'Underworlds' RPG Crawls into App Store
posted by arn on April 21st, 2009 3:48 AM EDT in $4.99, Action, Adventure, Role-Playing, iPhone games, iPod touch games
Pixel Mine Games' action RPG Underworlds was released into the App Store tonight [link].
The $4.99 game offers a Diablo-like dungeon crawler in which you play a guard who has been asked to help discover the source behind mysterious activities happening around the town.
The game is played in an isometric view with both d-pad and touch controls. The d-pad allows you to move your character in any direction while simply tapping on the screen causes you to move to that spot. Items can be picked up by simply tapping on them or walking over them and pressing the "Loot" button.
Your character has Health and Vitality stats depicted by on-screen skulls (red and blue). Health and Vitality potions can be cast by simply tapping on the corresponding meters. Four character stats that can be upgraded (leveled up) include Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Constitution. Special "Feats" offer new capabilities for your player and include Slash, Shield Bash, Berserk, Health Boost, Vitality Boost. These special attacks can be invoked by pressing the corresponding icons on the bottom of the screen.
The game's story progresses in a series of Quests. Equipment and gold can be found while fighting off enemies. These resources can be traded in at a shop for additional potions or even better equipment.
The following video shows off the basics of gameplay (note, that the attack button actually need not be pressed repeatedly):
[ Full HD version | Low Bandwidth version ]
We've had a full version of the game for a number of days and while our full review is still pending, our initial impressions have been very positive. We personally quite like the art style of the game. The lead artist for the game was revealed to be Denis Loubet — the primary artist for many of the Ultima games. And we've found the overall gameplay to be solid/fun and feel that fans of the genre will enjoy it. The d-pad controls, however, are somewhat awkward and both control schemes can result in inadvertent actions due to the cramped area of the screen.
Meanwhile, early TouchArcade forum impressions (Big Albie overview) have also been very favorable (though with some similar control criticisms).
App Store Link: Underworlds, $4.99
Sweet! That was somewhat quick of Apple, gonna buy it immediately – 4.99 isn't so bad
Thanks for the info.
Why don't you guys invite Big Albie to be a part of the TA review team already?
cuz he has other offers!
Ah, yes. Not tryin' to ruffle your feathers mama
Do yourself a favor and start on Easy. It has nothing to do with difficulty. For some reason they're making loot drop more often on Easy and since there is no Inn or passive out of combat regen for either health or vit, you will eventually be in the red for gold vs the consumption of pots vs harder enemies if you play on anything above Easy.
Criticism on the controls anyhow are a no-go for me. I've suffered enough with the sticky blue balls in Rolando, thank you.
Changed my mind after reading about how there are no classes and only melee combat… Won't be purchasing this :/
hehe downloading …
Lol, after hearing the developer's promise of more classes in future updates and that the current price was an introduction, I went ahead and purchased the game anyway ^^'
the game is a blast! the graphics are very nice to look at!
Damn. 47 megs. Can't wait to download it when I get home.
Waiting for 10$ itunes credit from rolly compitition
But once i get it im buying this
This game looks very interesting but I might have to hold back until a few updates come out. If they can continue to make the game better and add more classes then it seems worth picking up.
Just thought I'd chime in with a quick comment on this game. I've downloaded it and played it for about 30 minutes, and found it very good. Pretty graphics, the odd, nice little cut-scene, and loot. I like collecting loot
The d-pad is a bit awkward, but using the touch controls instead work well enough not to detract from the game play. I would note, that I've found using the Action button to be more convenient than trying to tap the individual items/monsters.
I've always been a huge fan of the Baldurs Gate games, and this recreates the style of those games very well. I can see myself spending a lot of time playing this game.
Well done to the developers.
Waiting for price to drop…
First, I am sorry for any grammatical errors because I am French.
I’ll start this review by doing what everybody is doing: comparing the game to Diablo. When you boot the game it’s clear that the developers have been influenced by the spiritual original, the big D. Can you blame them? Not at all! It’s like blaming all horror movies to try to imitate “The birds” or “The exorcist”. Same thing applies to video games, there are many genre created from one great game (FPS: Wolfenstein 3D / RTS: Dune II) and the original Diablo is the mother of the hack and slash genre.
The graphics have a “retro” look, gory (yes red blood) and dark, which is a good thing. The perspective is kind of weird, it’s like the angle isn’t right but you get used to it after a few minutes. For such a small screen the developers have found a way to make everything really easy to see and manage. The control is ok with touch & click attacks but sometimes it can be very difficult to target a specific mob. Maybe they could incorporate a “tab-like” button that could allow the player to switch from one target to another. Like these type of games you get the regular game play pattern: Get a quest, go in the dungeon, kill a Boss, gain XP and level-up, put attributes and skills point, loot, portal back to sell stuff and repeat but it’s ok, that’s what we all like about action-rpg.
So far, my only concerns are the lack of character classes (which they will probably add in future updates) and replay value. I just played for 2 hours (on easy) and I can’t wait to see if we can continue to level our character to other difficulty settings (I really hope). There is no map system, and I don’t think it is needed as a mini-map but at least they could have a map button within the inventory screen. But I think the biggest letdown (at least for me) is the lack of skills (or feats) you get a total of 5 (in which 2 of them are only passives): one big attack, one stun, and an AOE.
