jemann
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 160
Registered: 01-13-2006
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1000 Amps is quite similar to DROD in some ways. The map is separated into distinct rooms, which will reset if you leave them without 'finishing'. Finishing, in this case, involves finding and lighting up all the key blocks in the room. What starts out as simple exploration in the dark gets increasingly complicated with conveyor belts, teleportation, moving blocks... For a better review, read this.

Having played through the whole thing, I can definitely recommend it; it's polished and addictive. The only down-side is that the controls can get quite finicky, not helped by the Flash player chugging along (there's a resource bug there somewhere).

Jatopian
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1842
Registered: 07-31-2005
IP: Logged

Egh, platforming in the dark, with one-way doors and currents that carry you backward if you guess wrong about where platforms are. No thanks.

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DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

jemann
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 160
Registered: 01-13-2006
IP: Logged

Did you actually play it? Or just watch the video? Platforms do stay lit after you touch them; and you're not always entirely in the dark (not wanting to spoil, but there are upgrades). Some rooms are not initially solvable, but by the end of the game you'll be able to get anywhere.

Jatopian
Level: Smitemaster
Rank Points: 1842
Registered: 07-31-2005
IP: Logged

Sure, I started on the demo. There's a series of rooms where you jump from small platform to small platform with currents waiting to carry you backward out of the room if you fail. And platforms go unlit again if you leave the room, so...

____________________________
DROD has some really great music.
Make your pressure plates 3.0 style!
DROD architecture idea generator

Penumbra
Level: Smiter

Rank Points: 358
Registered: 02-17-2005
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I find the game to be more about probing than just fumbling around. There are some rooms where it would be impossible to figure out what to do first, and they usually have a "radio" beacon in them that give you a hint.

I have found it to be much more fair than it sounds.

jemann
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 160
Registered: 01-13-2006
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Right: I neglected to mention that it is a puzzle game, although some manual dexterity is required. Some rooms are initially unsolvable; some rooms just seem unsolvable. The demo ends at the point where you can start branching out, so there are usually alternatives to beating your head against the same puzzle.

I only encountered one case where I was genuinely stuck, and even then I could use a get-out-of-jail-free card, so to speak.

gamer_extreme_101
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 1939
Registered: 03-07-2004
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You eventually get the ability to use radio at all times, though it's not intuitive as to which button it is. I discovered it by accident.

There's only one major room where currents are a problem, and I worked around it by seeding an adjacent room to get to the spot. They are apparently making that room less difficult in the next patch as well.

I've played and beat it already, and I loved the game. Five hours well spent.

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--That guy with a million different aliases since he doesn't like this name anymore.

Dischorran
Level: Smitemaster

Rank Points: 3407
Registered: 09-10-2005
IP: Logged

I hope there's an upgrade to kill off those things that home in on my lit-up squares. They're rapidly becoming deal-breakers in a couple rooms.

Otherwise, it's a neat little game.

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jemann
Level: Master Delver

Rank Points: 160
Registered: 01-13-2006
IP: Logged

Dischorran wrote:
I hope there's an upgrade to kill off those things that home in on my lit-up squares. They're rapidly becoming deal-breakers in a couple rooms.

Yep. And agreed (although I found it more satisfying to 'beat' them without the upgrade, when it was possible).