When does science go too far? How advanced can an artificial intelligence get before it is too advanced? And at what point does an homage cease to be an homage? The answers to these questions and more can be found in Condition, a sci-fi platform shooter by abielins and Lycheesoup that's just a little reminiscent of Cave Story.
Players control a bubble-headed space merchant who heroically answers a distress call from a remote engineering station, where things have gotten a bit crazy, with the super-science and sentient chemicals and all. Move with the [arrow] keys, and interact with items, doors, terminals, and cowering, fearful space engineers with the [down] arrow. Jump with [space] or [X], shoot with [C], and switch weapons with [S] or [D]. You'll have to find some means of defending yourself from the deceptively adorable space blobs, though stomping atop their cute, squishy heads will also do the trick. Collect upgrades and power-ups, and figure out what is going on before you and your charges are destroyed.
Analysis: Right, so, Cave Story. Condition. Kind of similar. The stories are quite different, but both have a similar flavor of pixilated artwork, similar hypsicephalic protagonists, a similar feel to their platforming, similar four-directional weapon controls, and a similar reliance on set-pieces in their level design.
It's hard to imagine that these similarities are accidental, but it's also unfair to dismiss Condition as pure derivation. Did Castlevania simply rip off Metroid? Was Galaga just a Space Invaders clone? Should we neglect countless excellent match-3 games just because of their similarity to Bejeweled? Furthermore, Cave Story and Condition are way different in scope: Cave Story was a platforming epic, with many hours of gameplay and a deep, engaging, tragic story. Condition is a much more casual affair, with maybe an hour of gameplay, and shouldn't be judged because it isn't as deep as the game that obviously inspired it.
So I don't think it's right to call Condition a "ripoff". I still feel comfortable criticizing a few areas where it falls short of Cave Story, because in these areas it is obviously trying to achieve what Cave story achieved. For example, you can tell from some of the interactions with the engineers on the station that the developers wanted some greater story depth, but they never quite developed it enough. Also, the various set pieces, while fun, don't feel as well integrated as they should, so the experience is just a bit disjointed.
It would be a shame to view Condition solely through Cave Story, because there are many areas where it stands on its own. The set pieces, though discombobulated, are very clever and quite fun when taken by themselves. There are interesting, varied environments and obstacles, a couple of nice, if easy, boss fights; and a nifty finale. I also liked the enemy AI: while the automatic defense systems are appropriately automatic, the space blobs are surprisingly wily skirmishers who require some deft footwork or clever use of cover to properly evade and dispatch.
Condition is its own game, as much as it is decidedly an homage. It's not perfect, but it offers a lot to approve of. Whatever its strengths and weaknesses, it deserves to be judged on its own.
The controls for this game are HORRIBLE!! I just cant't get around this one.
Yeah, I don't like the controls either, and it could use a better in-game tutorial. I had to figure out on my own that s and d were for switching weapons. I also find it silly that some boxes can arbitrarily be destroyed and others can't but that there is no way to tell the difference between the two without shooting them. You end up spending a lot of time just shooting the walls for no reason.
I thought the controls were perfectly fine. I never did figure out the purpose of that plasma thing, though.
Some advice I learned the hard way:
If you beat the final boss with one hit point remaining, don't just save immediately after leaving the room. Surviving the following section without getting damaged is possible, but unpleasant. Try beating the boss again instead.
Buttons,
That's exactly what happened to me, but I found that
taking a little extra time to kill a few slimes gave me a few hearts to replenish my health. I still had plenty of time to get out.
Hint for beating the final boss...
I had trouble with this one until I tried the plasma cutter. Despite its really short range, it can do a lot of damage really quickly. Just get right underneath the boss. Don't worry about taking damage, as you will dish out more than he does. The first time I beat him this way, I had 7 hitpoints left but unfortunately didn't save just outside the door and died to one of the grey slimes. I fought him again, this time only getting out with 1 hp left, but did save.
On my machine the music track was playing the left channel only, while the sound effects worked fine on both. I found this both unbearable and inexcusable. 1 star.
Regarding the plasma cutter:
The plasma cutter is your best bet later in the game when you find yourself going through all kinds of crates. Makes navigating through them easy as pie, and is far more adept at dealing with the enemies that are boxed in by crates as well.
As for the boss:
Really, people are having a hard time with this? I just jumped over and went as far to the right as I could. There's a little overhang you can run under and he won't follow. Go far enough away and he can't hit you either, but you can still hit him. So, just make it there and blast away. Easy, peasy.
