Monday, September 9, 2013

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.


 on the main page




No comments:

Post a Comment