Telepath RPG: Servants of God is a hybrid western RPG / strategy RPG set in a unique Middle Eastern steampunk fantasy setting. You are a telepath with the power to read and manipulate minds--or destroy them. The city-state of Ravinale has been overtaken by a zealous theocracy. Rescued from an unjust imprisonment, you have only one chance to save your homeland. Explore the continent, recruit soldiers, strike deals with different factions, and fight to reclaim the home you once knew. * Tactical turn-based combat where positioning and planning are key * Branching dialog and quests with multiple endings * Different races and factions, each with its own agenda * Dozens of different psychic and physical abilities to manipulate and decimate your enemies * A variety of characters that you can choose to recruit, grow close with or alienate * Lasting consequences for the choices you make throughout the game
I gave the demo a whirl. It's got a fairly decent introduction. The gameplay is pretty entertaining. While introducing nothing really new, it manages to avoid being clunky, mostly by being simple. Which is a good thing. More gauges and bars really doesn't do a lot for the games these days that pollute the screen with an irritating UI. That being said, I can see the protracted battles that are sure to come after the intro/demo period is over becoming very tedious. There's enough distinction between character classes and styles that it might be worth the time. I am reminded very much of the Shining Force series on the Genesis. Although, Shining Force kind of has this game beat in virtually every category. As the product of a major studio, maybe that's not a surprise. It should be said that the Middle Eastern setting for the game goes a long way to redeem it and make it somewhat unusual for the hardended tactical combat gamer. It has shades of "The Magic of Scheherezade" on the old NES platform. So there's a few pros and cons all mashed together there.
This sounds harsh, but if you can't manage to bring a product to market at a cost that the consumer will bear, don't bring it at all. Seriously. I'll bookmark this game, and probably not even think about it it until it hits single digits on sale. I think very few people will not turn away from a $30 indie flash effort. Flash isn't the problem, the marketing and profit model are a BIG problem here.
In short: If this game was 5 bucks, my money would already be in the developer's account. If this game was 10 bucks, I would probably think about it for a day or two & if nothing better at the same price point came along, I would pay. At 25 dollars, it's so shocking that it seems an insulting. But I've backed off to thinking that it's merely tragically naive. It's too bad too. The game has it's bright spots. About 5-10 dollars worth of bright spots. Possibly. And that's to someone who likes indie games already.
The game is excellent. Nice, unique style of artwork, great gameplay, and perhaps most importantly, an entirely unique setting, world, and storyline. I won't discuss the semiotics & symbolism of the game here, but rather the gameplay.
If you enjoy tactical RPGs a la Fire Emblem then this will be up your ally, as the battles are obviously very heavily influenced by it. But there is also city/town exploration with (as far as I can tell so far) branching storylines depending on how you interact with people.
I do have a handful of small gripes that I want to list:
1) I don't really consider Adobe AIR to be Linux supported. It might work right now, but in a year it might not even run on the latest versions of Ubuntu or Fedora. Despite that I bought the game because I love the series and wanted to support the developer, who I think is doing unique work in all of indie gaming.
2) Part of the battle screen user interface is cumbersome. The battle controls shouldn't cover part of the battlefield and it's annoying to have to keep juggling them around in order to get the full picture. The controls should just have a separate designated area on the screenn, without obscuring the battlefield.
3) The ability to save from the world map would be nice.
Other than those issues, I don't really have any complaints with the game. I haven't played all the way through yet, but I've enjoyed it a lot so far. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good tactical rpg with a great story. 9/10
The game claims Linux support and the engine is listed as Flash but when I tried to install the demo, it checked for Adobe Air. I tried installing the last supported version of Air for Linux but the game would not run on it. As such, the game doesn't run on Linux.
Do not purchase this game if you are using a Linux-based operating system.
10, until the 1-bombers gtfo.
I can;t say much that hasn't already been said. The review by aztechrome really sums it up. If the game were 5-10 dollars, this guy would probably have my money already. However, at $25, it is simply a slap in the face.
Really good game. Ignore all thease zealots slamming it. Very well made game.