Project Nomads

"A Unique game that you really have to see"

While not many have played this, or even know it exists, I'm here to say that it is pretty good. Not exceptional, it's not going to be the next Halo or something, but it is a decent game in it's own right.

Storyline-The game takes place in a strange world....or, at least it was a world. There is no ground, only small islands, and far below it, the sea of Flames AKA the land of lots of lava and volcanoes. Anyone who wants to go anywhere has two choices, fly by plane, or fly by island, the island thing will be explained soon.

The player chooses one of 3 characters. When the game starts, the other two are captured by a fighter wing, and the player's character is "left for dead" after his/her plane crashes into a small island. The player awakens a Master Builder, who helps you as a reward for freeing him. He gives you some artifacts to control the small island you landed on, and use it as a mode of transportation. Then, the player heads off to free his or her friends.

Gameplay- I have some small issues with the gameplay on this. The game does give the player a basic understanding of the game quickly enough (they'll be shooting stuff down in level one), but then the game kind of leaves the player to figure it out on their own, with only occasional hints "Get the bomber bay, destroy the enemy hangars" and that kind of thing.

Most of the gameplay is set around converting the player's mobile island into an unstoppable warship, and then destroying enemies. The player uses magic artifacts to place structures on the island, including guns, power generators, and energy storage buildings. The player will have to figure out the best layout themself, and if they do not, the game will be frustratingly difficult (ex- put the heavy cannon on the back of your island, and you won't fare well).

The player's island becomes very powerful later in the game, sporting hangars for fighters and bombers, while also mounting several powerful automated defense guns. Almost everything on the island functions on it's own, but the player can take control at any time.

The enemies are pretty simple. There are the skrits, which the player will encounter when running around other islands, or sometimes the flying versions will attack the player's island. There are the Sentinels, which attack with bombers and fighters and other island-battleships. And.... that's all there is. A little more variety would have been appreciated, but the 2 main enemies are enough to get by.

There's another little flaw here, the AI. Planes in this game are very incompetent. Before the player finishes the game, they will see several fighters and bombers crash into rocky pieces of land, other fighters, and even the player's island. And the skrits very predictable in their movements *rush the player, try to blow them up*.

There is some variety in levels though. There is are the "kill everything" levels, which are most of the game. There are also more interesting types like the "get through this area in one piece" levels or the "defend target X" levels. And everything else is scouting around for more artifacts to improve the island.

Another flaw becomes obvious as the player moves along though, there is too much that a careless player might miss. So many vital components will have the player searching high and low to find them. And because only some are needed to exit the level, the player can never be quite sure that they've found them all. As a testament to this, I will say that even after several playthroughs I am still finding artifacts in bizarre spots where I never considered to look.

While the game doesn't have as many features as the box would lead you to think, it's still good in the aspect of gameplay.

Graphics, Sound, Music- The graphics are not astonishing, but you won't be clawing your eyes out either. It has some puzzling parts that add to the mystery of the world your character is exploring, such as a moon that is below the horizon, and what is possibly a planet in the distance that looks like something took a bite out of it.

The music is actually helpful in the game, because a certain piece plays every time the player does something important (like destroying a vital enemy building, or finding a needed artifact)

The sound is about par, everything sounds like the player would expect it too. The sound also helps the player, because a careful listener can detect skrits before they are seen by the certain sound they make when walking and attacking.

Conclusion- This is not a perfect game, or even close. But it is still a game, and by now, it's a cheap one. If a gamer is low on cash, this might be worth a glance.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/06