Magicka

[Miyamoto]

Magicka is an action / adventure PC where you play a wizard in a fantasy world of Norse mythology. Your quest is to capture the evil wizard who has turned the world into turmoil. The title features 15 levels, up to 4 player cooperative mode where you can team up with friends, the ability to cast spells and test your skills as a magician in several modes of play. In Magicka , the player is a nameless magician whose goal is simply to save the world. It's your magic teacher, the mysterious Vlad, who teaches you and sends you to pipe breaks to save the King and prevent the waves of orcs to the kingdom with fire and blood. The scenario Magicka (and the entire game for that matter) does not clearly takes seriously. Between Vlad, prof with long teeth, the repeated references to hack and slash of the Past (Diablo head), sticks of ice found in the refrigerators, the M-16 offered by villagers saved (and made with a trombone and a rifle) or references to Star Wars, Highlander, King Quest, etc. Magicka accumulates dozens and dozens of winks throughout his campaign, to the delight of the players a little grown .

Magicka is a hack and slash of a kind somewhat unusual. Here, there is no question of level or experience, mana gauge and inventory is reduced to its bare minimum: a weapon and a stick of magician. However, our hero has 8 different elements (water, life, shield, cold, lightning, arcane, fire and earth) that can combine as it sees fit to create offensive or defensive spells. These 8 items are each associated with a button (A for water, Z for life, etc..) And it is possible to combine up to 5 items at once. For example, pressing Pierre, Fire, Lightning and then the button to invoke spell, you swing a huge fireball jumping on your enemies. Where it gets interesting is that by combining water with the cold, you get ice, or fire with water vapor. And from there, the player is completely free to create powerful spells depending on which enemies are in front of him. If this system of keys is not always easy to grasp during the first minutes, spent the first two levels, one quickly comes to rely on the specific items desired. A way as to properly restrain her other keystrokes.

Magicka is basically an action game in which the main character is very classically, thwart an evil plot along different levels of play and confronting numerous enemies by nature more or (mostly) less human. What makes this particularly interesting is certainly independent production cut heavily ironic that the developers have wanted to give to all: our main contact, for example, is called Vlad, perjured but it was unable to be a vampire ... although even physically, a shameless copy of the famous Count.

Gameplot

The story begins amidst a great crisis, and an urgent quest falls to you, Wizards of the Order of Magick. It would seem that the capital city of Hávindr is under seige! So alas, you must leave your comfortable castle filled with delicious hot dogs and fancy cheeses, and hurry to the aid of the King. In your travels you will fight your way through 13 levels, each more fiendish than the last. You shall draw upon the aid of magickal spells, freely combined from the eight elements. As you progress, you will learn the delicate art of annihilating your enemies with the awesome powers of ancient Magicks. As if that’s not enough, you can also test your skills in the various challenge modes, and duel your friends (or enemies) in player vs player battle mode.
The journey has just begun and I control my cute magician through a small forest section. Suddenly I see in a village a golden exclamation mark flashes.

Tormented by my scientific curiosity, I rush immediately to the person in need and give her my full attention. In its instructions I defend the sparsely distributed homes against a gang of goblins. The job is done, and still collects the reward prepared me flashing the punctuation remains opposed. Irritated, I click again on the lady got the following response: "Thanks for your help. I'm still very concerned about the huge question mark over my head Shortly ploppt a success, which description makes me almost fall off his chair:" Much RPG - done all the side missions?.

Who genre clichés and the linearity of his own product as well take the mickey, deserve my respect. That is why it surprises me even more that the rest of the humor in Magicka should be so shallow. I am pleased indeed about funny allusions and refrain from doing so does not smile, when I go to a sign saying "Here is the castle of!" Reading. But going after the tenth Monty Python quote actually a slow on my nerves. Even to repeat the same joke every ten minutes is not a successful approach. I once to bind to the nose, the mandatory villain, Vlad is definitely not a vampire, goes. Any further mention only leads to foreign ashamed.

