A new sound clip is available! I have made a great tribute to the one, the only Blackout (see the links at the right, click on the strange man with the hat), as well as to Blackoutsploitation movies!

Bring the funk!

Cheeze Challenges: Part 4 of 4
Dracula: Resurrection and Dracula: The Last Sanctuary

I actually don't have much to say about these two games since they're the least compatible with Windows XP SP2 (which I currently have). Half of the keys in the first in the series, Resurrection, do not work when you press them, and the second is pretty much fine, but it's just like picking up a story in the middle of a book, it doesn't feel right.

Suffice to say the story is decent, being a sequel to Bram Stoker's Dracula; in the first game Jonathan Harker witnesses Dracula disappearing under the light of the sun, which is deadly to vampires, of course; his wife Mina suddenly takes off for Transylvania, as though summoned by some unseen force. Jonathan travels there himself, and after many travails and hardships... I don't know. Couldn't get far.

And in Dracula: The Last Sanctuary, Mina and Jonathan escape from Dracula's castle in a flying machine, pursued by the brides of Dracula(?). Mina is still sleeping, battling within herself the demon that threatens to make her into a vampire. To find a cure, Jonathan goes to Carfax, the last known lair of Dracula... and, I'm not going to play further until I have full working play with Resurrection. Sorry! :)

So if anyone can help me with Resurrection I'd be glad to accept any assistance. Thanks again!

Signing off. Later, more stuff.

Put up a new picture to my Blogger profile, as some said my high school senior picture was scary... The nerve of some people, really.

Cheeze Challenges:
Dungeon Keeper 2 -- Vault of Darkness part 3 of 4*

For the next installment in my review of this classic shovelware collection, I go to a game with a slightly different genre. (Shovelware here is only used as a defining term, no disparagement is intended.)

Dungeon Keeper 2, by Bullfrog (now Lionhead), is an RTS (real-time strategy) in which you assume the role of a vicious, evil and not exactly nice Dungeon Keeper, one of a race of demigods who rule the labyrinths and caves below the surfaces of the various realms. It's your job to use your near-divine powers, interface with the Dungeon Heart, the source of your power in the realm, and create imps that will tunnel where you will them, and build rooms to service the many other creatures you will attract through Portals.

Gold may be found in the walls as seams or carried by your enemies. Your imps are well-used to tunneling, and will mine gold as well. You may also find gem seams, very rare in that they provide unlimited wealth to your coffers; the gems are transmuted to gold in your imps' little claws for easier disbursal to your minions at payday (more on that later).

Mana is accumulated and stored in your Heart. It powers your spells and is also the life force of your imps; the consumption rate increases slightly with each new imp you create (more on spells a bit later). Mana is generated very gradually from each tile of territory you possess in the dungeon, and the generation rate can be boosted even more by establishing a link to a Mana Vault.

The rooms you may build in your dungeon are extremely important to the functioning of your dungeon.

• Lairs, hatcheries and treasuries are important so that your minions have places to sleep and eat, and a source of income.
  
• Training rooms and combat pits provide support to your minions' fighting skills.
• Libraries and factories are used to research spells to buff your minions or hinder your foes; and to build doors and traps to protect your dungeon, respectively.
• Guard rooms give your dungeon advanced notice when heroes draw near.
• Prisons and torture chambers provide suitable punishment to a hero unlucky enough to die on your territory; the former may produce skeletons if heroes die there; the latter may force a hero to betray his allies by revealing information or even turn to your side!
  
• Casinoes allow your minions to relax, enjoy a drink, and possibly win a bunch of your gold.
  
• Temples give your creatures direct access to you; by praying to you as a demigod, they increase your mana reserves!
• Graveyards allow you to store the bodies of your fallen foes or minions; and when enough bodies have gathered here, vampires may arise!

The creatures you may attract to your cause are many and varied:

• of course, you start with the imps, as they are magical creatures, and tunnel your dungeon, collect gold and territory, and drag your minions to their beds when they're tired or unconscious.
• Goblins are the front line of your defense. They are fastest to recover from stunning (the most common reason for stunning is picking creatures up with your Hand of Evil) and thus the best to employ to keep enemies busy while you queue up spells or other minions.
• Fireflies aren't too tough, but they are excellent scouts; they'll do their job anywhere they are given free flight.
• Salamanders, lizards of fire, can spit flaming balls at your enemies and are not perturbed by lava.
• Warlocks are the scholars of your evil army; they spend long hours in the library researching spells you may use against the forces of good.
• Rogues are human thieves; sneaky and cunning, they are the first to complain at payday if they can't get their money.
• Bile demons are fat, disgusting creatures who are very hungry and very slow, but also very strong.
• Trolls are the most industrious workers in the factory; they may also contribute to your war effort with their large hammers.
• Mistresses are beautiful, deadly and deviant; they simply love to use the torture chamber to pleasure themselves.
• Dark elves are master archers who are best at home guarding your dungeon from intruders.
• Dark angels are masters at all forms of combat, and the most religiously devout; they will be the ones, more often than not, who pray at your temple.
• Skeletons are created from the remains of heroes or others who die in your prisons; as undead, they are unfazed by the Fear Trap which stops all your other minions in their tracks.
• Vampires are created from the blood and flesh of those who decay in your graveyard; they may take health from your enemies. They do not cross water.

