Game Classification

Grotesque. Never was a world named so aptly. Once the play-ball for the ghastly Titans until the mighty Archangel Thorus came and banned the Titans for all eternity from the world. It took 700 years however until the humans finally settled their disputes and the kingdom of Glory was founded. While Wood Elves and High Elves were engaged in a civil war, Orcs and Goblins plundered the lands while the Humans flourished and became the strongest race on the planet. Still they had enemies they needed to defend against. So the arrival of the Holy Avatar in 1170 came as a blessing. Taking each and every quest he could get his hands on, his name was soon known to friend and foe alike. Final Bosses even went into exile to escape the wrath of the Holy Avatar. But not all was good in the lands. With the Holy Avatar handling all affairs, the soldiers became lazy and the heroes didn't even leave the taverns anymore. Defeat was inevitable when the Virgin Mother and her fanatical followers known as the Dark Church overran the empire. Even the Holy Avatar could only sit by and watch as the whole army of Glory was slaughtered, leaving him as one of the few survivors. Now the Holy Avatar is on a search for new comrades-in-arms to help him turn the tide in this war and happens to meet recruit Drake who is just about to commit suicide by throwing himself at a flesh-eating mushroom...

Combining light turn-based strategy with light role-playing elements, Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes is a rather easy to understand game which is everything but serious. The game is rather one parody following the next poking fun at everything ranging from RPG-stereotypes over pop-culture to itself. The player meeting a pair of CosPlayers dressed as the Holy Avatar himself is just the beginning. But still it isn't just fun and games - after all the world needs to be saved from the clutches of the Dark Church and in order to do so, the player takes on the role of Drake while at same time also controlling the Holy Avatar and all the Virgins and other characters the player will "rescue" and find during his journey through Glory looking him either over the shoulder or zoom all the way out to get an overhead view of the playing field.

Each character has access to a pre-defined set of skills the player has no influence on. The Holy Avatar of course uses his mighty sword to dispose of enemies while the Virgins like to use their bows to aid in combat. Additional skills are automatically unlocked when the character reaches the corresponding level. Attributes are also raised automatically. To earn a level, the player of course needs the experience points earned for each successful hit on an enemy with additional points being rewarded for making the killing blow and of course completing quests. Fallen enemies, chests and quests also yield items and money for the player to use. Again the mechanic is simple however with the characters only being able to put on specific kinds of weapons and cloth specially designed for their character. Weapon, chest and trinket are the only three slots available for each character. In addition an assortment of potions is available to keep everyone at full health and mana or treat a bleeding wound.

Fights are done turn-based within the world. Once an enemy has been spotted, each character can move around in a certain radius as long and often as he wishes allowing him to find the best suitable position for his attack or hide in the bushes for additional defense bonuses. Once he performs an action however (e.g. an attack), the next character (friend or foe) in the initiative-order takes his turn. Each character also has a obsession meter which fills up automatically depending on what the character is obsessed about. If it's filled, a unique spell gets cast which can be both positive and negative for the group. Rikel, the Goblin-trickster for example automatically teleports himself to the Holy Avatar while blinding everyone (including friends) at his old position if he feels too threatened as he's very afraid of dying. Has every enemy been killed, the game continues normally. If a party member is killed or badly wounded, he or she can be revived and healed at the main hub (Station Wish) in exchange for money. Is every party member dead however, the game ends. Even the Holy Avatar can't do anything about that... [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : PC (Windows)

Links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/grotesque-tactics-evil-heroes/