|
|
 |
|
| Idea Info |
Name:
The Surreal
Index:
Primary
Category:
Adventure
Submitted:
8/10/2003 3:37:35 PM
Written By:
sparda590 |
|
|
The Surreal
8/10/2003 3:37:35 PM
By: sparda590
Show
all Game Ideas by this Member
Category: Adventure Games
Learn Game Programming
DeVry's Game and Simulation Programming curriculum will prepare you for taking on various development roles in the game industry.
Game Art & Design Degree
Westwoods’s game art & design program will teach you everything you will need to know before you apply for a job in the game industry.
My game is called The Surreal
Special Notes
I apologize if this game idea seems to be a bit of a chore to read, as it is pretty long. The reason it is so darn long is because it is presented in walkthrough style and has a broad storyline, since I want to describe this one a little more vividly than my other game ideas. This game is aimed at Mature auidiences. Also, I know this game idea has been categorized as Action, but I think the best category for it would be SURVIVAL HORROR\ACTION, too bad it isn't there. I hope this game idea will give the Survival Horror genre a bit of an action boost, and that the concept of being trapped in a nightmare will be fun and interesting.
One last thing, most people think that the theme of finding keys to open doors in video games is lame. However, when reading this game idea, please be open minded and try to enjoy the variety, because many objectives in this game revolve around finding the right key, code, or remote to enter the right place. Onto the story.
STORY
On his eleventh birthday, a young boy named Joshua Remirez was violently assaulted by a mysterious cloaked figure. The stranger escaped, but Joshua was put in a hospital, left in a coma. Late at night, the cloaked stranger returns, hanging a dream catcher over Joshua's bed. You learn later in the story that this dream catcher is actually designed to catch NIGHTMARES! Now, Joshua is trapped within his own coma, and the fight to escape his own nightmare begins!
GAMEPLAY
Weapons
Usually Joshua will be doing the cowering, but you may yet make your enemies cower in fear when they get a peek at your bizarre arsenal!
Butcher Knife: The long, creepy butcher knife is the first weapon Joshua must use to fend of a one of the game's many ravenous creatures. The butcher knife is a fairly weak and close range weapon, but is very useful in the early parts of the game. With the butcher knife, you can mimic attacks that you have learned with your spirit-stick, which I'll cover in just a second. You find the butcher knife on the counter of Joshua's kitchen in Mission 1.
Spirit Stick: Probably the most powerful, most useful, and most bizarre of all Joshua's arsenal! The spirit-stick is a stick five feet long (longer than Joshua) with a small arrowhead attached to the tip. This arrowhead is also attached a string coiled deep within the stick that has the ability to shoot the length of a whole football field! You can use the spirit stick in two ways. The first is with the arrowhead firmly planted on the end, ramming the stick into enemies like a spear! During the game, Joshua finds a stick fighting dojo, in which he can learn new attacks for his spirit-stick. He can also do this during missions. The attacks for the spear form of the spirit stick are listed in the SPOOK SHOP section of the guide. (Joshua starts with a three-whack combo for every weapon until he levels them up)
The second form of the spirit stick is much more powerful. The arrowhead projects from the tip of the stick, attached to a long cord. The arrowhead has the ability to produce magic powers, which travels up and down the spirit stick's cord, glowing green energy. The techniques that you can learn for the whip form of the spirit stick are listed in the SPOOK SHOP section of the guide.
Cleaver: The stronger version of the butcher knife, the giant meat cleaver has more attack power than its smaller cousin. However, the meat cleaver must make up in attack power with the fact that it cannot attack as quickly or precisely as the butcher knife. However, this weapon is better to use than the butcher knife against stronger, slower enemies. The cleaver is found after defeating the Bistro Butcher in Mission 4.
Large Arrowhead: When Joshua receives his spirit stick, it is equipped with a small arrowhead. However, in Mission 17, Joshua finds a larger arrowhead that can be equipped to his spirit stick. This arrowhead has more attack power and can perform the should remove technique with more precision.
Flashlight: I know it sounds weird, but the flashlight is actually more of a weapon than it is a source of seeing where you are in the dark, since most of the monsters in The Surreal hate light. The flashlight can be toggled from thin beam to broad beam. Use the thin beam to wield the flashlight like a sword that can cover great distances, and use the broad beam to drive overwhelming numbers of enemies, such as Wretcheds, back and stop them from swarming Joshua. Joshua starts out with the flashlight in the beginning of the game. After being used constantly for about a half an hour, the batteries of the flashlight die out. (Learn what to do when this happens by reading the items and treasures section of this guide.)
Pistol: You know what's neat about the firearms in this game? You have...UNLIMITED AMMO! But don't jump for joy just yet. The pistol is able to fire ten shots before Joshua has to reload another clip, and reloading with the pistol can take up to about five seconds, in which Joshua must remain motionless! This laser-guided pistol is found in the firearm section of the local store on Mission 3.
Shotgun: Believe it or not, you find the shotgun before you find the pistol! (But not long before.) The shotgun fires five buckshots before Joshua has to reload them, which actually goes even quicker than reloading the pistol! However, this weapon has no laser-guide, and its range is extremely limited. Enemies far back will take very little damage from this weapon, but enemies at close range will fly back several feet with a hole the size of Texas in their chests! (figure of speech) The shotgun is found in the middle of Mission 2, inside the shed in Joshua's backyard.
Assault rifle: One of the most powerful guns in the game, the Assault rifle can fire three powerful shots, which do massive damage close range and long range, and then takes about eight through ten seconds to reload. When entering first person view, the Assault Rifle has snipering capabilities. The Assault Rifle is found in the paintball field on Mission 12.
Grenadegun: The grenadegun fires four grenades that travel in an arc towards their target before exploding. When all four grenades are shot, Joshua must load another round, which takes five through seven seconds to complete. The grenade gun is found at the town square on Mission 17.
Stinger: The Stinger is a heat Seeking Missile launcher, which can target up to five different enemies, then fires as many missiles as you just chose. When all five missiles are shot, Joshua must reload, which takes a little over ten seconds. The stinger is found under the Dam after you fight the Nile in Mission 18. (Joshua is immune to all and any explosions fired by the grenadegun and or Stinger)
Harpoon gun: The harpoon gun can fire rapid-fire harpoon projectiles. It is the only weapon that can be used underwater besides the spirit stick and A-comas.
Flamestone: The flamestone can be equipped to the spirit-stick. When the flamestone is equipped, the usual green energy that surrounds the cord fired by the spirit stick will be replaced with raging fire. Also, when in Adrenaline mode (I'm getting to that) all bullets fired will burn with the elemental power of flame. Use the soul remove technique with the flamestone equipped, and enemies will not have their soul stolen, they will instead burst into flame! Most enemies are weak to the raging hellfire, but enemies that dwell underwater will show resistance to the power of fire. In addition, enemies that use the elemental power of fire will only become stronger when attacked with the flamestone. The flamestone is automatically found after defeating the blaze in the Bowman Mansion on Mission 5.
Joltstone: When the Joltstone is equipped to the spirit stick, the ghastly green glow emitting from the cord shall be replaced by shocking electric power! Bullets fired when in Adrenaline mode will erupt with the sizzle of electricity! Using the soul remove technique with the Joltstone equipped lets you electrocute enemies like a taser! Enemies that dwell underwater along with flying enemies will show weakness to the Joltstone, but it is weak against almost everything else. The Joltstone is found in Mission 11, after you fight the Pyro Spirits.
Aquastone: When the aquastone is equipped, your spirit stick will glow blue and give off the elemental power of water. Bullets will not change when the aquastone is equipped, and you cannot use the soul remove technique. However, when the aquastone is equipped, Joshua will swim with enhanced speed and agility, and will not need to come up for air! This stone works best against enemies that use the scorching power of fire. The aquastone is found in Mission 8, after you fight the Nile.
SPECIAL WEAPONS
A-Comas: The A-comas are a pair of enormous firearms. These weapons are worn like gloves, and the triggers are located deep inside the devices, which cover the entire forearm. The A-comas fire rapid-fire plasma projectiles, which bounce off walls several times before disappearing. This is the only Firearm that can perform the soul remove technique. They are also the only firearms that do not need any reloading. The A-Comas are found in Mission 1 on HARD mode, which is unlocked by beating the game once on normal mode.
Adrenaline mode: When you have your spirit stick equipped, a second bar will appear under your life bar, glowing green. When this bar is filled, you will here a chime and Joshua can enter Adrenaline mode. While in this state, Joshua glows with green energy, and attacks frantically, moves faster, jumps higher, and is not forced to reload his ammunition. When in Adrenaline mode, Joshua will not flinch or reel from enemy attacks! (This is based on real-life events in which our fear kicks in and we seem to grow in strength.) However, while in Adrenaline mode, Joshua loses health do to the extreme limits he pushes his body to. Adrenaline drains 1% Health from Joshua every five seconds, and he starts out with only 10% health! Therefore, it is a good idea to save Adrenaline mode for later in the game, when you gain more health. Adrenaline starts out lasting about ten seconds, but can be extended to last about forty seconds. You fill the Adrenaline bar by damaging enemies or recieving damage. An extended Adrenaline bar is good, but it also takes longer to fill.
Amigo the Husky: During the game, Joshua discovers a normal, highly intelligent husky-dog named Amigo. Amigo is one of the few other good-guys in the game besides Joshua. Joshua can lead Amigo around on a leash, attack and track down enemies and items, and call for him at any time. Amigo the Husky starts out with 50% Health, which can be extended to 100% Health. When Amigo's health falls into the red, you will be given the option to call him back. IF AMIGO DIES, YOU LOSE!
Enemies
Throughout the twenty-one missions in The Surreal, Joshua will be forced into battles with horrifying and demonic creatures that come from a darker part of his mind. (He is literally trapped in his nightmare, after all.) The monsters encountered in this game are as follows: (The Health meter of the enemies is presented directly after their names)
1. Wretched Souls, 30% Health(Wretched for short):
Appearance
Resident Evil, anyone? These creatures are decaying Zombie-like forms of Men and Women. (Yes I know, it sounds lame.) However, their appearance is very unlike that of the infected Zombies from the Resident Evil games. They are six feet tall, towering over Joshua, who is four feet four inches tall. They remain mostly unclothed, with rotting, gray tangles of flesh. Their hair (if they have any) is stringy and white, dangling to their necks. Their eyes are bloodshot, with white pupils. Their mouths, when closed, are very small, but can be stretched open to a huge size, revealing rows of sharp, shark-like teeth.
