Well it's been a long while since I posted on here, I won't bore you with the details but to cut a long story short I have been earning money and learning a trade. That's good, right? Self improvement and all that? Yeah big surprise, I still play videogames. I thought I would write something about an indie game that I recently picked up and do my part to help out the little guys. Because you know, all the big industry names will be reading this. Anyway, here are some words about a little title called Castleminer Z.
A couple of friends of mine recently directed my attention to an indie game for the XBox 360 by the name of Castleminer Z. I have no doubt they stumbled across this title whilst scrolling through all the hilariously named indie games that pop up on a weekly basis. With gems such as "Miner Dig Deep" and "Cherry Poke Prison" it is good for a laugh, if nothing else. But as it turns out, this one was actually worth paying attention to. Castleminer is cut from the Minecraft school of "block em' up" gameplay, where the focus is hitting cubes with a pickaxe so that you may place said cubes atop other cubes and live among the cubes and mate with their cube women. Alright, I may have been projecting my dreams of a cuboid wife, but the rest is fairly accurate. I have one major issue with these games. What happens when the creative juices stop flowing? You have grown out of the Lego phase and the blocks are left littering the floor like an ocean of tiny painful landmines. However, Castleminer offers something more and for this reason it is worth the price tag of 80 Microsoft points (which in real person money is between 50p and £).
Yes that's right mining fans, this is where the "Z" part of Castleminer Z comes in. And if you hadn't guessed it already, Z refers to zombies. I know,a mind-blowing revelation. If your interest leans more towards the building aspect of this title this game may not be for you. If this applies to you then firstly I think you should actually have a career in the architectural business making something tangible and not spending hours building virtual structures brick by brick, and secondly you may find Castleminer's building aspect rather lacking. The blocks are less dynamic than let's say Minecraft for example, and you have less choice in building material. That being said, the combat- heavy focus blends very well with the building and mining elements to create a rather unique gaming experience. Fancy recreating the great wall of China and gunning down an endless undead horde with AK47s from the ramparts? Why the hell not, it's Castleminer Z! Basically you have a choice between survival and endurance modes. Survival is your basic do what you feel like mode- build a castle out of mud, pretend you are in Chile and seal your friends in a mine for several months, that sort of thing. Endurance on the other hand is a whole different kettle of sharks. The aim is to get as far away from the starting area as physically possible- all the while fighting off leagues of angry zombies. Endurance mode is really where the game comes into it's own.
Succeeding in endurance mode isn't as simple as walking from one side of the world to the other. Did you learn nothing from The Lord Of The Rings? As you progress, you will traverse new biomes and consequently encounter new terrain variations and obstacles. Unfortunately you will have no time to take in the scenery due to the massive increase in enemies- the further you travel, the more they will spawn. And these aren't shuffling Romero comedy zombies- these are the running, jumping tear your brains out through your colon breed. If that wasn't bad enough a dragon will attempt to melt you into a quivering puddle of blood and urine every time you enter a new area. If you haven't picked up on the theme, basically this mode is incredibly difficult and not for the faint of hearted. Your journey will be beset by woe and misery, 90% of the expedition will be made underground, and you will learn to shun the sunlight like a subterranean mole man. Even death is unforgiving, if you are making the trip alone, you will respawn back at block zero upon death's embrace. If you are with a friend you may spawn on them, of course if they are knee-deep in zombie sinew this isn't exactly a blessing. There is no end to endurance mode as far as I am aware, essentially the world is infinitely generated, however there is a set goal; if you manage the impossible and reach block 4000 by surviving hell on earth and defeat the undead dragon, you will be rewarded with dragon endurance- a new game mode. I would prefer a medal and enough hard cash to secure an early retirement, but at least it's something. My top tip is to make a decent assault rife out of bloodstones and diamonds (yes, that's entirely possible) and bring enough ammunition to topple parliament thrice over, then build an immense bridge into the horizon.
Now of course being an indie title there are a few issues that you will have to overlook. The graphics are not what you would call groundbreaking by any means, but with that in mind I would say the textures aren't half bad considering the notable handicap of lacking significant developer funding. My main qualm lies with the weaponry available in the game. The sights appear to have been aligned by a drunk pirate. They are not exactly accurate to where you are aiming and as a result if you are aiming for a headshot, well you aren't, simply put. And for some reason bullets seem to arc significantly, if you are aiming at a target at range your best bet is to aim about 10 ft above and make like William Tell. Honestly though I should shut up and stop complaining as this is probably the most fun you can have for 50p since they removed the solvent from glue sticks.
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