Costume Quest

[Irishjohn]

I really like the simplicity of the basic setting. I like RPGs to have epic storylines as much as the next guy, but I like the idea of a couple of kids wandering around and using their imaginations and/or doing battle in a closely related parallel universe/um whatever thing.

[elmuerte]

Just played it for about 2 hours.

It's ok, nowhere near as good as the penny arcade games, for the rest its sort of similar. Except that battles are more simplistic. Right now in the second area, and the quests are pretty much identical to the quests in the first area. And from what I can tell there's a third area and maybe even a forth.

Unless things really change I'm going to give this is a . It's fun to play, but not really a great game.

[Roderick]

Oh man, I love his writing. It's amazing how much of Host Master's dialogue reminded me of my favourite dialogue from Monkey Island.

This might be horrible to say, but Host Master was pretty much my favourite thing Double Fine did after Psychonauts. Oh, so good.

[miffy495]

I just got to the second trick or treating section

(the mall)

and I have to say I'm really enjoying it. It's a very charming game with nice writing. A simple RPG, sure, but I've also lost a couple of battles, so not a particularly easy one. I love finding the bits for the costumes, and the special abilities can be great. The statue of liberty's heal spell makes me chuckle every time. It's not the best thing, but I'm more than willing to give it a for now. Looking forward to playing more after work tonight.

[Erkki]

like it so far. Played through the first area. My only complaint is text speed. Dialog boxes disappear too quickly.

[lobotomy42]

I love this game so far. This is great great great. I love how the relatively simplistic battle system still keeps things paced well and challenging. Small changes in costume / badge configuration can make a huge difference in how battles play out, and I don't get penalized for experimenting (and dying.) Plus the animations and the whole atmosphere are delightful. And the dialogue, obviously, is great, too. I thought I would miss having voice-over, but I don't at all. :tup:

[syntheticgerbil]

Is there anyone here that can tell me what titles the name "Tim Schafer" falls under in the credits?

[elmuerte]

Is there anyone here that can tell me what titles the name "Tim Schafer" falls under in the credits?

"Studio Creative Director" iirc

[thl]

I thought I would miss having voice-over, but I don't at all. :tup:

eh, i kinda wish it had voice over.

[Tanukitsune]

If this isn't the first actual Halloween game, it's definitely the best!

Many developers release horror games in October, but this is the first game about Halloween that I can remember... And no the one based on the movie Halloween doesn't count!

It's also the closest non-American will get to trick or treating!

Speaking of which, I love the Statue of Liberty's special attack, it's so...

AMERICA! F#$% YEAH!

[Erkki]

"Studio Creative Director" iirc

And Writer as well.

Just finished it. Great little game. It's simple, but the combat is actually interesting. Once you get the third companion, it gets easier, but is never too easy (unless you go back to previous areas). I didn't use most of the battle stamps, but I did change costumes often.

I don't think this compares negatively to Penny Arcade games, but maybe it's just that I'm not a fan of Penny Arcade (except for the occasional good comic) and didn't really like those.

[syntheticgerbil]

And Writer as well.

Thank you! Guess I'll be buying this later unless I really start clamoring for it Halloween night, just 'cause of monies right now. Might get bored handing out candy to all the nonexistent kids that come to the door.

[MrHoatzin]

Yeah, what's up with that? I've lived in somewhat wholesome neighborhoods for years now and I have yet to see any trick-or-treaters. I even have this hideous burn-victim-looking sculpture (that my ex-roommate made from wire, butcher paper and wood glue, then singed severely) I put out on the porch as a signal that we celebrate the thing... No one comes around. Are people that afraid of their neighbors in this fucking town?

Well, I hope my new neighborhood will be more conducive to trick-or-treaters. People in this part of town tend to be more liberal with their children and pets (i.e. they are always in the streets, in packs).

And more on topic, I have no consoles. I will have to play this on St. Valentine's day or whenever it gets pooped out on Steam. I am glad it's fun.

I also hope that one of the smaller Amnesia Fortnight Whathaveyou games consists of a couple of new levels for Psychonauts. That would be pretty rad. :tup:

[Hermie]

It's not that the kids neither trick nor treat, it's that their parents tell them to stay away from the houses of the creepy nerds.

Edited October 23, 2010 by Hermie

[brkl]

Hey, don't go calling Kingz a nerd.

[Tanukitsune]

Stop making the people who CAN'T celebrate Halloween feel bad...