[Miyamoto]

Chapters

Before I get too into the topic bite, back to the actual game. In Magicka a magician controls by 22 linear chapters. The path always A to B without large detours. Here and there, hiding in a diversion while a lost object, however, they are not worth mentioning. Basically it's just a matter of surviving and destroyed all life in front of the goal for which most waits a nastier Obermotz.

For this purpose you are a magician of course, a variety of spells available. The crux lies in the execution. Mana does not exist in the game. Alone in dealing with the pace of your keyboard appointed your award rate. At the bottom of the screen you see the eight elements that you can combine hundreds of spells and a key is assigned. Maximum of five of them can be connected to a formula. Except for the most essential information in the tutorial, you will get no help. Each spell can be used from the start. You just have to find him, which usually depends on pure luck, as the strength of the attacks seems purely arbitrary.

And this is precisely where the ore buried. Magicka causes through this system, two extremes. Either you discover only weak spell and throw in the third chapter in the towel or you use the most powerful attacks and destroys any army in a few seconds. Perhaps it may sound to you at first exaggerated, but just as I felt my game experience. Just have my fingers used to the control and I can select items, without constantly squinting down, as the hordes overrun me and I sometimes several minutes of playing time lost because the checkpoints are so far apart. That it’s a full chapter must end before your game is saved, is of benefit not just of frustration. The campaign takes about eight hours, combinations of spells and a chance to play in a cooperative, easy to extend the life of Magicka, which is then completed by obvious problems in development.

Game Mode

Adventure : The adventure mode allows up to four players to explore the world of Midgard, and save it from destruction. The game is saved automatically whenever a level is completed. Depending on their successes in the previous level, the Wizards may find shortcuts and hidden paths, new ways through the adventure, which may take them far behind enemy lines.
Challenge : In the challenge mode you and up to 3 "friends" must survive wave after wave of enemies coming at you on a variety of maps. Easy to get into, but hard to master. Do you have what it takes to make it through all the waves?

Versus : In the versus mode you get to show your so called friends who actually is the fastest wizard in the old we...we mean Midgard. Use defensive and offensive spells to the best of your ability and be the last wizard standing.

Combat

Charged to the frequent one-hit kills and my decision to consult the Internet seems a little absurd. With the right spells stored in the back of the head, I venture again into the fight and fly without problems until the end. Unfortunately, without any challenge. Of course you can force you to ban these spells, but this inevitably leads to frustration.

Sounds pretty negative and I will not lie to you. I had to write because of these problems with no real fun Magicka and this sentence, I'm already hurt. After all, I see the work that went into the project and realize what the developers wanted to achieve that. But this Game Breaker to prevent the big breakthrough. In multiplayer, which you can play with up to three friends it looks a little better. Even here you are indeed much too strong for a short round and then I tear the monster crowds in the team, however you. The lack of variety and rare scattered puzzle hold the experience back anyway, so inevitable lengthy meetings.

Try different combination, it is very funny, because in most cases you can also do harm to yourself. Also, spells are context sensitive, so there will be a good idea to run a spell of fire water. Thanks to this particularity, Magicka allows the player to experience something new, eliminating in most cases a flat and monotonous gameplay. In a cooperative, then, spells are even more fun. In fact, you can create spells that area to emphasize the cooperative and fun to find the best solution (or more fun) to eliminate an enemy or boss.

[Miyamoto]

Graphics

You play a magician who had no name, as usual, has the goal of saving the world. The graphic style is cartoon, access and the colors are very intense. Explore areas that make almost a cartoon. The same goes for the characters (wizards), represented in the most common, with their robes and pointed hats covering their faces. The voices are very funny and reminiscent of old cartoons and the music is particularly adapted to each situation.
If it sounds too bland, well, it is. The peculiarity of Magicka is definitely his irony. The characters often turn to a player, making fun of him and his exploration. There are always references to how this is only a game. Does not take itself too seriously and is probably the first time this has happened, for an RPG.

