Spelunky Review
- Thread starter The Wooster
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How does it fare against the PC version if you completely disregard graphics?
Also a year or two ago I heard of a multiplayer mod being worked on but far from finished for the PC one, hows that doing. If you hit each other like in New Super Mario Brothers Wii I can see some friends seriously falling out over this!
If this ever makes it's way to PC in a Cave Story+ fashion I'll be buying it whether or not it's better than the other just because I feel it deserves money.
Also a year or two ago I heard of a multiplayer mod being worked on but far from finished for the PC one, hows that doing. If you hit each other like in New Super Mario Brothers Wii I can see some friends seriously falling out over this!
That's another reason I love this, in the same way I love Brogue. (I class Spelunky as a 2d platformer roguelike, find it the easiest way to explain it) It's difficulty isn't from class builds or anything pre game.Article said:
If this ever makes it's way to PC in a Cave Story+ fashion I'll be buying it whether or not it's better than the other just because I feel it deserves money.
I talked about the PC version in my original draft, but it was kinda' outside the scope of this review. It's pretty much the same game, though the big chunky graphics make the XBLA version feel smoother and perhaps a bit easier (everything seems comparatively larger, ledges included). Tunnel Man's requires multiple visits to unlock areas, and he asks for bombs, ropes then money respectively.DazZ. said:
It's totally worth what he's charging for it.
Not a flash game, but a free downloadable PC game. Here's the link, if you or anyone else wants to give it a go: http://spelunkyworld.com/original.htmlMadmanonfire said:
OT: I'm glad to see it hasn't lost anything in the transition to consoles, but on the other hand I'm not sure enough has been added to justify the asking price. If the multiplayer isn't particularly successful, what exactly would I be paying 1200 microsoft points for? As far as I can tell the main answer is the marginally improved graphics, and that isn't really enough to justify it to me.
The way I look at it: How much did you pay for the PC version? How much do you think Derek Yu deserves for his work?Lunncal said:
It's a nice idea, but if I was planning on giving away money simply out of charity I'd send it somewhere it could do more good. As much as his work is indeed deserving of money, there's plenty of others out there who deserve and need it far more he does.Grey Carter said:
Huh, well I thought it was fairly obvious that I was joking. If i was making fun of anyone it was how the community acted to the DA:2 review. But I guess sarcasm is hard to tell in text. All the same I apologize if any staff member was offended.
It's not charity, it's the same business model that drives most web-content. He's selling an upgraded version of something you can get for free, in the same way webcomic creators sell print editions of webcomics, or television show producers sell DVD boxsets. Supporting the artist, and thus supporting his future work, is part of the value of the product for some.Lunncal said:
I haven't played the XBLA version myself due to the lack of a XBox, but I have seen it streamed.DazZ. said:
The XBLA version has a decent number of extra enemies spread throughout the game, a few more items, and an extra sub-area (an alien mothership in the caves.) It also has a hell level sequence with a new final boss for those who can manage to get there (which is very, very hard to do - you need to get to the City of Gold, if you're familiar with it from the original game).
Ignoring the graphics and the multiplayer, the new content's somewhere between the amount added by the average DLC item and an expansion pack.
It does have a few additions as I mentioned here. The other thing is to reiterate Gray Carter's point that this is how a great deal of web content becomes possible to keep working on. It's not just about getting extra content for your money, it's also about getting an opportunity to demonstrate whether or not you think his work on the version he gave out for free was worthwhile. If people aren't willing to consider that when they decide to purchase paid versions, then suddenly the whole model of giving out significant portions of the game for free becomes a lot less viable.Lunncal said:
There's a number of advantages with the model that I personally quite like. Being able to start building a fanbase and getting playtesting information are great from the developers' side, and the players are also getting an almost complete game for free that they can decide is worth supporting. But it won't work without people considering the impact of their own purchases. So, it's something I'd encourage others to do if they did enjoy the original version.