Fighting Tactics: Wretched are pretty frickin stupid, which is both an advantage and disadvantage for Joshua. It is to your favor that these beasts will run right into explosions that you may cause, which will kill large numbers of them. It is to their favor that their ferocious bloodlust will sometimes allow them to pass right through bullets and slashes! Wretcheds attack by cutting Joshua with their four-inch long fingernails and by jumping on him and biting him to death. They may also paralyze Joshua for a few seconds by screaming an eerie, high-pitched screech. To make up for their weak attacks, Wretcheds often attack in groups. Heck, they often attack in onslaughts!
2.Wretched Gunmen, 50% Health:
Appearance
These monsters are exactly like the Wretched zombie creatures stated above, except they carry assault rifles and wear bulletproof vests!
Fighting tactics: These monsters are a bit smarter than normal Wretcheds; they take cover behind objects and attack with rifles from long range. They also have longer vitality bars, allowed by their bulletproof vests. If you come too close to a Wretched Gunman, they will do one of three things: They will either turn their gun around and give Joshua a swift bat on the head, knocking him back a few feet, fire at close range, causing massive trauma, or their animalistic instincts might kick in and they will try to jump on Joshua, taking a bite out of him! Stay far away from these monsters, using first-person view to take them out with headshots. Good luck with the marksmanship!
3. Blaze, 50% Health:
Appearance: These creatures resemble foxes consumed completely in fire.
Fighting Tactics: Blazes will often run on and jump off of walls, setting whatever it touches aflame, including Joshua! Roll to put yourself out when you catch fire. When fighting Blazes, it is a good idea to equip the aquastone, which is just about the only thing that can hurt a Blaze.
4. Reapers, 100% Health:
Appearance: Reapers are smoky specters that float through the air with heads resembling cow skulls. The most disturbing thing about this enemy is probably the six large scythes that it carries.
Fighting Tactics: Though these ghostly figures resemble the grim reaper, they are far different. The Grim Reaper harvests souls from people that are already dead, but these Reapers harvest souls that are still alive! When a fight with a reaper begins, the reaper will drop all of its scythes but one. A player may find fighting a Reaper to be somewhat like fighting a weaker boss! Reapers attack with their scythe weapons, which most be frantically blocked with your spirit stick, or else massive damage and bleeding will result in death. When you manage to knock a Reaper's scythe away, bash its skull until its life meter falls into the red. (life meters are red for 20% and under, yellow for 50%-99%, and green for 100% and over. Joshua starts with a 10% life meter, and can extend it to a whopping 200%. But more on that later.) When this happens, the Reaper's other five scythes will rise from the ground, and it will attack viciously non-stop with all six of them! Prevent it from picking up its scythes by all means possible, and try to kill it before it can.
5. Mosquitoes, 20%-60% Health:
Appearance: The name says it all. Bugs the size of cars with stingers as long as your spirit stick. Wouldn't it suck if you were trapped in a small room with about thirty of them? Unfortunately, that is where you first encounter these flying pests from hell.
Fighting Tactics: Mosquitoes come in two forms, male and female. The males will stay on the ground, attacking Joshua frantically with their claws, while the females fly in the air, swooping at him in hopes of piercing him with their enormous stingers. Destroy the ground types as quickly as you can, because not only will they distract you while the air based ones move in for the kill, but they will also vomit blood onto you, making it difficult to move. Their disgustingly hideous behavior and appearance is a shivering reminder of a nightmare's twisted nature.
6. Rotwielers, 60% Health:
Appearance: Rotwielers are twisted, mutated zombie dogs that obey the Wretched. They are extremely difficult for Joshua to fight on his own, therefore a special kind of weapon must be used...
Fighting Tactics: Don't even think about going head to head with a rotweiler! They are fast, ferocious, and at 60% Health, pretty tough. Whip out your dog, Amigo, and sent him rip-roarin' after the others. While Amigo fights the Rotweilers, you can help him dodge some of their attacks by pulling back on his leash. You can also give him a hand by standing back and shooting at the Rotwielers.
7. Black Dogs, 80% Health.
Appearance: Black Dogs are hulking, shadowy figures resembling wolves with gaping, red eyes. They are actually not aggressive, (usually) but their calmness can turn into blinding madness in an instant!
Fighting Tactics: Many Times in the game, you may be forced to walk around instead of running. This is because running and fighting, like entering adrenaline mode, drain stamina after awhile, so it would help recover stamina by slowly walking to your destination. This can be inconvenient, since the environments are so huge, but this problem is fixed later in the game, when you can drive around in a shiny new Camaro SS! Anyway, sometimes when you walk slowly through a dark area, the camera angle will switch to Joshua's front, so you can see that there is something stalking him! A pair of red eyes appear behind Joshua, and they creep closer and closer until...it becomes distinguishable that the eyes belong to an enormous Black Dog. DO NOT try to run away. DO NOT turn around and start whacking away with your spirit stick, because these things will only enrage a Black Dog! Instead, keep steadily walking, do not stop, and the Black Dog will trot along, curiously sniffing at your sides. After a while, it will stop, and the red eyes will fade into the distance. Make sure Amigo is not with you if you encounter a Black Dog, because he will only bark and try to attack the Black Dog. If for some reason you start a fight with a Black Dog, don't panic! Just kidding, that would be a perfect situation to panic! Don't think Black Dogs will be as easy as a Rotwielers, no sir! In fact, Amigo is weak to these shadowy figures. Black Dogs are invincible to attacks in the dark, but become solid when entering light. Equip the flamestone to brighten up the area, or fire a gun to create muzzle flashes. The Black Dog will Project shadowy spikes and can morph its head into a drill-like figure! Dodge its attacks quickly, and use the techniques stated above to finish it off.
8. Black Kats, 120% Health
Appearance: Much like the Black Dogs, Black Kats are made up mainly of shadowy material and are vulnerable in light. They are much more fierce than Black Dogs and resemble Tigers.
Fighting Tactics: Try to turn your back on these monsters and slowly walk away like you did with the black dogs. That is, if you want them to chop you up into little bitty pieces. (Hint, sarcasm.) Black Kats won't tolerate you walking slowly away from them! Fight them head on, honing your dodging and rolling skills. Black Kats usually attack in pairs and move much faster than Black Dogs, so have Amigo help you out!
9. Harpies, 10%-30% Health:
Appearance: Varying in size, Harpies are frightening giant birds with razor sharp beaks and talons.
Fighting Tactics: Harpies swoop from the sky, so it is wise to use the whip form of the spirit stick in order to attack them. It is also a good idea to use the Joltstone with your spirit stick, since they are weak to electricity. Try to take out the smaller, weaker male harpies first, so they don't interfere with your fights with the larger, stronger female Harpies.
10. Poltergeists, ???% Health:
Appearance: Poltergeists are parasitic misty white blobs that float through space, cackling mischievously.
Fighting Tactics: Poltergeists are helpless and easily killed in their true form, at 5% health. However, they have the ability to infest inanimate objects such as cars, tables, chairs, ect. When they do, their health meters are multiplied by 4, 6, 8, or even 12! Fight them cautiously, learning each one's tactics. When an infested object's health meter falls into the red area, the poltergeist will break free from its host. Finish them off before they infect something else!
11.Hangmen, 70% Health:
Appearance: Hanging from ceilings, lampposts, and other high objects, hangmen are grisly zombies with broken necks.
Fighting Tactics: Hangmen often drop from above unexpectedly. Give them a few whacks before they gather themselves up, because its quite a battle when they do. Although they are shorter than Wretcheds, they do not move any faster. However, they wear clothes, bulletproof vests, and are tougher. They attack by swinging a large noose at Joshua, and by trying to trip and strangle him with it. These attacks can be easily dodged with practice. Hangmen are strangely invulnerable to gunfire towards the head. If you try aiming and shoot them in the head in first-person view, their heads will only creak back and forth.
12. Mirror Ghouls, ???% Health:
Appearance: Only the top half of a mirror ghoul is ever seen. It looks like the top half of a terrifying woman with the mouth stitched shut and has huge grasping hands with black claws at the end. Its hideous cackle is sure to freak even the bravest people out. Mirror ghouls reside in a universe parallel to ours, and seldom travel outside of it unless they are searching for fresh meat...
Fighting Tactics: Mirror Ghouls attack through reflective surfaces, hence the name. Whenever Joshua is facing a mirror or reflective surface and the reflection is not his, but that of a grisly woman, break the mirror quick, or else the ghoul will pull itself through and start attacking Joshua! If the Mirror Ghoul manages to pull Joshua completely through the mirror, its all over. A mirror ghoul may still be able to attack if a mirror is broken. It will just attack by reaching a hand through the shards and continue attack. In other words, if you break a mirror and the mirror ghoul is still alive, all you have done was give it about a hundred hiding places. Make sure a mirror is completely smashed before leaving. (When looking in mirrors, you may also see a Black Dog approaching Joshua from behind! You know what to do...)
13. Shadows, ???% Health:
Appearance: Shadows are, well, shadows.
Fighting Tactics: If Joshua walks into a bright light and you see his shadow on the ground or wall, quickly shoot the light out! If not, Joshua's shadow will grow and contort into a hideous shadow-beast and attack Joshua! In addition, shadows cast by other objects may also come to life! In this game, being in the light can be worse than being in the dark!
14. Eels, 20% Health:
Appearance: Freakish black eels that reside in the murky waters of Joshua's nightmares, waiting for their dinner to jump in the water...
Fighting Tactics: Eels swim very fast, but are not very strong with 20% life bars. They are the only water-type enemy that is immune to electricity, making them a little tougher to kill.
15. Lurkfish, 50% Health:
Appearance: Spine tingling, skeletal fish that are as big as small boats, with snouts resembling that of a crocodile.
Fighting Tactics: Lurkfish mainly swim by and try to snap at Joshua from underwater, but if they get a hold of him, they may try to toss him into the air, jump up, then swallow him whole. Avoid these attacks by all means necessary, and use lighting type attacks to blow these oversized minnows out of the water.
16. Closet Creeps, 65% Health:
Appearance: These bizarre monsters dwell in...closets? Must be a fear that Joshua had when he was young. They look like giant dog heads mounted on four huge claws, with mouths coming out of all sides of the head.
Fighting tactics. These monsters like to attack by dragging their huge claws along the ground, and grasping it tightly, so that it might be dragged towards the waiting mouths to be ripped to shreds. Jump over its claws and use mainly strong firearms such as the rifle to bring this beast down.
17. Werewolves, 130% Health:
Appearance: Standing upright, Werewolves are huge dogs built for killing. They actually resemble bears rather than dogs.
