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Armado

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Developer: Tricky Software
Publisher: Tricky Software
Genre: Adventure > Platform
Released: Dec 04, 2006
Players: 1

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- Armado Review

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Armado, the debut release from Tricky Software, is a game that shows its fledging developer shows a lot of promise. There are a lot of good things to say about Armado, but there�"s also a bit that needs work. I�"ll break it down for you.

The game follows the journey of young Armado as he attempts to save the noble eagles from the evil ant invasion that has overtaken their mountain homes. The way the game is told is awesome, with a great story intro complete with voiceover and hand-drawn story art. The manner of telling is what stands out here, as Armado is told much like a children�"s fairytale and narrated after the fashion of something you might find on KPBS. It�"s very nostalgic and kid-friendly. Armado�"s goal is very simple, take a magical egg and place it at the peak of each of the seven mountains that make up the range the eagles call home.

The way the game is played is equally simple. The track up to the peak of each mountain is a narrow, spiraled path. Armado moves either forward or backward up this path in a straight line. Along the way he must roll (for speed), jump (to avoid objects and clear gaps) or spin attack (to conquer enemies and break objects) to get to the top. While he moves, Armado picks up jewels that litter the mountain path to boost his score. He can also pick up multipliers to boost that score, rings to protect him and give him powers, and health and time boosters. Each level is broken into two halves: the journey up the mountain and the journey down. Both halves tend to be about the same, with minor changes made between levels to make things a little different and a little more challenging.

So far, the game�"s off to a great start. As the developer has stated, the game�"s premise is accessible and simple, something that should be easy for anyone to pick up and play. The game looks good, too, with excellent 3D graphics and a busy environment. There�"s always something going on in the levels in Armado and one of my favorite things about it is that there�"s action off in the distance and lower on the mountain. The action doesn�"t stop when you do or only exist in the location you occupy. There�"s a sense that the level is a living world. Music for the game is top-notch, with some really excellent acoustic guitar at the menu screen. My only complaint there would have been that I�"d like to have more music like that in the game.

The game even has a global high score list that it can automatically post to, which is a great way to provide replay value to any game, especially since Armado measures a little on the short side, with only 14 levels total and little replay value outside of seeking to improve one�"s score. The fact that the score list is built into the app and not something you need to access via a web browser is nice as well.

All in all, a great track record—but something still needs work. What�"s missing? Gameplay. For a game that�"s meant to be easy to play for all ages, there�"s a lot of frustrating gameplay. Armado must jump on his enemies to dispose of them, but the jumping control is rigid and doesn�"t offer much ability for adjustment while Armado is in the air. What this results in is endless encounters where an ant will approach Armado and he�"ll jump, only to have the ant lunge at him and move outside of the range that Armado can jump onto, resulting in a miss. Then—another try, same result. And again and again until suddenly Armado is out of spin power, which he only has so much of. Now you�"re stuck trying to outrun an enemy that is always faster than you while you wait for your spin bar to recharge so you can try again. This problem is only exacerbated in later levels, when enemies take three or more jumps to eliminate.

The main problem is that, plain and simple, Armado himself doesn�"t control well. Jumping across gaps can be tricky, since the camera is placed some distance behind and over the shoulder of Armado. The track the gamer is following is always directly ahead of the camera, there�"s no side view of jumps to help measure distance. This resulted in a lot of trips down into chasms. To compound this problem, the game sometimes throws unfair challenges at the gamer. When cruising down a mountain, sometimes you�"ll hear the approaching thunder that means an object is approaching from behind you. Is it a log, a medium boulder or a huge boulder? You won�"t know until the object is pretty much right on top of you, as the viewing angle behind Armado is minimal. Every now and then, an ant will attack from behind as well… there�"s almost no warning for that. The game provides protection in the form of magic rings that Armado can pick up, but even these are made more difficult than they need to be as not even the user manual explains a way to tell which ring is which.

However, on the plus side of this gameplay irritation, with enough practice at Armado, gamers can find a rhythm that works for them. You pick up a certain groove playing through the game and it makes things seem much more manageable. Despite this, though, frustrations still abound during play.

All in all, Armado is a well-made game that just needs a little more tweaking to be done to its gameplay to make it as effortless and fun to play as the developer wants it to be. The production value is definitely there though, and it makes Armado worth a look.

Graphics:

Armado looks good. The world is vibrant and active and interesting to look at. The storyline intro art is well drawn and well-suited to the game�"s style. Ensuring the background is as active as the foreground is an awesome touch to the game world.

Sound:
The music in the game is great. I looked forward tot launching the game to hear that great title screen music. Sound effects are standard fair, but are by no means bad. The music�"s where its at for Armado.

Gameplay:
Gameplay is the only black mark for the title, which is unfortunate, as it�"s so key. Jumping in the game is harder than it should be, and part of that is integrally tied into the perspective the gamer is given to work with. Compounding the jumping frustrations are enemies that move at you in bursts, making it impossible at times to time your rigid jumps in a manner that will allow you to take out the baddies.

Concept:
Armado is a sidescrolling platformer re-worked. It�"s not side to side, it�"s backwards and forwards. The change is fresh, but it doesn�"t make the concept groundbreaking. Still, it�"s gaming done well and the storyline is light and enjoyable.

Value:
Armado costs a pretty standard indie amount: $20. But the game is pretty short, just 14 levels, all of which are designed to be finished in under six or so minutes. You�"ll get more gameplay out of that, but most of it is due to the aforementioned gameplay. Still, though, the game looks good and sounds good, so you are paying for a bit of quality.

Fun:
In spite of the gameplay quirks, I had fun with Armado. Maybe it�"s because I could see the end in sight, but I kept coming back again and again to Armado to work on besting my troubles with the game and to save those eagles. By and large, the game IS easy to pick up and fun to play around with.

Overall:
Armado is a solid release. Some polish to the gameplay would make it a great release, but all in all, it�"s still nice to look at and easy to pick up. Give it a spin.

By: Michael Scarpelli
Posted: Thursday March 29, 2007