Legend of Grimrock - Review @ GameBanshee

From the review,

Where Legend of Grimrock deviates a little from its predecessors is in the potential its 3D game engine offers, mostly in its puzzles. While everything moves on a grid, there are a lot of timing-based puzzles, pattern memorization and other tests that rely on quick reflexes to pull off. This is a refreshing improvement in my opinion,

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Unless I misunderstood, there´s no "deviation" in this. From what I remember, Dungeon Master and especially Chaos Strikes Back already had this kind of challenges.

Also,

Of course, it wouldn't be a dungeon crawler without equipment and other loot, and Grimrock shines here.
…
I found only one necklace that was actually useful, for example, and there weren't nearly as many high-level axes and maces as there were swords.

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this is slightly on the doesn´t-compute side .

I also don´t like that the secrets are apparently implemented in a kinda achievement-y fashion, as seen in the TotalBiscuit vid ("secret found").

Anyway, the game sounds like a competent homage to the genre (and not just something akin to a tech demo, which I rather expected it to be) and the price seems definitely fair, so I´m in. Hopefully a success of this game will result in a more adventurous take on the genre in the future.

Twotricks said:

Only 20 hours gameplay.
I wonder how long gameplay EOTB would have if you could do automapping?

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With automapping, EotB and some similar titles would be definitely shorter.
20 hours of gameplay (with automapping) is more than enough for this kind of game, I´d say. As usual, I think the estimated play time is very loose, in this particular case it seems that time spent on figuring out the puzzles and difficulty setting might lead to notable differences.

I'll be turning off the mini map and putting some graph paper to work on this one.

Anyone else?

Oh yes, got graph paper ready to go!! I hope they sell tons and make other companies take note. Actually I don't even care, I'll buy plenty and gift people with them. Make me happy, and I guarantee I'll give 10 or so. I'm ready to go oldschool right now!


-Carn

zzajin said:

I'll be turning off the mini map and putting some graph paper to work on this one.

Anyone else?

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I would if i had time i had back in 90's ...
Nowdays...no thanks

Twotricks said:

I would if i had time i had back in 90's …
Nowdays…no thanks

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I can certainly see how modern RPGs have conditioned players to view cartography as a time waster.

The automap isn't displayed onsceen constantly, you have to bring it up on a separate screen. For mainly that reason, I'll be skipping the old-school mode.

It's not that I'm lazy.. I just don't enjoy having to take my attention away from the screen to scribble on graph paper.

Twotricks said:

Nowdays…no thanks

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- goes for this whole game

If you memorize the maps, EOB1 can be completed in under an hour. I'll be playing Grimrock the same way, from memory, no mapping and no automap. If I get lost, so be it.

I'm going to wait and form my own opinion instead of reading any more reviews. It sounds positive enough that it's a no-brainer pre-order. My only concern, no lock picking and detect traps.

Sin said:

My only concern, no lock picking and detect traps.

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Lock picking isn't for this genre. If you could lockpick then you could bypass the puzzles that are central the the game. The traps likewise are not supposed to be 'detected' automatically by stats, but instead by you observing your surroundings. If you could automatically detect them, then that removes the tension that the game is built upon. In this context, automatically detecting traps would be bad.

Treasure isn't locked in chests with no key available. That's part of the game to find the keys to unlock things. In that sense it's not a typical RPG that offers several alternate ways to go through the game, but rather it's more focused on puzzles, finding secret areas, loot and fighting/killing hostile creatures.

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Daroou said:

Lock picking isn't for this genre. If you could lockpick then you could bypass the puzzles that are central the the game. The traps likewise are not supposed to be 'detected' automatically by stats

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Nonsense, many dungeon crawlers and blobbers of old have these skills. Even LOL, that was very streamlined dungeon crawler lite had lockpicking dependant on your rogue level.