Cover Story
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Jamestown - www.finalformgames.com - PC Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony, from the Philadelphia colonizing Final Form Games crew takes a few liberties with historical record – though I’d certainly take that History course –but doesn’t veer off the mark on the quality game they deliver. The story is familiar, it’s the 17th century, a lost colony, the British and Spaniards vying for domination of a newly encountered land. Even Sir Walter Raleigh appears and then there are the laser gunships. Of course, all this happens as it should on a steampunk Mars. The gameplay is classic top down shoot‘em up. Now I’ll admit that I was never a fan of the take home shoot’ems, I always felt they were something to be experienced in the arcade environment. Maybe it was something about trying to get the most out of your quarters or the satisfaction of bumping someone off the leader board, but the arcade had its charm which always seemed lost in translation to the home console. Having that said, the guys over at Final Form Games have made me a fan of the home delivered shoot’em up. Jamestown certainly pays homage to the classic shooter with the player dispatching incoming enemies and collecting golden sprockets and bolts to increase points and fill the special Vaunt bar. As the player progresses, they have the option of choosing from 4 different ships, each with a unique weapon which can maximize the dispatch of enemies. Each ship will not necessarily be effective for each level, but in multiplayer mode it works out to have co-players choosing different ships – it adds a bit of strategy to the shoot’em, which can be a rarity in a usually structured game flow. The Vaunt mode is a gem of a thing. Once engaged, it gives the player a few moments of protective shield, while doubling combo and weapon’s points. It makes for a nice little bit of gameplay in especially chaotic
parts with enemies all over the place and bullets coming at you from every direction.
is enjoyable to the player and speaks to the inner gamer.
For many who haven’t visited the genre in a while, it can be harrowing to have your character cut down so easily only to be re-spawned time and again until the bonus lives run dry. In this respect, Jamestown differs slightly from your typical shoot’em up. In multiplayer mode, the players can continue to re-spawn as long as someone is still alive and able to collect revives. This doesn’t mean the game is a pushover - quite the contrary, actually. Jamestown has five difficulty levels which change the gameplay of the enemies and the player’s options for success slightly – Good luck with Judgment! The developers have also made it so the player can’t reach some of the higher levels without successfully completing the earlier levels at certain difficulties. Which means the player will have to work to beat the game.
The multiplayer aspect of the game (especially with a large group) has a very lasting appeal. As a team sport, there’s a totally different feel to the game. Suddenly, you’re transported back to the arcade (remember those?) complete with side comments and the high energy. The dynamic changes when the rest of the players have died and are waiting to re-spawn, you are the last great hope at beating the stage and the rest are cheering you on because their “lives” are in your Martian blasting hands.
One of the most appealing aspects of the game is the visuals. The game is comprised of 2D sprites in some gorgeous “handcrafted” pixel art, over some epic scrolling backgrounds. Enough cannot be said about the visuals; they are at once reminiscent of the classic 16 bit arcade and yet convey the feel of an indie game. The cut away sequence art is pretty amazing and beautifully worked into the storyline; it complements the fast pace of the game with its style. The music adds another layer to the overall experience, for it is both sweeping and epic in feel and for a minute you’d think you were playing a Burroughs’ novel. This marriage of the music and graphics brings about a precision that comes with great attention to detail; it is able to create a feel of continuity between the pixeled sprites and backgrounds which produce a feast for the senses. It may seem picky, but quality work should be pointed out and it clearly shows that the Final Form team was focused on producing a great product that
The world of video gaming has changed; the internet has both isolated individual gamers and allowed gamers from around the world to collaborate as a team on big studio game behemoths. The focus on the multiplayer aspect and the indie feel of a game like this allows nostalgia for the days of playing in someone’s basement to creep in. In other words, I simply love the feel of this game.
- Zak Gebelein
REVIEW Gameplay: Graphics: Sound/Music: Lasting Appeal:
9 9 9 10
Score: 92%
Grade
A
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