[Erkki]

We don't have Halloween, but we have two somewhat similar days in November (Mardipäev and Kadripäev) where kids dress as beggars and go to houses for treats, and they usually sing. It seems to have died out a bit, but I'm also living in a neighborhood with lower density of people and less kids now. And even if I lived in a higher density area, apartment buildings are locked up nowadays so the kids can't really go to many houses besides their own.

[thorn]

It's not that the kids neither trick nor treat, it's that their parents tell them to stay away from the houses of the creepy nerds.

Stupid parents! Creepy nerds have the best candy.

[syntheticgerbil]

Yeah, what's up with that? I've lived in somewhat wholesome neighborhoods for years now and I have yet to see any trick-or-treaters. I even have this hideous burn-victim-looking sculpture (that my ex-roommate made from wire, butcher paper and wood glue, then singed severely) I put out on the porch as a signal that we celebrate the thing... No one comes around. Are people that afraid of their neighbors in this fucking town?

That sounds ridiculously awesome. Anyone who went the extra mile to give a jump scare or put up creepy paraphernalia made my Halloweens more memorable.

I used to have fun traveling the neighborhood for hours with a group of friends as a kid in Houston, but it has even died at my parents house. Maybe everyone got the fear instilled in them and society's changed in the US, but I sort of want to hope most of the potential trick or treaters have at least just at relocated where I don't live.

I always take the time to carve pumpkins just for the heck of it I suppose. Last year, same place in Austin, no kids, and I waited around all night, but I don't think there's many around the tiny area I'm in. A couple of years before at an apartment in Houston, only one group came by, which was no surprise for apartments I suppose, so we just dumped all our candy into their bags.

I also hope that one of the smaller Amnesia Fortnight Whathaveyou games consists of a couple of new levels for Psychonauts. That would be pretty rad. :tup:

That's a big hope for me as well. I think it may have been brought up in a Tim Schafer interview before, but the way the original Psychonauts game was constructed, it seems like it would work well for bite sized chunks of downloadable games.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Hey, don't go calling Kingz a nerd.

Hermie said creepy nerd. There's a difference.

[ThunderPeel2001]

In the UK Trick or Treating is totally borked. I remember sitting in a restaurant when two 15 year-old girls came to our table. One had the cheapest 30p mask you've ever seen, the other had no costume whatsoever. In the laziest, can't-be-arsed voice the one with the mask held out her hand and said, "trick or treeeat". I was just like, "you've got to be kidding me". It was just begging!

Thankfully they were chased out the restaurant, but man, what cheek! I even saw another table giving them money - !

My ex and I stocked up with chocolate to give out one year, and nobody came by. Speaking to other people, who did get trick or treaters, they just refused to open their door anyway. Whole thing sucks

[Forbin]

This makes me want to buy the game even though I have no time to play it right now:

[vimes]

I never 'trick-or-treat'ed in my life, so CQ was complete wishfullfilment/catharsis for me ... in fact, I gobbled it in two pretty long sittings - it's the second game in years that made me burned the midnight oil - and man, the aftertaste is great.

I've got bunch of gripes toward the gameplay since it could do far more interesting things with the ingredients it has; but what's there is neatly executed, so it never quite* casts a shadow on the rest.

The story aspects are brilliant; so much so that I'll join others and compare those to Ghibli's : the tone is sweet but somewhat authentic, the story complexity is appropriately scaled for the characters and the pace strikes the perfect balance between exploration and urgency. It feels like the Goonies and BTTF too, somehow...

Now, I'm really looking forward to the other Amnesia Fortnight projects.

* 'quite' because the combat system quickly turns to [XXX-paryparypary-XXX-paryparypary-YYY-repeat] even though the QTEs enhance it nicely.

[lobotomy42]

My only complaint is that the game seems a bit unbalanced - once you get a third companion, the combat becomes *really* easy, so after the difficulty ramps up briefly in the second act, it drops significantly as you head into the third. The final act was probably the easiest section in the game for me.

[syntheticgerbil]

In the UK Trick or Treating is totally borked. I remember sitting in a restaurant when two 15 year-old girls came to our table. One had the cheapest 30p mask you've ever seen, the other had no costume whatsoever. In the laziest, can't-be-arsed voice the one with the mask held out her hand and said, "trick or treeeat". I was just like, "you've got to be kidding me". It was just begging!

I think a lot of families take their kids to the mall here as well to trick or treat at... department stores(?), but I have no idea how that goes. I remember hearing friends talk about it even in elementary school but I've never done it myself. Sounds super lame.