Save points *way* too far apart for my taste. After the fourth time I respawned in the room where the first boss is, I have no taste for more.
Argh, arrow keys that cause my character to just keep on running long after I've taken my fingers off the keyboard.
And yes, I too missed the part where we were told to use the S and D keys to cycle through the weapons, I used the teleporter and got out of there, not sure if I'll give this game another chance yet.
[I guess nobody reads the reviews here anymore? We give instructions on how to play in virtually all our reviews. -Jay]
So I found some jam and peanut butter and toast. Sadly getting all three didn't seem to do anything. Anyone figured out what's up with these bonus items?
I wouldn't say that there is "just a little reminiscent of Cave Story". The visual style, the controls and even the
"high-recoil machine gun" that doubles as a jetpack
were taken directly from Cave Story.
Really liked this entry. For the final boss,
I found the Machine gun to go through him like a knife through butter. And the Plasma cutter got me out of that space station easy peasy
Did anyone find the
Peanut Butter and Jam?
Also: How many weapons were there? I ended up with four...
There are quite a few hidden areas in this game. That is, places where it looks like walls, but you can in fact go through them. Many of them lead to batteries and other goodies.
There is toast, jam and peanut butter. There's also a secret weapon, the Machine Gun that is hidden on the stage when you drop down from the airlock. It's basically a homage to Cave story's machine gun. 50 shots that quickly recharge and can propel you.
I got to 15/15 at the end, but I might have missed some batteries.
I can see the comparison to Cave Story (robot protagonists, art style, platform/shooter), though unlike it, this is... short. It may be that they had this grand storyline, and many stages/bosses planned out, but from the way it is, there's just not much to it. It hinted at there being more things, but it just... halted by the time you got to the airlock. Also no idea why couldn't they have just set jump to the up button.
Late in the game, one of the most fun weapons from Cave Story makes an appearance here! I enjoyed that.
The machine gun. Just like in Cave Story, you can fly by pointing it down, although it has limited ammo (that automatically replenishes). If you didn't spot it, it can be found
as you are escaping after beating the giant slime. It's in the room where you can see space and stars beneath the corridor you're in.
Has anybody found any extra weapons besides
the plasma thing, the rocket launcher, and that machine gun?
?
And, has anybody figured out what's the deal with the food? I've found
rasberry jam and peanut butter, each of which I could pick up, as well as toast near the beginning which I couldn't pick up even on the way back.
Nice game, really.
Yet Cave Story was all about the Castlevaniousity of it all... nothing like it.
m3psi,
You only pick up the toast if you need a health boost. When you pick it up, another piece pops out of the toaster after a moment anyways!
I think the biggest problem here is the length. Short games are nice, and I appreciate a one-sitting game, but the review is spot-on when it notes that there are hints of a lot of things (the storyline, for instance) that never played out to their full potential. It felt like Chapter One of something longer.
@Jay
Yes, you guys write great reviews. But sometimes I'd just prefer a Reader's Digest version, there are times when finishing the game goes faster than reading the review.
What I, and others, were remarking on was the omission of a tutorial on how to change weapons within the game itself. I've been playing online games for years, as have you, and we all get pretty used to having the controls laid out for us in the first couple of levels or within the pause screen (something else that had to be guessed at, it's "p")
Fair enough. I feel our reviews are much shorter (more "casual") than most other review sites (a Reader's Digest version is a good way of looking at them). Reading one of our reviews should never take longer than it takes to finish the game.
Toaster acts as a first aid thingy.
Really liked this one. I even found an "incomplete sword". I don't mind that the game is not longer, I thought it was nice overall. 5 stars.
For being like Cave Story, this game is instantly awesome right off the block. And since I had to pause the game early on (the pause menu shows all the controls) I never had a problem navigating. Also, the blobs attack you by latching onto your head is adorable
But I would definitely recommend that they go back in and fix the sound big time. Music is playing in the left track only, SFX are mono and seem louder somehow, and the ambient sounds have a 'click' or possibly an audio dip happening between loops.
zbeeblebrox
He said he can't fix it because it is for competition and if he changes it he wont be able to take part in it.
I find the reviews on this site much quicker to read if you just miss out the first paragraph or two. This review is an exception, but the first two paragraphs are often just the reviewer setting up some sort of angle for the review (often pseudo funny and/or cutesy) and they don't start mentioning anything about the game until a paragraph or two in. The Link Dump Friday or Weekend Download reviews can often tell you next to nothing whatsoever about the game, the gameplay, or even the genre of game, so you're normally better off just going straight to the game.