Fighting Tactics: The behavior of Werewolves is absolutely bloodthirsty! Werewolves will run quickly towards Joshua, then try to impale him with their large bear-like claws. Avoid this attack by rolling under them and attacking from behind. Werewolves also may bite down on Joshua, enclosing his top half inside their mouths! Wiggle the left analog stick to break free. Werewolves are weak when not exposed to the moonlight, so try to lure them into an inside place.
Boss Enemies
Did all those enemies sound pretty tough and scary? I hope not because these next ones are as tough and scary as they get! Joshua may encounter the same boss monsters many times throughout his quest. I will list the monster's names, appearances, and powers, but won't give you too much advice on the fighting tactics as I did with the regular monsters.
1.The Bistro Butcher: This is a demonic butcher who lives in the butcher shop of Joshua's nightmares, capturing creatures then dragging them into his office to stab to death and eat them raw. Guess who's next on the butcher's menu? His appearance is as sinister as the bloodstained apron he wears, with razor sharp teeth, pointed ears, and a hook for one hand. His weapons include his deadly hook hand, a meat skewer, meat cleaver, and butcher knife. Joshua encounters this monster only once during his journey.
2. Lachupacabra (Mr. Creeper): Mr. Creeper is a highly intelligent creature that resembles a human. He wears a large brown trench coat and brown cowboy hat. But it only dresses like a man to hide that it isn't...
Mr. Creeper is armed with an archaic axe and a butcher knife that is very much like Joshua's. He sometimes totes around a shotgun or pistol. He owns a huge brown truck that he uses to run Joshua down. Joshua encounters the Creeper's truck twice on his journey. Mr. Creeper is feared even by his fellow monsters, as he shows as much mercy to his followers as he does to his enemies. Joshua encounters Mr. Creeper himself twice on his journey.
3. The Nile: The Nile is an enormous crocodile standing over seventeen feet tall. Its scales are silver in color and it has two large horns on its head for ramming and impaling its enemies. It lurks deep within the waters of the West Forest. Joshua encounters this water devil FOUR TIMES in the game.
4. Pyro Dragon: The name says it all. The Pyro Dragon is an enormous dragon wreathed in flame. Although the Pyro Dragon is a faithful servant of the Omega (I'll tell you about him in a minute) the Pyro Dragon would rather send lower class spirits to attack Joshua. Joshua encounters these spirits twice in the game, but encounters the actual dragon only once along his quest.
5. Reeves the Killer Clown: Reeves is a demonic clown that is part of a demonic circus that passes through dreams. Joshua battles with Reeves only once on his journey.
6. Flat Dog: Flat dog is an enormous and hideous gorilla owned by the traveling demonic circus. He is the pet of Reeves the Killer Clown. Joshua is forced into a fight with Flat Dog only once along his journey.
7. Peril: The Peril is a monster that has struck terror into the hearts of men since the beginning of time. Legend tells that Peril used to be an enormous black orb with hundreds of tentacles. It was created to be the creature who could feel all. Feel pain, sorrow, joy, and even feel literally with its tentacles. However, Peril was a greedy beast, and it wanted the ability to feel AND see all. When it was denied its request, Peril was enraged and turned on its creators. Seeing that it was clearly dangerous, its creators outcasted it from the world of the gods. Now it lurks in the dream realm, stealing the eyes of countless monsters! It is now a giant orb with hundreds of tentacles and millions of eyes! However, the Peril is not yet satisfied. There is only one more set of eyes that the peril is interested in stealing...
Joshua often hears someone repeating the words "Eye see you", "eye see you" over and over in his mind. Joshua encounters the Peril twice along his journey.
8. Weapon: Throughout the game, Joshua hears hints of a secret weapon being developed to stop him from escaping his coma. When Joshua encounters the weapon, (only once) he must finish it off once and for all, then escape from his nightmare! It's the moment he's been waiting for!
9. The Dark Emperor Omega: Omega is the Dark Emperor of the dream realm. Although he does not battle with Joshua in the game, he is a big part of the story. Omega resembles an enormous idle that looks almost like Buddha with four wings, four arms and one big eye. Omega controls all of the demons from the dream realm, and is the creator of the secret weapon. However, Omega is not the one who lured Joshua into this deadly nightmare world. But who DID....?
10. The Surreal: The Surreal is the mysterious cloaked figure who put Joshua in a coma, in hopes of killing him. It is the creature that lured Joshua's subconscious into this horrific world. The surreal floats around in a long, black, and tattered cloak, with a hood and mask to cover its face, swinging a dream catcher back and forth in one hand and carrying a noose in the other. Joshua does not do battle (thank god) with this demonic entity, though he does discover it watching him every now and then. Who...or WHAT is this creature, and what could it want with Joshua?
Items and Treasures
Throughout the game, there will be a wide variety of items, treasures, and other cool stuff that Joshua can collect on his quest to escape his coma.
Rubies: Rubies are used as currency in The Surreal. You may trade them at "spook shops" that appear in certain missions (or, before starting a mission, you may choose mission start, status check, or spook shop option.) where you can purchase objects and items that will help you along your journey. Rubies are rarely obtained just lying on the ground, but the way you get them is slightly grotesque. Rubies are made from the blood of monsters, so you get them after defeating enemies! After an enemy is killed, a certain amount of rubies will be dropped, along with the pile of gore you just created. To get the rest of the rubies from the monsters, you must use your spirit stick to absorb the blood and gore before it disappears, and transfer it into rubies! You will probably get thousands of rubies along your quest. Rubies can also be used for purchasing techniques for your spirit stick. Amigo the Husky may sometimes pick up, sniff out, or dig up rubies that you missed. (when attacking enemies, you may notice words in the corner of the screen that say things like 3HIT!, 4HIT, 5HIT, so on. However many times you have continuously hit the enemy will be displayed in the corner of the screen in this way. If you are damaged or stop attacking for about 2 seconds, these numbers will disappear. The color of the numbers depends on how high they are. 1-5 will be red, 6-15 will be orange, 16-30 will be yellow, 31-49 will be green, and anything over 50 will be white. The higher the number, the more rubies an enemy will drop!)
Sapphires: Sapphires are not used for currency. They have a much more useful purpose. Sapphires extend your vitality bar! You start at 10% health, which is in the red area, but can extend your health to a whopping 200%, which is in the green area. You start out with one Sapphire, and each Sapphire raises your vitality by 10%. Therefore, there are 19 Sapphires to be found. Sometimes, instead of finding whole Sapphires, you will only find Sapphire shards. It takes four shards to make a whole Sapphire.
You can find five whole Sapphires, five Sapphires composed of shards, and nine Sapphires that may be purchased at spook shops. Happy hunting...
Golden Nuggets: It is said that gold was created by the immortals, therefore a gold nugget brings back life. When Joshua's vitality bar hits 0%, Joshua will fall to the ground die, and a TRY AGAIN screen appears where you have the option to start over from where you last saved. If this happens when a Gold Nugget is equipped, Joshua shall glow with gold energy, and his vitality bar and Adrenaline bar will both be full again! Joshua can carry three Gold Nuggets at a time. There are twenty Gold Nugget locations throughout the game, and you can always purchase one at a spook shop.
Emeralds: These pretty green jewels will extend your Adrenaline bar! You start out with an Adrenaline bar that lasts for about ten seconds, but your Adrenaline bar can be extended to last up to forty-five seconds! Each emerald extends your Adrenaline bar five seconds, so there are nine Emeralds to be found. Only four can be found in hidden locations throughout the game, and the other five must be purchased at spook shops. (When an Adrenaline bar reaches its max length, it will transform into a shadow bar, which allows Joshua to enter Shadow Mode, attacking even more frantically and powerfully! It does not drain Joshua's vitality bar when he is in Shadow Mode.)
Green Gems: Not to be confused with emeralds, these bright green treasures restore 50% of your Adrenaline bar! Smaller green gems can be found, which restore 20% of your Adrenaline bar.
Diamonds: Diamonds restore 50% of your vitality meter. Smaller Diamonds can be found, which restore 20% of your vitality meter.
Ashes: If Joshua has Shadow Mode, he will find ashes in the locations that the Emeralds used to be. Ashes extend your shadow bar. Your Shadow bar lasts about ten seconds, then is transformed back into the extended Adrenaline bar. You can extend your Shadow Bar to at least thirty seconds. With the combined time of the Adrenaline Bar, that's about one minute and fifteen seconds! (When the Shadow Bar reaches its max length, it will transform into a Holy Bar, which allows Joshua to enter Holy Mode. In this mode, Joshua glows with bright, white energy, can sprint at three times his normal speed, use devastating attacks, and injure enemies just by walking near them. Also, when the Holy bar is in action, Joshua's vitality bar will actually HEAL itself. Your vitality bar will no longer be drained when he enters Adrenaline mode.) Each Ash adds five seconds to the Shadow bar, therefore seven Ashes must be obtained. three ashes can be obtained in hidden locations, and four must be purchased from spook shops.
Sunstones: Sunstones will replace the locations of Ashes and Emeralds. Sunstones extend your Holy Bar. A Holy Bar starts out lasting for ten seconds, and can be extended to twenty seconds. Each sunstone raises the bar by five seconds, so four sunstones must be found. Only two can be found during missions, and only two can be purchased at spook shops.
Brass orbs: Beware! If you kill a monster and a brass orb pops out with the rubies that were dropped, picking it up will only decrease your amount of Rubies by 1,000!
Gold Orbs: If you kill a monster and a gold orb pops out with the rubies that were dropped, picking it up will increase your rubies by 1,000!
Dog Treats: Feed these to Amigo the Husky! Dog Treats will increase Amigo's vitality bar! Amigo starts out with a vitality bar of 50%, but can have it extended to 100%! Each Dog Treat extends Amigo's life bar by 5%, so there are 10 Dog Treats to be found. Five of them can be found during the game, and five must be purchased at spook shops.
Dog Biscuits: These restore Amigo's health by 50%. Scraps can also be found, which restore his health by 20%.
Holy Water: These can be found or purchased at spook shops. You can only hold three of these at a time. When Joshua uses one, they obliterate most weak enemies in the area, and does massive damage to boss creatures!
Crucifixes
: These can be found or purchased at spook shops. You can only hold five of these at a time. When used, a barrier appears, separating Joshua from the enemies, giving him a chance to run away! This is especially useful when encountering enemies such as Black Dogs and Reapers.
Batteries: These will recharge your flashlight!
Spook Shops
Here are all the items you can find in spook shops...
Sapphires: 10,000 rubies each
Golden Nuggets: 20,000 rubies each
Emeralds: 15,000 rubies each
Green Gems (Large):10,000 rubies
Green Gems (small):5,000 rubies
Diamonds: 10,000 rubies each.