As you can see, even for being an older game, it's very deep. This is likely the longest entry I've ever written here! Goes to show how much I like this game :) Find more info here, at Gamespy. Not likely you'll find much else about this game, as it's so old.

Tomorrow, the last part in which I lament the incompatibilities of Dracula: Resurrection, and praise (but only half-heartedly) the virtues of Dracula: The Last Sanctuary!

oh, and while I'm on the subject of RTS's; Rise of Nations, Age of Mythology and Empires (II), Warcraft III and Total Annihilation rock! Look 'em up and rejoice at the strategic goodness!

Signing off.

Some friends on IRC recommended me to try Total Annihilation. I did, and it's pretty cool... stripped-down, really. No worrying about unit effectiveness, etc. There's a place for that kind of strategy, it's called No Time for Heavy RTS'ing :)

Yes I have not forgotten my avid readers, the Dungeon Keeper 2 article is coming later today! I'd do anything to give some free publicity to the makers of these classic games. Bullfrog (now Lionhead) is awesome!

Oh, and I got Rise of Nations Gold back today. God I was an idiot to turn it in; it's one of my favorite (if not my favorite) tactical RTS (as opposed to RPG/RTS hybrid as in WarCraft 3). Also Age of Mythology Gold rocks too, though I've had it for a while.

Well, see you all later today, I'm tired as hell.

Vault of Darkness part 2 of 5: Clive Barker's Undying

I'm not familiar with Clive Barker's work, but if it's anything like the story for this game, I'm definitely interested. In the early 20th century, just after World War I, acclaimed paranormal investigator and all around badass Patrick Galloway is called to the home of his friend and commanding officer, Jeremiah Covenant. Jeremiah has a serious problem. All of his siblings have died under various circumstances, but they are not truly gone... Aaron, Ambrose, Bethany and Lizbeth haunt the halls of the Covenant estate, and it's all because of a prank Jeremiah pulled to scare them...

Jeremiah found a book about the occult belonging to his father, and with his siblings traveled out to a circle of standing stones near their manor. Jeremiah read from the book, and something answered in return... Perhaps an elder god? I don't know yet as I've honestly never played through to the end but I do plan to! Suffice to say all of Jeremiah's siblings died over the next few years, even youngest 17-year-old Lizbeth, while beautiful but very ill-tempered in life, is vicious in death.

Jeremiah is now sick with an unknown ailment, and he believes his siblings have come back to haunt him. He entrusts Patrick with secret knowledge of the Gel'ziabar Stone, which years ago Patrick recovered from a shaman during a campaign against the Tr'santi, undead soldiers. The stone has within it special powers, among them Scrying, which lets Patrick see images of the past, reveal hints of what to do next, or just illuminate the darkness. More powers include Ectoplasm, short-ranged magic missiles; Dispel, remove or disrupt magical fields; Invoke, resurrect foes to work for you; and more!

Of course weapons are par for the course for this type of game, so Patrick has his trusty revolver at all times. He can load it with standard .44 Magnum or silver bullets, which have a much more pronounced effect on monsters. There's also the Tibetan War Cannon, which looks like a living golden dragon that shoots ice balls. Very odd. Also in the event an enemy gets too close, switch to the Gel'ziabar itself and throw out a nondamaging wave of force that pushes everything back. Also equipping the Gel'ziabar enhances the power of your spells!

Yep, definitely the best horror first-person-shooter ever. Scary, as well as action-packed, this will keep you on the edge of your seat.

For more information, check out this page all about the game.

Next time: Dungeon Keeper 2!

I got a wonderful bargain today at Wal-Mart -- Raze's Hell for Xbox. A third-person action game which sets you as Raze, a creature who has been mutated by a strange artifact, and who is driven by revenge for his people who have been slain or captured by the insidious Kewletts, beings which are just too cute to exist. Here's a GameSpot review. Part two of the Vault of Darkness review coming later today!