine the proper path. As a playthrough makes obvious, this is not for the easily frustrated. Despite being so simple, the game has kept this reviewer entertained over at least 7 games, and it's not just because of the difficulty.
The terrain(tiles) are very clean and do not distract from the game. Their appearance (though not custom) is reminiscent of a lot of 'hidden temple' shareware games which fits perfectly with both the mysterious and exigent music and the map's genre. The explosions, too, are of an appropriate size and style that they give the game a clean and professional look: there's no cluttering of the screen nor distraction from the game.
The game just seems planned and honed even now, in its first release (afaik), with very few flaws. This is not a Final Fantasy Epic. This is not a modified melee game. This is the Starcraft toolset being used to make an entertaining puzzler.
9/10