Ashes: 20,000 Each
Sunstones: 25,000 Each
Dog Treats: 15,000 each
Dog Biscuits: 5,000 Each
Crucifixes: 20,000 each
Holy Water: 30,000 each
Batteries: 15,000 each
Stick Techniques
Remember in the WEAPONS section when I said you could purchase techniques for the spirit stick? Well here's how much they cost.
Bashdown: 15,000
Spear Ram: 20,000
Spear Ram 2: 25,000
Spinbash: 30,000
Javelin: 25,000
Runaround: 10,000
Soul Remove: 3,000 (!!!)
Whiplash: 40,000
Wraparound: 45,000
Cord Kick: 25,000
Adrenaline Rush: 50,000
Controls
The Surreal is a game set for the Playstation 2 console, so refer to a Playstation 2 Dualshock 2 Controller when reading the controls.
Directional Pad or Left Analog Stick: Move around, aim in first-person view.
R1: First Person View (For aiming while shooting)
R2: Call Amigo
L1:Hold to perform special attacks (for example, when pressing the analog stick towards an enemy and hitting the attack button, Joshua will perform a normal combo. However, when pressing the analog stick towards an enemy while holding L1, press the attack button to perform special moves such as the Spear Ram.)
L2: Call Camaro
L3: Toggle weapon
R3: Toggle Firearm
Start: Pause game
Select: enter inventory
Square: Fire firearm
Circle: Attack with spirit stick or weapon (If no weapon is equipped, Joshua will slam enemies with his gun. The bigger the gun, the harder the slam. If Joshua has no guns equipped, he will perform a punch, punch, kick combo.)
Triangle: Jump, Climb, Examine
X: Roll, dodge, crawl
Mission Summaries
I have devised short Mission Summaries and cutscenes for the twenty missions in The Surreal. Cutscenes will be presented in quotation marks. ()
Game Beginning
The game begins with a black and white scene of a real-life having a birthday party. It appears that the scene is being recorded through a video camera. A boy sits down to blow out the candles on his cake, when a dark figure emerges from the shadows. There is too much mayhem to see what is going on, but when it a clears, the birthday boy is lying on the ground alongside other children, all with blood all over them.
From now on all cutscenes will be animated.
A worried couple with a very young boy sit in the waiting room of a hospital. The doctor comes out, and announces that their son, Joshua, is in a coma. The only thing they can do is wait...
Inside the hospital room, Joshua opens his eyes. He is no longer in a hospital bed, he is lying in his bed at home, it is dark all around him...
Mission 1
Cutscene: (Joshua looks around, it is too dark to see. He walks out into the hallway, which is dimly lit by candles. "Hmm," Joshua thinks to himself. "What an eerie sensation. This doesn't feel like my home.")
You may walk around, and get the feel of Joshua's controls here. If you walk into the kitchen, you may see a Butcher Knife lying on the counter. Remember where this is, then walk to the living room, and exit through the front door.
Cutscene: (Joshua quietly walks to the front door, and it creaks open before he can get to it. Quiet, thudding footsteps can be heard outside on the porch. Joshua nervously peeks out onto the porch. "H-hello?" He whispers. He goes back inside and closes the door. The footsteps are heard again, and before he can turn around, he hears the door creak open behind him. He turns around and sees what is standing in the doorway, and his blood freezes. "Hello Joshua, welcome to Hell." the thing says.)
SHOW TIME! A Wretched Zombie has cut off your retreat. It will quickly run at you, so get the hell out of their fast! Remember where you saw that Butcher Knife? Run back into the kitchen, and grab the knife by pressing the Triangle button. Face the terror behind you, and frantically press the Circle button to stab the Wretched to death. If you are successful, a cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (Joshua swings the Butcher Knife in blind fear, spraying the Wretched's guts everywhere. It falls over dead. Joshua pants with a crazy look in his eyes, covered in blood.
"W-what the hell is g-going on? W-where the hell am I?"
"I believe I can answer that!" Joshua spins around, seeing a misty blue figure enclosed in a dream catcher.
"Who are you?" Joshua asks.
"I am your dream guide, you may call me Spirit."
"Huh, where, why, what, who, how...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! Joshua screams.
"Quiet! They will hear us!" Spirit warns.
"Who will hear...?" Joshua starts.
"Let me explain. Open your mind and close your mouth. You are in a dream world. In the Real World you are still in a coma."
"Oh, I remember now! The birthday party, I was attacked. Who attacked me? Was it one of...those?" Joshua points to the mutilated Wretched.
"I do not know. But whoever it was wished to trap you here so they could kill you."
"Kill...me? Whoa, whoa, whoa...slow down, Speedy Gonzalez, if I'm dreaming, none of this is really happening! I'll just pinch myself and wake up...or something! It'll be easy!"
"Oh, really?" Spirit reaches over and pinches Joshua hard. Joshua yelps and a red mark appears on his arm. In the hospital bed back in the real world, the same red mark appears. "Not so easy, is it tough guy?"
Joshua's eyes fill with tears, then just look downright angry.
"I wanna go home! RIGHT NOW!"
"I wish that were possible, but until we can find a way to get you home, we are going to have to find a chance for survival. The prophecies are on the wall." Sure enough, words appear in blood on the wall. THE CHILD SHALL FIND HIS CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL ON EASTWOOD.
"Hmm," Joshua thinks. "Could that mean Eastwood Street?"
"The only way to find out is to go there."
"No way in hell I'm going out there with those freaks!" Joshua states.
"You might survive if you take this." Spirit tosses Joshua a flashlight.
"MIGHT SURVIVE?! Hey, wait just a minute!"
"Good Luck, Joshua." Joshua is ushered out the door and it slams shut.)
You can come back to Joshua's house at any time during the game for hints and help from Spirit. Sometimes, Spirit will contact Joshua in his mind to come back to the house. The game starts on a street shaped like a half circle. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Throughout the game, you may notice the other 24 houses besides Joshua's. Keys to these houses may be found or dropped by enemies. When entering a house, you will be forced into fights with various creatures. If you win, you might get large amounts of gold orbs, rubies, and other treasures. Houses are addressed A1-10, B1-10, and C1-5. There are certain special houses in which the keys must be found in order to complete the game, such as A-2 and C-5.) Head right until you come to an intersection. The road to the right says Dogwood, and the road to the left says Eastwood. You know which one to take. Make sure your flashlight and Butcher Knife are equipped, because all hell should break loose about now. Wretcheds emerge from all corners and shadows, rooftops, fences and even pop out of parked cars, which may catch you off guard. Fight your way through the long, bloody, dismal street, and you should come to the Town Square. Please note that the entrance to the South Forest is cut off by a parked car. As soon as you step inside a barrier will be erected, cutting off any remaining Wretcheds from harming Joshua. Mission Complete!
Mission 2
Cutscene: (Joshua sees a glowing green stick in lying on a bench in Town Square. He picks it up and it glows with green energy. He notices a cloaked, masked figure watching him from outside the window. When the creature notices that it has been spotted, it flies away.)
You have found the spirit stick! Use the nearby statues to practice hits and combos on. After a couple minutes of practice, a cutscene ensues.
Cutscene: (Joshua hears Spirit speaking in his mind.
"Joshua! Hurry back quickly!")
The barrier surrounding town square has disappeared, and if you are still inside, creep slowly along the hallways to try and see Wretcheds before you run into them. Hurry back along Eastwood St. to Hollow St, Joshua's home. You may have to take out many Wretcheds with your spirit stick along the way. Mission Complete!
Mission 3
Cutscene: (Joshua joins Spirit back in the safety of his home.
"I think I may have found a way for you to return home, Joshua. He has Joshua's full attention.
"A person may break through dimensions by traveling at great speeds. The fastest way for you to travel is in a jet that can be located at the airport. The airport is sealed off at the time, and the only source of information on how to enter the airport lies within a computer, location unknown."
"How can I find the computer, then?" Joshua asks.
"You can try the legal public documents section at the local market down the street."
"Then that's where I need to go."
"Oh, and Joshua! Have you noticed that the moon is really close? The moon will get closer and closer every day, and if you do not escape from here before it hits the surface, we will both die from the impact."
"Whoa, I gotta haul ass!"
"Start hauling")
Like Spirit said, every day the moon will get closer. If you go home to rest, when you wake up the moon will be closer. Every Mission, the moon will get closer. It takes one hundred days for the moon to hit, and there are twenty-one missions, so you can save and heal no more than seventy-nine times throughout the game. Don't forget, there is no daytime in this game, it is always night. Back to the Mission.
You start in the backyard. Enter the shed, and you will find your new best friend, the Shotgun! Continue down this quiet back road to find that it is a shortcut to town square. When you arrive at town square, even more hordes of Wretcheds will appear. Give them a taste of your new boomstick, then take the street in back of town square marked Bowman Street. You will pass a Butcher shop and a Mansion on your way to the Market. (remember where they are.) As you approach the Market entrance, you will notice a grisly spectacle; people hanging from nooses on every light post. Enter the market, but before entering the documents section, head to the firearms section. You may be disappointed to discover that every gun has been taken...except one! Take the small laser-guided Pistol and leave. Also note the stick fighting dojo next door. You can learn attacks for your spirit stick there, and you can buy them at spook shops from this point on. The documents section states that the computer resides in the schoolhouse in the city outside of the town, so Joshua must travel there. The only one who knows the way out of the town is the local gatekeeper and part time jolly old butcher. Make sure that you are at full health when you exit the Market, because as soon as you do the rotting corpses hanging from the lampposts will drop down and attack you! Battles with these Hangmen are a bit tougher than Wretched battles. Shooting them in the head with your pistol will spray blood to make rubies, but will not harm them at all! Defeat these Hangmen, and Mission Complete!
Mission 4
Head back down the street to the Butchery, where Joshua hopes to find the whereabouts of the exit to this town. The Butchery is a cold, quiet, and creepy place, where you may hear moaning in the background. While continuing through the silent maze of doorways in the Butcher shop, you may notice Wretcheds hung up on meat skewers, and you may even encounter lone Wretcheds wandering the halls. When you get to the Kitchen of the Butchery, you will find a note by Prego, the jolly old late butcher. Yes, I said late butcher. Deceased, no longer living. The note states: "I have enjoyed my job as butcher here in the town of Troy, and tending the back gate on Moonlight Street and the front gate on "Wanderer's Street (Aha!). However, I feel that my job as butcher and gatekeeper shall not continue for long. I can hear it. I can hear it late at night. Breathing. Telling me it wants me. It's going to kill me. It wants to kill you to."
Prego, the Butc...
The rest of the note is smeared in blood.
