by gSathe
Nitrome is one of the more established developers in the casual game market, and most of their games now show a great degree of polish. There are a few concepts that they play with, again and again, till they get it just right, and then they move on to the next game. Combine a sense of innovation and work ethic with an overwhelming sense of cute and cheesy, and you get a Nitrome game.
One of their best creations of 2008 is Dirk Valentine, a sidescroller similar to others they have worked on, such as Final Ninja or Toxic, but again, different enough to make for an interesting game, even if you have already played the others to the point of exhaustion. The familiar graphics are there, and the slightly less than fluid controls (one of Nitrome’s persistent faults, to me, but I seem to be the only person to think so, which makes it my problem and not theirs) are all there. Coupled with another one of Nitrome’s strengths – cheesy, irritating, yet perfect, music and sounds, all of which fit together; make the game a complete package.
The steampunk setting of the sidescroller makes a departure from other Nitrome standards, but the game plays well, and the story progresses in a familiar fashion. You’ve gotten into the lair of the evil Baron to rescue the Queen, so that the cavalry can come charging in and kick some ass and until you get Her Royal Highness out, you’re on your own. Almost entirely on your own. You’ve got Annoying Professor Sidekick who shows up as radio transmissions to explain new gameplay elements. However, the developer has made sure that you get a chance to understand how everything works without forcing you through a rather boring tutorial. Instead they’ve done things the classic way – you’re shown something new and told how to use it, then made to use it a couple of times without guidance, and finally, you’re left on your own to innovate.
The twist in this game is your “chain cannon”, which acts as a mix between a cannon and a ninja-rope – only instead of making like Tarzan and swinging around, you’re building bridges when you fire that thing. Brown surfaces are valid links for building bridges while black metal surfaces cause it to bounce around. This means that you build bridges and cover terrain, bounce shots off one surface to the next, or just sock a bad guy in the face with your cannon – quite a versatile weapon that. Oh yeah, there’s also teleporters, and teleporters always make things better, even those chain cannons. Your shots get teleported, chain and all, so that you can sucker punch the bad guys and work moving platform puzzles. On one memorable occasion, the enemy was squashed between the wall and a moving platform – pretty grisly for a Nitrome game, watching him squirm in the face of his inevitable death!
The set pieces are familiar and the climax is a well worn cliche, but I won’t give it away regardless. It’s not important really, because what Dirk Valentine boils down to is a game that’s fun to play, looks nice, sounds great, and it’s got a cannon with a trailing chain. Everything a person could ask for really.
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