I really applaud the developers for the efforts they have put in this game so far. I really hope that they continue to work on updates for more skills and classes. If you are a fan of hack and slash do not even hesitate to buy Underworld. It is, so far the closest thing to having Diablo in the palm of your hand on the iPhone.
Presentation: 8 / 10
Audio: 7 / 10
Gameplay : 8 / 10
Value : 9 / 10
Normally I would just rush in and buy this but I've been burned by several appz recently so I will wait for some reviews and maybe a price drop.
Same here, but I am waiting for a Lite version. Reviews don't always tell the truth and videos are not good enough.
Watched the video demo, not quite exciting. Comparing to Diablo, it is way far from there. Nothing special but keep clicking the "fight" button looks like dump to me. Not a go for me.
I pulled this from the article above that you didn't read:
(note, that the attack button actually need not be pressed repeatedly)
That is one seriously peevish androgynous warrior.
Think about "Hero of Sparta", that has the similar control with "click" to fight button… but it is way much better…plus fatality on bosses, special effect on weapon that make the game more enjoyable…
can anyone tell me this one has some attractive other than just clicking and walking?
Purchased it last night; unlike "The Quest", I'm already quite happy with my purchase!
this game is great. they will come out with more classes for sure because this game is going to be very popular.
one thing i have noticed, u cant see your gold until you are at the buy/sell screen, anyone else notice this?
You can see see your gold in the inventory screen. Look close!
Bought the game at 2 o clock, and have been playing on and off today and i finished it about an hour ago…
At the moment, it's not a very long game but still, a very challenging one.
There is some features that i am missing though, like a map and some sort of auto-counterattack,if you are fighting 3 enemies and kill one of them your character will just stand and get pounded until you tap the enemy or hit the action-button again… annoying, and of course more skills and different classes/jobs and more quests.
oh and there is a level-top of 10, wich surprised me cause i was just about 2/3 finished when i stopped gaining levels.
soooo is there an update coming along soon?
Diablo style game love it
hehe.. I just bought it straight away. I know from the video it's gonna be fun for me. By the time I get time to put some serious .. um .. time into this, I bet there will have been an update or two anyway. hehe.
I'm just gonna buy any dungeon-hack that comes out. I want to encourage anyone who takes on such an inherently complex (but fun) genre.
finished the game already. oh i really do hope they release an expansion very soon. the was too easy to finish.
like hero of sparta, this doesnt have much replay value once the game ended
I'll wait for the lite version.
well well well, finally a diablo style game huh.
this is not style, but clone hehe.
some good things we have allready read, but i got some serious words on it.
the designer of the ultima games did a nice job, game looks pretty somehow. i think a real ultima online look would have been more eyecandy.
i think the game is way too dark to really have fun with it.
the bad thing that there is almost no background musik which would make the dark area a lil scary, but there is nothing and its a bit anoying not to see everything.
i bet they wanted this game out fast and left some very important things out
i think the level design is very confusing. after some minutes of walking around i couldnt find my way back to the crypt lord to finish my quest.
there is NO map and NO lead to were to go next.
tapping enemies is just not working right, instead ull walk around them, loot other stuff and only hit on the 3rd or 4th tap. so you'll have to tap to move and hit action and loot to fight. this makes it hard to walk while fighting maybe avoiding enemie hits.
but a good old diablo trick works on this one. open the door, stand still and let one enemie after other come to you
maybe a small zoom modus would be great. overall its a little too small to enjoy the tapping fun. maybe only 2-6% zoom would make it.
i really hate that the charakter isnt changing when equiping new weapon or armor. this is an essential feature of every role playing game. this char here is ugly and not cool at all. at least i saw different foes all the time. and they looked nice. thats two good thangs.
and hell, what would have been diablo without some really cool looking magic ???? if more then better. too sad i wont see one on this one.
that they made this glass things to recover health and vitallity doesnt make this game more diablo. they look nice. are not too big. but somehow i would make it a lil different. smaller, not beeing a such big part of the screen. but maybe later in big fights they will be helpfull this way.
somehow i couldnt use my first special move from time to time. it didnt recodnize my touch. the other 2 worked fine, but cmon!! hit me up if you need some good ideas. those are really weak. the only good thing is the sound. i go for the shield sound.
i tried to move with the d-pad once. its ugly and not fun at all.
i really love the town grafik, it shows what the game could have been. if im goin to be in the dungeon all the time ill comit suicide with my char
well yesterday ive played like 1 hour. came further and further but never found my way back. today i started the game again, saw me somewhere in the dungeon, next door closed, i knew i still dont know the way back, so i turned it off again. i did not want to walk around in emty areas looking for a way back and hit the same corner like 3 times. on a handheld you just have to show the way. people dont have time crawling around.
well what more, skills are for the toilet, items are, ähm, all the the same. and the only good thing is, that this the first of its kind.
some major upgrades and you got the best game of the year. this is only mid class. but i would spend this $5 any time again. you just have to support those people, so they can come up with better things.
so check the game out.
after all ive said its still fun and im sure im goin to play it again soon.
cya
Thanx for the review…although quite polemic!
BTW: you' re German right?
The game is to short. While they obviously wanted to clone Diablo, they should have done so in terms of level design. If there would be more automatically created levels in the dungeon, the game would have more replayability and you would need more time. I don´t understand why they limited the game so much. Potantially it could have been an action rpg hit, now its nice but far away from perfect.