Cutscene: (Uneased by the ominous tone of the note, Joshua decides to leave. He stops dead in his tracks when he hears a dragging sound from outside of the door. He nervously reaches for the doorknob, when the door flies open! Joshua jumps back in horror at the grotesque sight in front of him. Prego, the jolly old butcher, is dead with a meat hook impaled through his heart, being dragged by none other than...)
Mission 4 Boss
THE BISTRO BUTCHER: The Bistro Butcher has blocked off Joshua's exit, and he is looking for a fight. The deranged butcher is tough, but with your Shotgun and spirit stick, you are tougher! Dodge his crazy swings with knives, cleavers and hooks, finish off his 130% health bar, and you've got this fight in the bag.
Cutscene: (Joshua steps over the dead maniac's body, and points his gun toward the door, opening it with one hand, ready to shoot anything on the other side. Little does he know that there is a Wretched watching him from behind. After seeing Joshua's fight with the Bistro Butcher, the Wretched isn't quite interested in attacking him. Joshua leaves, and the Wretched locks the door behind him. Then the Wretched hears heavy footsteps behind him.
"W-who is there?" The Wretched asks with panic in his voice. A dark figure in a trench coat and cowboy hat emerges from the darkness.
"Whew, its only you, Lachupacabra. Why are you here? I thought you were going to wait outside until I was through with the boy."
"I came to thank you personally for your cowardly failure, Wretched." Lachupacabra hisses. Lachupacabra pulls out a gun and points it at the Wretcheds head.
"WHAT THE F...!" Before the Wretched can finish, Lachupacabra blasts his skull all over the walls.
"The boy will be joining you soon, Wretched." Lachupacabra chuckles to himself, then rips off what remains of the Wretched's head, in case he needs a snack later on.)
Mission 5
Joshua picked up two things from the Bistro Butcher after his victory. A skeleton key, which unlocks the mansion up the street, and the Meat Cleaver, a new weapon. Now that Joshua knows where the two gates to the city are, he must find the keys to the gates. Head up the street and enter the Bowman Mansion. You will enter through the top window of this Mansion with a latter. In the master bedroom, you will spot an old canopy bed alongside a grand mirror.
Cutscene: (Peering into the beautiful mirror, Joshua's reflection starts to morph! A mirror ghoul appears, and a fight ensues.)
After the Mirror ghoul is finished, head downstairs to the rec room. Along the way, you may encounter Wretcheds that come out of the bedrooms. These are perfect candidates to test your new weapon (the Cleaver) on. When in the rec room of the Mansion, gather the gold orbs that reside in the middle of the floor, and a cutscene shall play.
Cutscene: (The fireplace of the rec room erupts, knocking Joshua back a few feet. A new enemy pops out, the Blaze fire foxes!)
If you manage to get out of the tough battle with the blaze alive, you will be rewarded with the flamestone, which will appear in the fireplace! This adds the elemental power of fire to your spirit stick, which is good against most normal enemies such as Wretcheds, but will not be much help when used against the upcoming boss...
The key to neither the back nor the front gate was found here, but the key to house number C-5 was! Going to have to try there next...
Mission 6
Head to the C-5 house on Eastwood street. You may encounter Wretcheds and a Hangman or two. When you get to C-5, you may notice that the key is not to the house, but to the garage. Open the garage to claim your prize...
Cutscene: (The doors slowly open to reveal... a shiny new Camaro SS! Inside the vehicle, you will find the key to the back gate on Moonlight Street!)
Controls for driving
L2: Get in and out of the Camaro
Square: Brake
X: Gas
The Camaro will surely help you get to locations quicker, and it will help you defend yourself by running enemies over! Drive to Moonlight Street, which is West of Town Square, and a cutscene shall play.
Cutscene: (As Joshua approaches the beginning of Moonlight Street, the clouds above him glow red. A shadowy figure is seen high in the sky, and a booming voice is heard.
"ARE YOU THE HUMAN WHO DEFIES THE OMEGA, THE ONE WHO SEEKS TO ESCAPE FROM THIS WORLD?" The voice demands.
"I don't know what the hell an Omega is, but it can kiss my ass!" Joshua bravely shouts.
"FOOL!" Screams the voice.)
Mission 6 Boss
PYRO SPIRITS (X 10) The street leading to the back gate transforms into flowing magma. Joshua must jump from bits of concrete that remain in order to reach the end of the street. He must defeat the ten Pyro spirits, shaped like miniature dragons, that fly around him shooting lava projectiles. If Joshua falls into the flowing lava, he will instantly die unless the flamestone is equipped. However, it is not a good idea to equip the flamestone, since they are weak to the Spirits. Instead fire at them from a distance with your pistol until your Adrenaline is full, then unleash it and attack the spirits fiercely with your whip-like attacks. Sometimes, a Blaze enemy will jump out from the flowing magma. Ignore them and continue attacking the spirits. With only 30% Health each, they shouldn't last too long. Mission Complete!
Mission 7
After the battle with the Spirits, the mysterious voice destroys the back gate to the town, leaving a swirling void in its place. You will have to drive over to the front gate on Wanderer's Street. Start driving along Eastwood Street as you near the location where you got the Camaro. A cutscene should play somewhere down the road.
Cutscene: (Joshua is driving along in the Camaro with the hood down, when blinding headlights and a blaring horn is heard behind him. A large brown truck comes out of nowhere and rams into the Camaro! Joshua dives out and rolls onto the concrete just before the brown truck and the Camaro go down in a mangled wreckage! All is quiet for a few minutes, and then the door to the truck creaks open. A man wearing a trench coat and a cowboy hat comes out. He is carrying something that looks like the remains of a... head.
"Well, well, well, this is the boy that everyone is having so much trouble with." The man hisses.
"The boy that no one can kill. How pathetic."
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Joshua demands. The freakish man twists his face into a smile.
"I am Lachupacabra...also called, Mr. Creeper." Mr. Creeper bows. He shoves the rest of the head into his mouth.
"Get away from me, or I'll have your ass on the end of this stick." Joshua brandishes his spirit stick proudly.
"Oh, feeling lucky, are we boy?" Mr. Creeper pulls a huge axe out of his trench coat.
Mission 7 Boss
LACHUPACABRA (MR. CREEPER): Don't think that this battle is going to be as easy as the Bistro Butcher; Mr. Creeper is faster, stronger, and at 150% Health, a lot tougher. He also carries a shotgun, pistol, and butcher knife that is almost identical to Joshua's. If you do manage to win, the ending cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (Mr. Creeper screams in rage clutching his wound.
"This isn't over, boy!" Mr. Creeper hisses.
"I think it is." Joshua retorts. But before he can finish the creature off, he sprouts wings and flies away. Mission Complete!)
Mission 8
Too bad your Camaro's wrecked. The fire from the wreckage of the two vehicles cuts off Joshua from proceeding any further, and the only option is to sneak through a gap in the fence between houses C-3 and C-4. You will enter the West Forest, which is very deep and the moon is almost completely blocked out by trees. The only path to take leads to Crystal Lake, where you may find a cabin that holds the key to the front gate. Along the way, don't miss emeralds, gold orbs, and holy waters hidden high in the trees.
(Cutscene: Walking along the forest path, Joshua discovers several red eyes watching him from the trees. A high-pitched screech is heard, and a new enemy swoops down from the trees!)
Fight the demonic Harpy birds, then continue down the rest of the path, where you will encounter no more enemies. The path soon emerges into a beautiful lake, with a tiny piece of land sticking up in the middle. Head to the cabin before jumping in, because finding the key to the gate is your first priority. When you enter the cabin, you might be disappointed to find that the key is gone! Someone smashed the glass and beat you to it! Don't miss the harpoon gun as you leave the cabin! With the harpoon gun equipped, the only thing to do is to swim to the platform in the middle of the water and see what's there.
Controls for swimming:
Square: fire harpoon gun
Circle: Use spirit stick
Triangle: Swim Up
X: Swim Down
Left Analog: Turn (Hold L3 to swim straight.)
Cutscene: (Something races up from the murky depths and strikes Joshua! Joshua spins around to discover hideous Eel enemies!)
Take out the Eels by using the harpoon gun, than proceed to the platform in the middle of the lake. On the platform, you will find the Aquastone, which adds water to the power of your spirit stick. It also allows you to move around quickly when underwater, and you do not have to hold your breath. (The O2 gauge immediately appears after jumping in the water, which lasts for thirty seconds. When it runs out, your life will start decreasing.)
Cutscene: (After taking the aquastone, a rumbling is heard, and an enormous monster blasts out of the water, blowing Joshua and the platform sky high! When Joshua lands back on the shore, he gathers himself up and comes face to face with a gargantuan crocodile! The croc sniffs Joshua and bellows, "A lot of fear in this one, they always taste better with fear!”
"I got somethin' to shove down your throat!" Joshua challenges.)
Mission 8 Boss
THE NILE: Since you're probably not used to the complex underwater controls, you should probably lure the Nile onto the land to fight him there. If you stay in the water, you'll probably be croc bait. The Nile can stand a whooping seventeen feet tall, but prefers to crawl on all fours close to the ground. Attack by shining the flashlight in its face, or find some way to attack its eyes. When the monster flinches, jump onto his back, switch on the Adrenaline, and bash away with the spear-form of the spirit stick. This monster is coated with shiny, armor-like silver scales that reduce the amount of damage done by your attacks, which doesn't help much, since the croc is extremely tough with a 200% Health bar. You don't yet have the proper stone to that this boss is weak to, so just use the normal spirit stick, with a cleaver or butcher knife attatched to the end. When the demon croc's life turns red, it will drop a massive amount of rubies and will retreat into the lake. Mission Clear!
Mission 9
Cutscene: (Joshua hears Spirit trying to contact him in his mind.
"Joshua! Can you hear me?" Spirit says worriedly.
"Not so loud! Yeah, I hear you fine. Did you see the way I took out that alligator bastard!? Man, that was cool!" Joshua congragulates himself.
"That was very reckless, you need to be more careful. If it wasn't for the spirit stick you could have been ripped apart." Spirit scolds.
"If it wasn't for my fighting skills and reflexes I could have been torn to shreds. Could've, but wasn't. Why did you call me, anyway?"
"I have intercepted information from Omega! I think you need to hear this..."
"Omega! That's the name that the lava freak said! Who is that guy, anyway?" Joshua asks.
"THAT GUY is the ruler of the nightmare realm and a very powerful god!" Spirit says.
"Oh," Josh replies sheepishly. "What information did you intercept?"
"I have heard that Omega and his demons are developing a secret weapon! One that they will use to stop you from escaping! Could you try to find more information on this?" Spirit tells him.
