Lost Catacombs

Someone remind me: Why is isometric a good idea again?

Isometric is a good idea when "up" is oriented correctly.... sigh. I would have really liked this game if it weren't 90 (relative) degrees off intuitive.

This would be such a cute game, but the controls being off like they are, by design, make it way to frustrating to play.

Once I got my brain and fingers in 'iso mode' I had fun with this. Brought back happy memories of Tangerine POP's 'Grave Shift'. I would like to see more of the larger levels in the map view. If something is coming at me out of a wall, I want to see that wall.

OFF TOPIC: Anyone else remember an *old* phone game called 'Isoman'? 2003-2005ish?

Up was where I expected it to be, first I'd heard that either was meant to be correct.

That said the option to choose the 2 alternatives would be sensible.

The alternatives are there - just configure the controls in the options. Shame the game is receiving such a poor score when author has allowed this.

In any case, default works fine for me and really enjoying it so far :)

I wanted to like this program, as it's the type of puzzle game I normally enjoy. However, having battled with the controls on several occasions I have to conclude that for me it's unplayable.

The isometic style works well when a game is truly 3D and mouse operated, such as the Isoball series.

However, for a game that is keyboard operated, and presumably 2D (I haven't played enough to know if that's the case with this program or not) then the 2D top-down format is far preferable, as in games such as DROD.

[off-topic]
Well, obviously DROD is the best game ever made but still :)
[/off-topic]

I find a lot of old-shool charm in isometric "dungeon crawlers" like this (Cadaver anyone? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadaver_%28video_game%29). Maybe I'm just showing my age

neat game, with some cool ideas all mashed in there (sokoban, etc.) isometric is ok, once you get the controls mapped the way you want, and in your head. i keep dying on the spikes because i go the wrong way and bump into the wall when moving fast. an 'undo' would be Much appreciate and go a long way to making this game much more popular!

or at least a difficulty to tune how fast the spikes pop up would help those who prefer their puzzle solving to be less about fast twitch reflexes and 'excitement'...

Ok after MANY run-throughs and thinking breaks AND non-thinking breaks, I CANNOT get past Pot Palace. I finally figured out how to get both rooms of gems, and... that's it.

The fact that Map View doesn't even have a scroll feature makes it far less effective. In theory, I know which alley I need to end up at to reach the exit, but trying to trace it backwards, there's a point where there are too many possible ways to go for me to determine which would or wouldn't work. Walkthroughs, anyone?

Please allow me to add my weight to the hatred of isometric control systems. Even when I reorient the keyboard it still doesn't work for me at ANY level.

No matter how I tried I could not get the guy to move anywhere, gave up before I even started, doesn't the programmer want people to play????

Syntax, I tried reconfiguring the controls, but it didn't help. My brain just doesn't perceive any direction as being "up" in the diagonal layout. I'd like an option to show the grid non-diagonal, so I could use the "up" or "w" key to go up.

I was managing ok until I got to the level with the shooting. It just seemed too much like work to keep track of where I wanted to go plus keeping track of which keys to press to get there.

[Try tilting your head to one side or the other. Works for me when playing these types of games. :) -Jay]

Huh. I never had a problem with isometric games. Mind you, I did indeed play Cadaver, back in the day.

As the review said, nothing particularly innovative here, but some nice juicy head-scratchy puzzles. Fun.

I can't get past pot palace either. I got the two rooms of gems but can't get further. Can even get to the end if I don't bother with the jewels. Really like this game, but ready to quit. Any walk throughs yet?

A solution to pot palace :

I could never get used to controls, either. I got stuck in the spikes room because I could not successfully maneuver my character even after I understood the goal. Sad, because I enjoy games like this. I gave up.

Stuck on "Cellar Entrance" The door will not open and there is no switch to open it.