I appreciate that that's the style of the site and of some reviewers, but it's not necessarily the most useful if you want to actually find out what the game's like before playing it.
trollface: Well, I disagree. I feel your claim is a gross exaggeration and misses the mark.
The first paragraph of a review* almost always contains a formal definition of what the game is, followed by a paragraph of how to play the game.
That's been our format forever, and it's even written in our JIG training manual.
*Link dump articles (LDF, WD, and MM) notwithstanding.
Now, if you had said you can skip over the first sentence or two, then I might have agreed with you, as there is usually a setup of some kind as a lead in.
Your game has been saved, Huzzah!
I swear, I half-expected Balrog to jump out of the ceiling on me. Great game.
"Hypsicephalic" is not in my dictionary. Help!
As to the "cave story" similarities, I really couldn't care less. I thought pixellated platforming-and-shooting games were a genre? If it isn't, I'd like it to be.
It's no more similar to Cave Story than the typical top-down SHMUP is similar to, well, every other top-down SHUP. Space graphics with ships, enemies entering in patterns, and look! There's the "kill everything on the screen at once" weapon, just like in ____! And yet somehow we're capable of judging each one of those on it's own merits. Why isn't every tower defense game a ripoff of the original Warcraft mod (which I've never played)? Why isn't every room escape game nothing but a Crimson Room/Motas ripoff? Cave Story wasn't even the first game of its genre, yet somehow it's considered the only one.
I'd like to see more games like this, yet I'm afraid that Cave Story's dominance is going to scare off developers. I love Cave Story, but I'd still love to see other things that have the same basic gameplay mechanic.
I also found the controls to be so unresponsive as to be worthless. I'll reserve full judgment for later, though, as I am currently using my beloved red-headed step-child (oops, I mean Linux). There's a chance it might work better on XP.
But for now, I made barely any progress and gave up.
@Stephen: I agree entirely! I was trying to anticipate any such criticisms to preemptively debunk them, while also focusing on the areas where I felt the developers were actively trying to be like Cave Story.
Also, Hypsicephalic is a medical term for having a big, high forehead. It's just my wont for deploying insufferable, supercilious verbiage (there I go again!). I actually learned it from the original Sam & Max game from 1991, where Sam describes the bonded city courier outside their office as "a cute little hypsicephalic kitten."
Yeah, your article was good about this; I've just been storing up that rant for a while and this seemed like a good time to let it all out.
Sam & Max Hit the Road? I've played that game! And now I have another great obscure word to pull out on the unlikely occurrence It'll be relevant again!
ra9na, isn't Flash + Linux a notoriously bad combination? I think Adobe's support of Linux is pretty horrible and/or going downhill; it's why VVVVVV's Linux port still hasn't happened.
Finished the game twice. Two endings so far:
1. You can choose to leave the engineers to their fate, if you communicate with the terminals after the first boss.
2. Going on further, and confronting the slime boss, followed by a heroic escape (not quite!) will get you the second ending.
Not sure if there's more to this. Also, acquired the Toast, Raspberry Jam, and Peanut Butter.
Beat the game twice (the second time was just loading from the checkpoint before finishing the first ending, and continuing).
I found both the secret room with the
machine gun, and the Peanut Butter and Jelly things
. Not sure about the
Toast
, though - if I did get it for some health, I didn't notice it as separate from another health thingy.
Reminiscent of Cave Story, yes, but it had its own little story line. (And who said a similarity to Cave Story was a bad thing?) Fun game. Music tended to get repetitive. Thankfully, the game wasn't too long, but it was enjoyable while it lasted.
StephenM3--
I have all sorts of different experiences with Flash on Linux. If I'm lucky, it's as slow as molasses in January. If I'm less lucky, it will strobe in thick chunks as it re-draws. And then there are experiences like this one, where it's as unresponsive as a deaf man is to a whisper in a dark room.
But hey, it's better than Shockwave on Linux. At least Flash exists on Linux.
(And as a follow-up to my previous comment, I had no trouble at all playing this on XP. Well, at least as far as the controls were properly responsive. My mad skillz (or lack thereof) is another matter entirely.)
I can't get through first level. I feel so stupid. What do i have to do? I keep pressing "c" and down arrow when i'm on that black door at the right but nothing happens, i can't find any use to the ventilation ducts. And who's that guy with the white/blue suit? Do i have to speak to him? how do i do that?
Only that long?
Wow that was a short game...
Update