"I'll do what I can." Joshua replies. Just then, he spots a masked figure dressed in a dark robe watching him from across the treetops, swing a dreamcatcher in one hand and carrying a noose in the other. Joshua chases after it, trying to get a better look at it, but it flies away.)
The trees have been knocked down by the Nile, so you cannot take the path back to the town. Instead, equip the aquastone and jump in the lake. You will notice that the Nile also busted a pipe at the bottom of the lake off. Swim through this dark pipe with the flashlight equipped, and by the time you come out the other end, a cutscene should play.
Cutscene: (At the end of a murky tunnel, Joshua comes to an underwater waterway, buried deep underground! Joshua hears something swim behind him, and swiftly whips around...a giant skeletal fish with razor sharp jaws is getting ready to charge him!)
Finish off the creepy Lurkfish to continue up the rest of the tunnel. You should come out at a really big filtration chamber, where you can climb out of the water on a latter. The small hallway that the latter leads to contains only a few Hangmen gaurding a crucifix item. Dive back into the water and continue along the wall, where you should see a really big hole leading to another pipe.
Cutscene: (Joshua hears an immense crash, and an enormous figure comes into view. The Nile is back, and it wants a piece of Joshua with a fully recovered health bar! In addition, Joshua is completely underwater, giving the Nile full advantage! Joshua peers at the big hole in the wall; its big, but the Nile can't fit in there. Suddenly, a grate begins to close over the hole!)
Mission 9 Boss #1
THE NILE: This isn't much of a battle, since the Nile can snap you in half without much effort. Instead of fighting it, swim through the hole in the wall before it closes! If you do stick around to kill it, if you win you will be rewarded with 50,000 rubies! When the Nile is defeated, the grate over the Hole in the wall will open.
Swim through the hole, following the trail of shining rubies until you get to a pipe that goes way, way up. Hold the triangle button to make Joshua swim up the pipe, until you eventually come into a huge, round room full of water with a watertight door in the center of the ceiling. Swim to this little hatch and open it to find fresh air on the other side! Climb out to discover Joshua is on top of the Huge water tower on Wanderer's Street. He can see the Lake, his house, and to his pleasure, the front gate from up here! He decides to climb the latter leading to the ground, but someone else has other plans...
Cutscene: (Joshua barely puts a foot on the latter, when a butcher knife flies past it! He turns around to come face to face with an extremely pissed Mr. Creeper.)
Mission 9 Boss # 2
MR. CREEPER: Mr.Creeper is up to his old tricks, attacking with his axe, knives and guns. Get his life bar (250%) halway down, and a cutscene should play.
Cutscene: (A large white circle resembling an eye appears in the sky. Mr. Creeper bows and Joshua stares in awe. A deep, bloodcurdling voice is heard.
"LACHUPACABRA, THE SECRET WEAPON IS NEAR COMPLETION! FINISH THE BOY OFF, I NEED YOU HERE NOW!"
"Yes, master." Mr. Creeper replies. He turns around, and before Joshua can move a muscle, cuts his head clear off his shoulders! The severed head of Joshua lands with a thud near Mr. Creeper's feet. In reality, Joshua's heart monitor stops.
"It has been done, master, I am coming." The white circle in the sky dissapears. Mr. Creeper spreads his wings to fly away, but stops when he notices an eerie gold glow from behind him. Joshua was saving a special Gold Nugget for if he would die! He is back now, and stronger than before with fully recharged Adrenaline and Health! In reality, Joshua's heart monitor starts up again! Enraged, Mr. Creeper throws off his trenchcoat, revealing that he has horns, six arms, and enormous bat wings!)
MR. CREEPER UNCLOAKED: Now that he has his true form revealed, Mr. Creeper has a better field of vision, better reaction time, better attacks with his six arms, and improved manuverability with his wings. Shoot him with your shotgun if he tries to fly in the air. If you manage to defeat this form, yet another cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (Mr. Creeper screams in pain, and Joshua holds forth his spirit stick, with his aquastone glowing bright.
"Please keep all six hands inside the vehicle at all times. This is a high-turbulance ride, and you may get wet!" Using the power of the aquastone, Joshua forces the water from the tank beneath them to shoot up, directly under Mr. Creeper's feet! The force of the blow sends Mr. Creeper reeling off the edge! Mr. Creeper falls three hundred feet into the gears of machinery that work the water-tower. His bottom half is sheared right off. He writhes in agony, peering up at Joshua!
"Y-you, god damn boy! I-i'll get y-you..."
"Lights out Creeper!" Joshua smirks, and tosses Mr. Creeper's butcher knife off the edge. It lands right between Mr. Creeper's eyes. Mission Complete!)
Mission 10
Cutscene: (Joshua contacts Spirit.
"Did you catch all that?" Joshua asks. "They're almost done with the secret weapon!"
"But, if they're developing it to kill you, why did Omega tell Lachupacabra to kill you?" Asks Spirit.
"No idea." Joshua replies.)
Before climbing the really long latter down to the ground, check the Creeper's trench coat that he flung onto the latter. You should find the Medical Key in one of the pockets. This will get you into the Hospital at the end of the road. Climb down the latter, and begin you long walk down Wanderer's Street. Turn onto Hollow street to heal yourself at home if you need to. But beware! Turning onto Hollow Street may begin fights with countless Wretched zombies! Also notice the Pintball Field, which will be important later on. About halfway through the creepy, deserted road, a cutscene should play.
Cutscene: (A pair of red eyes appear in the darkness behind Joshua. He doesn't realize it, but a Black Dog has been stalking him! Turn to the ENEMIES section to learn how to get rid of it.)
Once you get rid of the annoying Black Dog, you should near the parking lot of the Hospital. A cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (Joshua heads toward the doors of the Hospital, when a car crashes upside down into the doorway, blocking the entrance! The car was thrown by none other than...THE NILE!
"Jeez, what'll it take to stop this guy?" Joshua says to himself.
"GOING SOMEWHERE?" The Nile asks with a hungry look in its eyes.
"Yo gator dude," Joshua says. "When I kill you this time, could you, like, stay dead please?")
Mission 10 Boss
THE NILE (YET AGAIN): The Nile will have the same annoying tactics as it did in the last battle, only it stands upright a lot more, and you must dodge the cars that it tosses at you! He also has an extended Health bar of 250%! Once his life is in the red, the Nile will retreat in a rage back into the darkness. As Joshua starts towards the doors again, to see a masked face staring back at him.
"Who the hell ARE you?" Joshua demands. The cloaked figure doesn't reply, it just swings its dreamcatcher back and forth. Before Joshua can say anything else, the thing flies into the air and vanishes.)
Once the Nile is no more, climb over the wreckage of cars and squeeze through what remains of the front doors. When inside, yet another cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (Joshua sees that five Wretcheds lie dead and bloody on the floor. He sees a Husky dog in the shadows, shaking uncontrollably. Joshua pulls out his spirit stick, and the dog lets out a short and sharp bark, then whimpers and backs away. Joshua slowly approaches and starts to stroke the dog.
"You're scared, aren't you, boy? You're a good doggy. That's it...good boy." Joshua notices blood around the dog's mouth, then looks at the dead Wretcheds.
"Did you kill those nasty mean zombies? You're a strong doggy." He looks at the dog's collar, which still has a leash attatched to it. The nametag reads AMIGO.)
To lead Amigo around on his leash, press the R2 button, and Joshua will wistle, calling Amigo. You can run or walk with Amigo, but you can only control him while walking. To control Amigo, hold L1, and press the Left Analog stick towards the direction you want him to walk. Press the Left Analog stick quickly to make Amigo dodge. Press the circle button rapidly to make Amigo perform a series of bites and scratches. Press the square button to shoot a firearm with your free hand. Press L3 to make Amigo sniff around for hidden items, and R3 to toggle firearms. Press L2 to send Amigo free to roam, freeing up Joshua's hands of the leash. Amigo will follow Joshua, automatically attacking enemies when they appear. Sometimes Amigo will disobey controls, attacking and sniffing out items on his own. Don't try to be funny and attack Amigo, it doesn't work. Back to the game.
You will see an elevator down the hall further from where you found Amigo. The elevator gives you the option to visit floors 2, 3, and 4. Floor 2 will feature five hospital rooms in which you will fight weak enemies such as Hangmen and Wretcheds, and Floor 3 will feature five rooms filled with slightly stronger enemies, such as Blazes and Black Dogs. These are great places to test out Amigo, and to get Rubies! Floor 4 Will feature only one room, where you will find a note saying
Mr. Brumner of house A-2, Hollow Street, was discovered trying to light his house on fire from the inside. He was placed under arrest for attempted arson and his housekey was confinscated from him. Officer Sherry, K-19 investigation unit.
Joshua opens the envelope attatched to the letter to discover the key to house A-2, the house right next door to his! A cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (Joshua turns around and the elevator doors slam shut! Rattling and buzzing can be heard from the air vents, and then the vents pop right off their hinges! Out crawls about thirty of the most hideous creatures you've probably ever seen.)
The fight with the giant Mosquitoes is not an easy one. If you manage to defeat all of the big bugs, another cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (A Blaze enemy sniffs at a gas tank on a lower floor, then ignites it, causing the hospital to erupt in flames! Hearing the explosion, Joshua and Amigo bail out the window. Mission Complete!)
Mission 11
Joshua and Amigo just barely made it out of the destroyed Hospital alive, and now they have no other option but to head to house #A-2. Since this is right next to your house, A-1, you can easily go inside and heal if needed. Enter your neighbor's house, and walk through the kitchen, down the hallway, and into the bedroom. You should find a note on the bed. The note reads
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Remirez,
I apologize for Mr. Brumner's behavior lately. He tried to burn the house down becuase of our divorce, but the cops caught him and put him in jail. Oh, dear me. The Butcher, my dear friend Prego, has trusted me with the key to the front gate, which I would gladly let you use if I hadn't left it in the Dog Kennal on Eastwood Street (AHA!) while feeding scruffy yesterday.
Sincerely, Mrs. Brenda Brumner.
Cutscene: (Joshua hears shuffling in the closet behind him, and then jumps back in horror when the door flies off its hinges. A terrifying beast has been waiting for Joshua all along!)
Defeat the closet creep, and its body will be hurled in front of the doorway, blocking the exit. Head toward the window and jump onto the roof. The sky will glow red, and a cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (A dark figure appears in the clouds again, and a familiar booming voice is heard.
"YOU HAVE ESCAPED MY WRATH ONCE, BUT IT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN!" The figure screams.
"Well I hope this time is more of a challenge than the last!" Joshua retorts. Amigo growls, baring his fangs.
