A VALLEY WITHOUT WIND 2

When we last left A Valley without Wind well, there wasn't wind. What there was a strange mash up of about fifteen different game ideas, from really granular resource-management to magic-casting action to RPG-style character equipment to    let's be honest, Metric. It was a very strange, strange bird. But for the most part, it worked. Now we find ourselves with Valley 2: Electric Boogaloo, which gives the mix a few more whips and a few more genres, too. Remember how there were survivors and settlements in the original version? Well, now, they're all on the world map, where they have to be shuffled around and directed in turn-based strategy format. That's right, they've taken the batter that is Valley 2and folded in a heaping' helping' of Civilization. It makes for a richer, flakier crust, and better video game! Alton Brown was right.

So in the year after the world went boom, the dark forces responsible for all that nonsense are recruiting, and passing out dark crystals granting immortality to those deemed to be particularly useful pawns. Unfortunately for Mr. Dark Satan Evil hooves, though, your character (chosen from a generated lineup at the outset of the game) is in fact a covert operative of a resistance movement, who now has their champion in the fight against the monsters. But this time, you can't do it alone; no, you also have to martial the remaining survivors to build new structures, gather food and scrap materials, defend said structures from the waves of enemies coming from the big evil tower in the middle of the area, or search out and recruit new allies. One "turn," in the Civilization sense, includes issuing orders to your units and/or moving them around, then taking your hero out into the field to claim some new territory from the darkness.

Each square unit of the over world map plays outgas a side-scrolling action plat former, culminating in the destruction of an evil    storm generator? Evil dude's making it rain and that's it? Oh well, at least the actions pretty awesome. Your hero chooses from one of five disciplines at the outset, which determine which suite of attacks you'll be using. I chose the water-bending style and got a ground-travelling projectile, a weaker straight projectile, a high-powered bouncing attack, and a bunch of floating orbs that actually cost spell ammunition, so nuts to that. The extensive equipment system of the last outing is now compacted into a single piece that lasts until it breaks or you die.

My favorite piece of gear gave me triple-attacks the entire time I wore it, turning me into lean, mean, water-slinging machine. The animations are still a bit choppy and stiff despite being a sound improvement over the last outing, but the soundtrack more than makes up for it. But the most important change is in the writing; an advisor now guides you through the early game, rather than leaving it to a series of tombstones. Between thousand the refined mechanics, the whole experience feels much more approachable, which is welcome considering - don't know if you've noticed - THIS IS A MASHUP OF METROID AND CIVILIZATION. And it works better.  

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Playing MALICIOUS Are Worth Spending Time

Have you ever played Demon's or Dark Souls and thought to yourself "This could use anatine aesthetic, be more over the top, and somehow only be slightly easier?" If so, you have a strange thought process, but you're also incredibly specific and lucky because you described Malicious. Malicious is a fast-paced, stylish, fun, and difficult action game with an intense focus on boss battles. In all of that, it resembles the previously mentioned Souls games, but with worthwhile differences.

Sure, the back-story presented in unnecessarily long text form, something about a corrupted queen and her subjects, slightly reminds one of the fallen hero bosses of Demon's Souls. Sure, a lot of the enemy designs call back to some of the foes of both of the Souls games. And yes, there’s an intense focus on, well, intense bosses. But Malicious is different enough to warrant the comparisons yet stand on its own as an interesting concept implemented well. It's just too bad that the game is way too short for the asking price.

Where the Souls games present an incredibly challenging lead-up to the marketed boss battles, Malicious throws you right into the all-important major confrontations. As the "Spirit Vessel”, you are in possession of the Mantle of Cinders, which can take different forms in order to combat different situations. At the onset, the Mantle of Cinders can only shoot fast-paced yet weak energy bullets and form massive fists, but as you defeat bosses in any order you choose, you unlock new forms and combos. Oh, so I guess there's a little Mega Man in thereto.


In combat, the game places an emphasis on “aura", which can be gained from defeating the constantly spawning minions that support their typically massive master. With that aura, the Spirit Vessel can power up its attacks, or repair its body. You see, the Spirit Vessel, as human as it looks, is this weird puppet-like creation that consists of leather slings and body parts. Body parts that disintegrate as damage is taken. What's left is this awesome visual damage indicator cue, as the slings are left fluttering in the wind with nothing to hold.



Essentially, you have five portions of health, and it of course takes more auras to heal as more damage is taken. So the balance of defeating the relatively inconsequential enemies, powering up attacks at crucial moments, and maintaining health is delicate, and it's really a smart mechanic. That balance, as well as the float and high-flying nature of the Spirit Vessel, definitely set Malicious apart, but its aesthetic does its part as well. Enemy design isn't inherently all that impressive, with a few exceptions, but the brightly colored environments in which they can be found steal the show.


The game is really just gorgeous, and there's an almost indescribable charm and decadent beauty to the enemies and their locales. But I guess it's a "style over substance" situation, because the game's length and corresponding price leave a bit to be desired. In this case, both the game play and presentation are stylish, and the amount of content is the substance, because the game can be completed in a couple of hours. The only silver lining, if you can call it that, is the extreme difficulty of some of the bosses, which may set the optimal schedule back abet. But in any event, Malicious, as derivative and similar as it may seem, paints itself and its game play in a different enough light. It's really just up to you if it's worth it.


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