Be aware that the success of the game will affect whether or not developers will mimic that model. Since it lets an indie developer refine a poor game into an excellent one better than any other model I'm aware of, I quite like it and hope to see more games follow its example. If you don't like the model or the game, that's fine - you don't need to support it. Just be aware of the ramifications of your actions.
Reminds me of an old NES game called Spelunker. Which was somehow MORE EVIL.
http://www.screwattack.com/shows/originals/video-game-vault/video-game-vault-spelunker
http://www.screwattack.com/shows/originals/video-game-vault/video-game-vault-spelunker
You're right in saying that he's selling an upgrade, but I was originally asking why I would want to spend 1200 Microsoft points on such a minimal upgrade. Unlike DVD boxsets there's no extra convenience here, and the bonuses compared to the free version seem to be either unsuccessful (the multi-player) or unimportant (the minor graphical improvement).Grey Carter said:
The reason you seem to be suggesting is simply that he deserves the money, or that I should want to support him, rather than any real personal gain. That is charity, and while I don't dispute that giving charity is a good thing, I can't really condone giving it to a wealthy American game developer.
Having said that though, apparently the Xbox Live Arcade version does actually include extra enemies, items and areas, so I probably will pick it up when I have more money to spare, or when it gets a little bit cheaper.
-Edit-
Most of what I said above applies to your updated comment too. I simply don't have the money to spare for some vague notion of supporting a particular kind of business model, and frankly I'd consider it wasteful to do so even if I did. If this business model doesn't give enough incentive to people to pay money then it is a poor business model, and is unlikely to succeed even if people do happen to like it. Luckily that doesn't seem to be the case here, as you've pointed out the upgrade adds more actual content than I first thought. I'll happily pay money for that, not out of charity but in exchange for a tangible product. When I want to support a good cause, I send my money where it can be far more beneficial, and I'd recommend others do the same.Kilo24 said:
The co-op might not be great, but the competitive deathmatch is awesome with some friends, or even just the bots. It's like Super Smash Bros but even more hectic and silly, and it kept me and my buddies amused between taking turns at the single player. If you can spare the fifteen dollars, the deathmatch mode is worth it.
As a hardcore fan of the original I would like to elaborate on what you are buying here.
Basically 2 years and 8 months worth of polish to and already excellent game. This apart from a Graphics update, includes 3 new special levels, each with there own unique item award, one completely new world, new "feelings" for all worlds. New monsters, traps and items. Overall iteration of item balance, monsters and level generation.
it's way more of the same
Basically 2 years and 8 months worth of polish to and already excellent game. This apart from a Graphics update, includes 3 new special levels, each with there own unique item award, one completely new world, new "feelings" for all worlds. New monsters, traps and items. Overall iteration of item balance, monsters and level generation.
it's way more of the same
I think the co-op is absolutely amazing, you can get up to some really clever stuff. Unfortunately the game just isn't balanced around co-op. If there were a separate, more forgiving, co-op mode it'd work really well.Glass Joe the Champ said:
There's a very good reason for that: Spelunky was (largely) inspired by Spelunker. It's kind of a "What if Spelunker had a baby with Nethack?" situation.saintdane05 said:
OT: Huh. I didn't even know there was a paid version in the works. I clicked on the link thinking "why is Grey Carter reviewing a game this old?" Now I'm hoping it gets an eventual PC release.
Glad to see this game getting love, it deserves it. A few people on youtube are picking it up and making Spelunky content too (like Northernlion who is known for playing a lot of the roguelike Binding of Isaac), which I really like to see because we need a lot more of good quality roguelikes and challenging platformers getting popular and more being made.
I've tried the original PC version but I really like the look of the new one, I've heard news of the newer one coming to PC I think, would be awesome if they made it happen soon.
I've tried the original PC version but I really like the look of the new one, I've heard news of the newer one coming to PC I think, would be awesome if they made it happen soon.