Mission 11 Boss
PYRO SPIRITS (X 10): The red-hot Pyro Spirits are back, with extended life bars of 50%! You have the advantage now that you have the aquastone, though. Dodge the flaming lighting bolts and meteors that the Spirits' master hurls at you from the sky, and the battle will be won quickly. After the Pyro Spirits are defeated, the dark figure announces,
"I WILL RETURN, YOU INFERNAL BOY! IT IS NOT OVER!"
"I'm shaking." Sneers the cocky Joshua, and the figure flies away. It drops 35,000 Rubies, along with the shiny Joltstone! Finally, Joshua has the stone that is good verses water and flying types! Mission Complete!
Mission 12
As Mrs. Brumner's note stated, the key to the front gate is confined whithin the Dog Kennal on Eastwood street. Head onto Eastwood, and equip the Joltstone to test its power on the attacking Harpies that swoop from the trees! The door to the Dog Kennal is unlocked, now, so you may go in. Travel through the building into the yard, and find a key lying in an open shed! To Joshua's extreme frustration, the key is not to the front gate, but to the Paintball Field! A cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (Amigo starts to growl, and Joshua sees mutant Rotweiler dogs emerge from the shadows and surround him!)
Use Amigo to help kill the Rotweilers, then exit the Dog Kennal and head towards Wanderer's Street. Head towards the front gate, and enter the Paintball Field. Run through the long stretch of obstacles and barriers used for paintball games, and find a small shack. Enter the shack, and FIND THE KEY TO THE FRONT GATE LYING ON THE FLOOR! FINALLY! When Joshua leaves the cabin, a cutscene rolls.
Cutscene: (Footsteps are heard throughout the Paintball Field, and Joshua witnesses Wretched Gunmen zombies appear from out of the shadows! But these creatures are not wielding paintball guns, they are wielding actual rifles! Use the barriers and obstacles for cover, and attack with your firearms.)
If Joshua wins this intense shootout, he will be rewarded with a new, powerful firearm, the rifle! Head towards the front gate, put the key in the lock, and hear a wonderful noise...the noise of the gates opening! Mission Complete!
Mission 13
On the other side of the gate, Joshua will discover a shiny blue Corvette! It has the same controls as the Camaro, but travels even faster and has a backseat for Amigo! Drive down the long, long, long, LONG highway (You'll pass on old barn silo, remember that.) and pull in to a gas station. Here you will fight Blaze, Hangmen, and Wretcheds. Defeat all of them to win a Sapphire! Be wary, Blazes and gas stations don't mix very well...
Continue down the highway until you find a mall, and a school. The mall is locked up tight, so the obvious choice is the schoolhouse. (The computer that you are looking for is somehere in the schoolhous, after all.) Hangmen hang from the posts lighting the path to the schoolhouse, so be sure to take them out first. When entering the schoolhouse, note that there is a main hallway containing classrooms, and the doors to a cafeteria to your right. The cafeteria entrance is blocked off by what looks like an overgrowth of human viens and arteries, pulsing as if alive. Search all 20 classrooms in order to find everything, such as Sapphire shards gaurded by Blaze and Closet Creep enemies. The doors 1-10 reside in the first half of the hall, but the rest are blocked off by what appears to be the back of an enormous and rotten human head sprouting from the ground! In room 9, there is a vent which you must climb into to reach the otherside of the hallway. You will come out in room 17. Exit the room to see the hideous giant head facing you. One of the eyeballs of the head is missing. Words are inscripted in the tile below the head.
TO OPEN THE DOORS OF FLESH THAT LEAD TO KNOWLEDGE, BRING SIGHT TO THE HEAD. THE SIGHT IS LOCATED IN THE OFFICE OF DOOM.
Apparently, bringing the other eyeball to the head will open the "veiny" doors to the cafeteria, which holds the computer! The eyeball is located in the principal's office at the end of the hall, but the doors are locked. In order to reach the office, go to room 13, and crawl through a duct located in the bottom right corner of the wall. Before you go, smash the teacher's desk to reveal a hidden Emerald! When you come out in the principal's office, a cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (Joshua hears rumbling in the vents, and before he can move a Blak Kat emerges from the vent that he just crawled out of! Whipping around, he is terrified to see a second Blak Kat standing on the principal's desk!)
Defeat these suped-up versions of the Black Dogs to reveal an oversized Eyeball under the principal's desk. Return to the giant head, and place the eyeball in the empty socket. The "veiny" doors should dissapear, and Joshua may travel into the cafeteria, which holds the computer that he was searching for all this time! A cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (The computer flashes the words INSERT 99 CENTS on its monitor. Joshua shrugs, takes out a dollar from his pocket, and shoves it into the computer's disk slot. This doesn't make much sense, but neither has anything else in this game. Words appear on the computer screen.
TYPE YOUR REQUEST, PLEASE.
Joshua types in "Where is the key to the airport?"
THE AIRPORT DOES NOT REQUIRE A KEY, IT REQUIRES A CODE. THE CODE IS 3533. HOWEVER THE AIRPORT REQUIRES A SPECIAL ITEM TO FUNCTION PROPERLY. THIS ITEM IS CALLED THE EAGLE, A SMALL STONE EAGLE SHAPED PLATE, WHICH WAS SHEARED IN HALF LONG AGO. ONE HALF OF THE EAGLE RESIDES IN THE MALL OF THE CITY. THE CODE TO THE MALL OF THE CITY IS 7151. THE OTHER HALF RESIDES IN A CABIN IN THE SOUTH FOREST OF THE TOWN "TROY".
Joshua cannot believe that one half of the Eagle was in the town all along. Suddenly, another pair of Blak Kats crash through the ceiling! The words PLEASE ENTER ANOTHER 99 CENTS OR YOUR TIME WILL BE EXPIRED...HAHAHAHEHEHEHEHEHAHAHEHE.
Joshua smashes the computer, then turns to face the Blak Kats.)
Defeat the Black Kats, and exit into the schoolyard. The sky glows bright red, and a cutscene plays.
Cutscene: (Joshua looks up at the sky as a dark figure appears in the clouds. A familiar voice is heard.
"IT SEEMS THAT YOU ARE PROVING TROUBLESOME, AND I CANNOT ALLOW YOU TO LIVE ANY LONGER. NOW FACE MY TRUE WRATH!" The figure finally emerges from the clouds. It is an enormous dragon, its wings and head wreathed in flame.
"Finally!" Joshua shouts. "I was gettin' tired of your cowardly games!"
Mission 13 Boss
PYRO DRAGON: The Pyro Dragon has finally decided to show itself, and it's a lot stronger than the spirits that it sent after you in past battles. Its life bar is at a decent 330%, and it will display all of the trecherous attacks that it has in the past, plus some new ones. In addition, the Dragon transforms the school's football field into a field of lava, with few floating platforms to stand on. If you did not have trouble with the first battle, this one will not be too bad with the aquastone equipped. When the Pyro Dragon's life is brought down to 50%, a cutscene intterupts.
Cutscene: (The Pyro Dragon screams in pain, and falls onto the football field, which has been restored to its original form. The Dragon cannot get up, and is badly injured. It starts begging for mercy. For the first time, Joshua drops his cocky attitude and feels a pang of sorrow and feels pity for the Dragon. A white circle resembling an eye appears in the sky, and the vioce of Omega is heard.
"HMMM, PERHAPS I HAVE UNDERESTIMATED YOU, DRAGON."
"MASTER OMEGA!" The Pyro Dragon sounds relieved. "HELP ME, HELP ME PLEASE SO THAT I MAY DEFEAT THE BOY!"
"HELP YOU? I DON'T SEE WHY I SHOULD. I DO NOT NEED YOU TO HELP ME DEVELOPE THE WEAPON ANY MORE. IT IS COMPLETE. AND BESIDES, YOU HAVE PROVEN THAT YOU ARE USELESS. YOU HAVE STRUCK TERROR INTO THE HEARTS OF ALL CREATURES FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, AND NOW YOU CANNOT KILL A MERE ELEVEN YEAR OLD CHILD. GOODBYE, WORTHLESS DRAGON."
"MASTER PLEASE, AAAAAAARGGH!" The Dragon screams in agony as a white beam shoots from the middle of the eye, sawing it in half. The Dragon gives one last heave of breath, then dies. Deranged laughter can be heard as the eye closes. Spirit contacts Joshua through his mind.
"Oh no! They're already done with that secret weapon? That's not good! Joshua...are you listning? What's wrong?"
"RRRRR...that Dragon did try to kill me, but how could Omega just kill his own friend? When I get through with that monster..."
"Omega doesn't make friends, Joshua, he makes servants." Spirit replies grimly. Mission Clear!)
Mission 14
Drive over to the mall across the street, and enter the code 7151 in the front door. The doors should open, revealing a long dark hallway. All of the shops to the mall are closed up, leaving Joshua no choice but to run clear across the mall. The only other place to go are the restrooms, which contain holy waters and gold orbs. In the back of the mall, on a small alter, you will find an eagle half! Take it, but be prepared to face the consequences...
Cutscene: (When Joshua turns around, he sees lots of Wretcheds emerge from the shadows. He also spots Wretched Gunmen snipering him from the balconies!)
Send Amigo to fight the Wretched on the ground, and take cover behind benches and blast away at the Wretched Gunmen on the balconies. When they are clear, you may proceed to the exit of the mall. Mission Clear!
Mission 15
Get back in your Corvette, because you must now drive to the town once again to find the other eagle half in the South Forest. When you near the old barn silo, a cutscene interrupts.
Cutscene: (Suddenly, someone appears in the middle of the road! Joshua slams on the breaks. A clown holding red balloons is standing inches from the car. Rather than the bright red makeup and pretty colors that clowns usually wear, this clown has ugly blue and black makeup on, with black and white clothes.
"Who the..." Joshua starts.
"Hehehe...we're gonna have all sorts of fun together!" The clown hisses. His red balloons pop. They weren't red after all, they were white balloons filled with blood! The blood splatters all over the windshield of the Corvette. Joshua quickly stumbles out. He is no longer on the highway, but in some sort of carnival. The clown's voice comes over the intercom.
"Come one and come all! To the Circus of your Nightmares! Don't be afraid to try the rides, although they may kill you! WE'RE GONNA RIP YOU APART JOSHUA! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Don't forget to pick up a T-shirt as you leave!")
Hurry through the park as fast as you can, because the merry-go-round will launch Wretched's at you, and Harpies will swoop down from the roller-coaster! Enter an enormous building called The Hall of Mirrors. Enter, but be forewarned: This is an insane maze of mirrors, and mirror ghouls will pop out from all directions trying to attack you! When you eventually come to the end, you will find a large red button that says DONT PUSH ME! Push it. A cutscene should play.
