Developer: 5th Cell
Publisher: THQ, THQ Nordic
Platforms: PS4, PC, Xbox One
Tested on: PS4
Lock’s Quest – Review
Games mostly are either tower defence or RTS but the combination of both is scarce. If you had a Nintendo DS and you did your homework correctly, then you might recognize this title. Lock’s Quest combines both worlds and although it was originally released in 2008 for Nintendo’s handheld, after all these years it’s getting a revamped version for the latest consoles and PC. Are you ready to defend yourself against the clockwork invasion?
Story
In this world there is a rather special substance called Source. This can be used as a building block to create several things and Archineers used it to construct the kingdom. Even more, they also studied this substance and Agonius, the greatest Archineer of all times, found that Source can also emulate life. He started to create several lifelike creatures but he was halted by the King. He understood the dangers of tampering with nature and forbade to continue this blasphemy. Agonius refused and was banished. The Archineer wanted revenge and became known as Lord Agony with his clockwork army. War was inevitable and after a lot of casualties on both sides, the evil lord was slain.
The game starts a few years later in a rather peaceful village, where Lock and his family live a happy and (almost) carefree life. One day, Lock’s grandfather Tobias asks the young lad to build a retaining wall at the beach so the crops are protected from the seawater. Your gramps also asks to take your sister with you, as she’s been stalking him all day. They did not know what demise was heading their way.
Although this is a tower defence game combined with RTS, it has a lot to offer story wise. At the beginning, the narrative might seem a bit dull but it gets interesting rather fast. In the end you’ll be enjoying a good tale while fighting those clockworks.
Graphics
This game was originally released on the Nintendo DS and the revamped version still has the same style in place. Of course, some elements had to be altered to fit on one screen instead of two so the building interface was updated for example. It would have been nice if the rest of the graphics were a bit brushed up as well. Some of the elements were tackled, like the character images that pop up while conversing, but it doesn’t really fit well with the rest of the graphics. The overall feel is a bit outdated. Nonetheless, the graphics are rather colorful and the tones certainly match together.
Sound
Music wise it seems that this was brushed up a bit and although it doesn’t sound like the most up-to-date tracks, it fits the graphics like a charm. It also gives you that extra bit of dimension and it makes you realize just how severe all of these events are. Of course, voice acting isn’t available although the sound effects make up for it. Don’t expect the most sophisticated ambience but at least you’ll hear your swings and tinkering multiple times.
Gameplay
Lock’s Quest is a tower defence game in combination with RTS and RPG elements. You will have to take up arms against a clockwork army and protect what you love by building defences on a tiled grid. This is done on two phases: Build and Battle. In the first one, you can put down any of the defence possibilities, depending on the amount of space you have of course, while in the second phase you have to attack and fend off any enemies before they get to the objective. This means you have to protect certain constructions or people. In this second phase, you won’t be able to build anything new, just repair broken buildings.
If you want to build defence systems, you will need Source. At the start of a new area, you will receive an amount of this element at your disposal. Each particular defence type has a cost and although it might seem tempting to deplete your stash, it is not a clever idea. Fending off enemies can take several days and the only income of new Source is when you defeat Clockwork soldiers. With this little amount of Source, you need to repair damaged towers and walls but also replace destroyed ones. In the end, it could be you have to start over again because you didn’t have the required amount of defence left. At least you can perform ratcheting, which means you can quickly fix your towers instead of having to wait a longer time.
There is something in place that will help you out if done correctly. When you place one of your towers in between two walls, it gets extra bonuses. It seems this only occurs when you place it in between two of your own walls and not when you use one of the available pillars or even other towers, which is rather annoying.
You yourself can also take up arms during the Battle phase. You can rush to aid your towers and hit your enemies with all you’ve got. During the progression of the game, you will learn new tricks to tackle these baddies but the most important aspect is to retreat when needed. When Lock dies, all is in vain so get back when you’re running low on health. He will be able to regenerate his lost life points so he’s ready to go back into action. Next to normal attacks, you can also do combos by pressing a sequence of buttons. Later on, you will also be able to cast spells although you need to wait until your meter is completely full.
It is kind of hard to know where the enemies are going to spawn. One indication are the spots of dead land, but this isn’t always that visible so it could be you’re placing defences at the wrong areas, making you to restart. Sometimes you’re even stuck after something small, losing precious time or health. On the Nintendo DS this game was probably great but it feels like this isn’t ported as it shouldn’t be. In the end, it increases the difficulty level a lot and might even make you demotivated to continue.
Conclusion
Lock’s Quest is a port from a Nintendo DS game and although it combines quite some genres, it feels kind of outdated. Some things aren’t explained properly while the graphics sometimes don’t really match. Sometimes you even get stuck without a proper reason, which makes you lose precious time. If you would love to relive some memories or you want to get into this mash-up of genres, be aware that it might get you frustrated at some points.
Lock's Quest - Review,
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