Multiplayer

Magicka is a game where experimentation is important. In the early hours of game we just simply swing simple combinations and destructive, without much thought to how best to kill the trolls, orcs, goblins and other undead who stand in our way. And then, advancing in the single player campaign, we find ourselves faced with complicated situations where one is forced to innovate. For example, in level 3, players will encounter enemy mages that will send lots of rain, wetting your character. And as you well know, lightning and water do not mix very well together. It is therefore impossible to invoke the element of lightning without losing a life. We must therefore consider another way of attacking enemies, using some items that almost never tested. So I had to repeat three times before discovering how to swing a nova ice to freeze the enemies, then reflect for a few minutes to throw a fireball with a powerful area of effect large enough to do the most damage possible.

The best thing about this is that you can play up to four players online or LAN. On paper, the idea is simply excellent. Imagine four magicians invoking different elements to defeat enemies. This casts spells of water, while the other takes care of those wet blast, while the third sets traps of fire that will trigger the passage of the survivors while the latter is currently launching lots of life. Tempting is not it? To be honest, I've tested a single time this kind of game. One short time because of my dozens and dozens of attempts to join a multiplayer game, either with friends or total strangers, I had always crashes, shots lag so huge (there no dedicated servers) that the game became unplayable when the game simply would not return to Windows without any trial or error messages. But when we manage to join a game that works, Magicka is undeniably one of the most fun experiences of the year.

Magicka was released some time ago, has already been entitled to five patches, but still lacks a lot of finish. If the single player still has some minor bugs, there are still bits of text missing, untimely crashes, bugs and crashes other annoying little things like that. It's a shame. The single player mode is nice, certainly, but the whole point of Magicka is in the multiplayer mode. Unless a local play that, currently, it is difficult to advise the game

Upgrades

Magicka is great fun, but problems are beginning to be felt from the start. The game has many bugs in terms of gameplay. For example, some of the magical sometimes seem to not work and are often also the crash continues. As for the multiplayer component, should not be better. It seems impossible to maintain a stable connection, and also since there is no way to eliminate friendly fire, it is easy to meet nice people who think to continually attack you, instead of enemies.

The battles are often very chaotic and the small energy bar is obscured too often by too many mobs you will have to face. Also happens that the enemies away, run away off screen, but continued to attack with ranged weapons. The boss, more often will easily get stuck at an angle and pitch without any problem. To make things more unnerving you put an auto-save not really intelligent. E 'based on the checkpoint, and generally are too far away from where you will die. There are battles really challenging at times and if you turn off the game for a break, you must restart the level from the beginning.

Conclusion

That is ultimately the biggest highlight of Magicka . This is not your avatar gains experience, but you, the player, who learn as and progresses in the countryside to serve you in a more clever items that are available. Not a hack and slash gameplay was proposed as innovative. Added to this last element of gameplay: you can collect spell books containing formulas. Resurrecting an ally, swinging a meteor shower, slow down time and even invoke the dead to kill in one hit are some spells that can be found in these places often are well hidden. A word on the graphics by the way, they are cute and colorful 2D. Spells are beautiful and it is recognized immediately when the items mixed concoctions out of our club magician. The only drawback is sometimes the camera too close when there are many enemies, so that one cannot find her character. A detail.

Magicka is a great hack and slash, innovative, beautiful and full of humor. It's a huge treat straight from Sweden, and surprisingly tasty, once you have tasted solo. But when one wants to devour the entire cake by trying the multiplayer mode is the bitterness that comes in the mouth. This multiplayer mode is so buggy and so lacking in finish that it becomes frustrating to the point that you wonder how the developers have done to ruin the best part of their game then easily add three more points to note if developers are able to solve these problems in the coming days. Otherwise, it is just playing nice, very innovative, but no more.