Nomis: The Legacy Islands – An Xbox Indie Game Review

Nomis: The Legacy Islands
Developer: Robot Food Games
Genre: Platformer
Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States
Languages: English
Price: 240 Microsoft points

Developer Summary:

2D side-scrolling action game. Defeat the robot general before he can resurrect a weapon hidden long ago. Play through 20 levels and engage in boss battles, local co-op and upgrade your character and weapons.

What We Think:

In the Year Three Thouuuusaaaaaand:

Somewhere in the near future, evil robots (lead by a more sinister nameless half-robot) have begun to overthrow the peaceful islands of Nomis. Their mission involves scouring a variety of different locales across the slumbering archipelago in search of a secret weapon hidden long ago. Why there is an ancient weapon hidden deep within an island full of nothing but leaf-wearing sheep riders (see jungle level) is a matter however, that is best left unspoken, as this is a light-hearted game that you definitely shouldn’t take too seriously.

The problem I found in this, however, is that the developers seemed to have somewhat of that same care-free mindset when it came to creating the game. The entire package feels somewhat slapped together and rushed, with a number of good concepts that unfortunately fall fairly short of creating a cohesive experience.

Welcome to Nomis, Here we have Mountains, Oceans and Murderous Robots:

If there’s one thing that “Nomis: The Legacy Islands” does a good job of, it’s providing a variety of locations and creatures; each level is crafted separately with a background palette all its own, and a distinctive tile set for the characters to traverse. Enemies are also given a proper makeover so that each fits in a little better with their respective environment. It’s a commitment to the game that often gets overlooked in indie game development and it’s nice to see designers pushing forward and attempting to make sure that each level provides a unique experience.

That said, I can’t exactly say that this is one of the prettier games I’ve played and though I’ll applaud it for its ambition, sadly the aesthetic quality of each environment could use a little more polish. Certain touches like the foreground weather/environmental effects serve as more of a distraction than an immersive element. On occasion I would be moving up and down a ladder only to notice that the rain/snow or debris particles were moving right along with me. I have to go with the theory that if something doesn’t add to the overall appearance of your game, then it really doesn’t need to be included.

At times I also found the background to be a little too busy or noticeable so that it interfered with the actual game play; in certain levels I found myself wanting to walk across a ledge that was in front of me, only to realize a little too late that the ledge was actually part of the background painting, thus sending me plummeting to an untimely demise.

The music is fairly well done, and its straightforward synthesizer approach definitely adds to the idea of a tyrannical/oppressive robot threat. The sound clips and home-performed foley effects could have used some more work as they became tedious and at times downright annoying (hearing a robot scream LOLZ upon his death, may seem quirky at first, but it grew old fast). I understand the humor in wanting to provide your own sound-effects (lord knows me and my friends have over-dubbed movies in the past and have had a damn fun time doing it), but the sound quality here seemed a little jarring and sadly seemed to take me out of the experience more than anything.

Popular Mechanics for Indie Game Developers:

Like any well-tuned robot, “Nomis: The Legacy Islands” provides you with a hefty set of functions and features to utilize as you see fit. You can run, jump (even double jump), fire two types of guns in almost any direction, turn stealth, breathe underwater, and the list goes on from there.

This is wonderful in theory, however when it all boils down I found myself needing nothing more than the stealth/melee technique and a tiny bit of patience. You can literally one-hit kill any enemy in the game (boss battles excluded of course), and this, coupled with the ability to hide in shadow and move directly behind (or even through) your opponent, suddenly transforms your character into the greatest robot killing machine since Keanu Reeves. I burned through all the game’s twnety levels in less than an hour without so much as batting an eye. And though you have the option to upgrade your weaponry and health meters by collecting money and parts from your fallen foes, there’s almost no incentive whatsoever to do this other than to possibly take down the bosses slightly quicker. I should mention, though, that each boss does provide a somewhat unique encounter and they would definitely be considered a highlight of the combat here.

The platforming that’s laid out in the level design can provide a slight challenge, despite the fact that once you realize that you have the ability to double-jump (even while falling) the game ceases to be much of a challenge and you may find yourself breezing through entire levels without stopping. On the plus-side there are a number of hidden treasures scattered about each level and you can even purchase treasure maps from the local merchant to aid you in your quest for much-monies. It’s nice to see depth in the systems that have been created here, however I would have loved it if the game-play and level design had forced you to make use of all of it.

May be in Need of a Tune-up:

From a conceptual standpoint, this game has a lot of stuff going for it. With its ambitious level/character design and multitude features that include an upgradeable arsenal with various special items and a local co-op option, there was incredible potential for this to be an epic robot invasion. Unfortunately, though there was a lot going on inside this bot, the cogs just didn’t seem to be clicking together.

This game is by no means bad or broken and other than the horribly repetitive sound clips there really aren’t any major flaws. In the end, the package seems a little rusty and could have used more time in the shop.

Rating:  

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