Cutscene: (The button transforms into a clown's face, which begins laughing hysterically. A trapdoor will open beneath Joshua's feet, launching him downward!)
Joshua will land in an enormous coliseum, where the rows are all of the enemies that you have encountered so far. A skeleton comes forth with a megaphone.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GOBLINS AND GHOULS, WELCOME TO TONIGHT'S FIGHT!" The skeleton booms.
"Huh...what FIGHT!?" Joshua starts to panic.
"TONIGHT: JOSHUA THE HUMAN VERSES FLAT DOG! ENJOY THE FIGHT AND PICK UP SOME NACHOS AND RAW MEAT ON THE WAY OUT!"
A cage opens, and an enormous gorilla lumbers out!
Mission 15 Boss #1
FLAT DOG: This big monkey really, really hates fire. Equip the flamestone and slash away like crazy, trying to make a dent in Flat Dog's 400% life bar! If you get Flat Dog's life into the red area, Reeves will start throwing balloons filled with blood at you, causing extreme damage!
Cutscene: Joshua defeats Flat Dog, causing the audience to shout out boos. Reeves is furious, and jumps into the ring.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to my Flat Dog!" Reeves cackles.
"Get outta my way, or you'll end up the same as your stupid monkey!" Joshua says through gritted teeth.
Mission 15 Boss #2
REEVES THE KILLER CLOWN: Reeves is impervious to the Butcher Knife or Cleaver, so use firearms from close range, then dodge from his attacks. If you try to attack with the joltstone, Reeves will reverse the electricity back at you through his hand buzzer! Use flame attacks like you did with Flat Dog. Luckily, the freakish clown has only 180% Health, which is good since you have to fight this battle directly after Flat Dog. If you win, Reeves will scream in rage and a cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (Reeves continues to scream, and the coliseum spins round and round, faster and faster. When the spinning stops, Joshua will be back in his Corvette on the highway, as if nothing happened. Mission Clear!
Mission 16
You won't drive but a few more yards when you pass the old barn silo, and yet another cutscene starts.
Cutscene: (Joshua is driving along, when a figure slams into his windshield! The Corvette spins wildly out of control, but luckily does not take any damage. Joshua gets out to see what cuased the crash, then wishes he stayed in the car when he sees a Reaper enemy floating towards him, carrying six sythes!)
Defeat the reaper, and be rewarded with a Sapphire. If you are fed up with all of these distractions, your in luck, they end here, and you can continue driving back to the front gate. When Joshua enters the front gate, a Blaze enemy hops into the car and self destructs, blowing the Corvette and the only exit to the town sky high! Joshua will once again have to travel on foot. About now, Spirit should contact you.
"Joshua, I need your help! Monsters are attacking your home, and they might find me!" Spirit whispers frantically.
"Don't worry, Spirit, I'm on my way!" Joshua replies. The town of Troy has changed a bit disturbingly. The moon is extremely close, no matter what day it is. Also, a great thunderstorm rages, and everyting is soaking wet! A timer appears, counting down ten minutes! If you do not reach your home under this time limit, Spirit will Die! When you reach Hollow Street, all of the houses are on fire and the Wretcheds are raiding them all! Fight through them into your home, grab Spirit, and get the hell out of there! Head toward Eastwood Street, and pick up the grenadegun resting against the entrance of town square! This will be very useful against the upcoming enemies. Head into the South Forest, stated all the way back in Mission 1. You should come to a cabin along the way. Enter the cabin, to find a carpet resting beside a table. Blast the carpet away, then open the trapdoor underneath it. Under it, you will find the second Eagle half! A cutscene should play.
Cutscene: (Lightning flashes through the windows, and then, a huge new breed of enemies smashes through!)
With the moon so close, the Werewolves are obscenely powerful. But with the grenadegun equipped, you should be able to take them out slowly. Now that you have the Eagle pieces, you will be able to enter the airport, which is east of the market. Head down past the market, slaughtering Hangmen and Blaze enemies. The backdoor of the Market is now unlocked, so head there! It leads to the back parking lot, and when you enter, a cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (Joshua enters the parking lot, when a barrier appears, trapping him in. Hundreds of tentacles pop out of the ground, and out comes a terrifying boss creature!)
Mission 16 Boss
THE PERIL: The peril has tons of attacks with its tentacles, so I can't list them all. It's many eyes keep changing, displaying different powers as it does. Eventually, the eyes change to the white symbol of Omega, and all attacking stops. The tentacles retrct into the eye as well. Now it is Joshua's turn to attack! Equip the joltstone, and slash away at the main eyeball. The Peril will try to heal itself during this time, (which isn't good, since it has 300% Health) so attack it rapidly! When its life falls into the red area, the barriers around the parking lot will fall, and the Peril will retreat underground. Be sure to pick up the 100,000 rubies it drops! Mission Complete!
Mission 17
Continue onwards down the dirt road until you eventually come to a dam. Jump off of the dam into the water, and a cutscene will play.
Cutscene: (A rumbling can be heard in the water, and out bursts the enormous Nile crocodile! Ready for rematch #3?)
Mission 17 Boss
THE NILE (WON'T THIS THING GIVE IT A REST?): Ooh, now the Nile has a 400% Health bar. Too bad Joshua has the Joltstone equipped! The Nile's attacks will be much fiercer, faster, and different from the previous battles. It now has the ability to switch from water attack mode to land attack mode as often as it pleases! Get the Nile's Health bar into the red area, and a cutscene will interrupt. (Amigo can not swim, and stays out of this Boss fight.)
Cutscene: The Nile swims deep into the water, then blasts out at top speed, aiming its claws at Joshua! Joshua dodge-flips out of harm's way, and the Nile accidentally strikes a gaping hole in the dam! The dam bursts, turning into a raging waterfall, and carries the furious Nile out to sea...
Mission Complete!
Mission 18
A small platform remains of the dam, sticking out of the waterfall. Jump high onto this platform to find the Stinger missle launcher! Continue down a second dirt road, when a building comes into veiw. You have finally found the airport! Approach the front doors, and place the complete eagle plate into an eagle-shaped opening. Power will be supplied to the doors. Enter the code 3533, and the doors will open. The airport is completely empty. Smash certain furniture to obtain hidden rubies, and make your way towards the backdoor. When you get there, a cutscene should interrupt.
Cutscene: (Enormous tentacles curl up out of the ground, blocking Joshua's exit. The Peril has returned for a rematch!)
Mission 18 Boss
PERIL (AGAIN): Peril uses the same annoying tactics as he did in the first fight. Only this time, if you get its health down to 0%, the Omega eyes will flash red, and the Peril will heal half its health! It will move slower and attack weaker now, as if it is dying. It starts out with 350% this time. When you get its Health meter down to zero once again, a cut scene shall interrupt.
Cutscene: (The Peril lets out a final, earsplitting scream that shatters the windows of the airport, then falls over dead. Mission Clear!)
Mission 19
Joshua steps outside the airport. He sees a runway, and a ready to fly jet waiting for him! (To refresh your memory, Joshua had to search through the whole game for the computer, which tells you where the keys to the airport are , which is where the jet is. Joshua needs the jet to travel at speeds that will break through the dream dimension, waking him from his coma.) Before he can take two steps, the great white eye of Omega appears in the sky!
"INFERNAL BOY! YOU SHALL PLAGUE THIS DIMENSION NO MORE! LET ME INTRODUCE YOU TO THE SSECRET WEAPON! AHAHAHAHAHA!"
A blinding flash of light consumes Joshua. When he comes to, he looks around to find that he is on a barren and dusty landscape. He looks to the sky, and sees the planet Earth! He then realizes that he is on the moon. He turns around to see a giant idol, with six arms, four wings, and one big white eye in the middle of its face.
"Ready to face me like a man, Omega?" Joshua states bravely. Omega lets out a booming laugh.
"OF COURSE NOT! IF I WANTED TO STOP YOU, I COULD HAVE DONE SO IN THE PAST AT ANY TIME! I WILL ALLOW MY SECRET WEAPON TO DO THE WORK! FAREWELL, JOSHUA THE HUMAN PEST!" And Omega dissapears. Joshua hears footsteps behind him, and turns around to face the secret weapon.
Final Boss
WEAPON: Throughout the game, Omega culculated and carefully studied Joshua's fighting tactics. By doing so, he was able to create a perfect evil clone of Joshua. This is the secret weapon. The evil Joshua clone comes equipped with a black spirit guide with red eyes, and a black wolf, the evil clone of Amigo the Husky! Now Joshua understands why Omega didn't hesitate to tell Mr. Creeper to kill him; the evil Joshua will return to the real world to take Joshua's place!
The two dogs, Amigo and Evil Amigo will start fighting immediately. Don't worry about their health bars. Just dodge to prevent them from slamming into Joshua as they tear across the landscape. Also, the two Spirits will be fighting, cuasing magical explosions that you must dodge.
Weapon carries the Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, Grenadegun, Stinger, Butcher Knife, Cleaver, and his specialty, a black spirit stick! Joshua has slaughtered many a beast with his spirit stick, but never before has he felt its true sting. Weapon will frantically attack at speeds much greater than Joshua, and will sometimes enter Adrenaline Mode! Learn to dodge the spirit stick as best as you can, because Weapon will use every technique in the game, and some of these can't appear to be dodged at all! Weapon has only one attack that Joshua doesn't have, and that is to teleport extremely fast in puffs of black smoke.
Trying to decrease weapon's life will be agonizing; he has an unbelievably long 600% vitality bar. This bar is green 450% and over, yellow 300-449, and red below 300. When you get Weapon's health to exactly 300, a cutscene will interrupt.
Cutscene: (Weapon charges at Joshua, and Joshua attempts a spear-ram technique, but Weapon has faster reflexes and teleports, dodging the spirit stick! Weapon reappears behind Joshua, then takes out the Butcher Knife and slits his throat! The blood sprays all over Weapon, and he holds out his hands to touch it.
"It feels exactly as I dreamed it would..." Weapon murmurs to himself. Weapon has the same face as Joshua, but his expression is not that of a cocky eleven year old. It is instead a blank, remorseless face, like that of a machine, built only for death.
"Don't you see, brother? This is our destiny. I am a reflection of you, and you cannot destroy your reflection."
Meanwhile, Joshua's spirit has subdued the evil spirit momentarily. Seeing that Joshua is dying, and has no gold nuggets to bring him back to life, Spirit quickly flies over to Joshua's side.
"No!" Spirit cries. "It cannot end this way!"
"Ah, but it will, foolish spirit." Remarks weapon. The spirit glares up at Weapon, then back down at Joshua. It closes its eyes, then falls over exhuasted. The wound from Joshua's neck closes, and Joshua stands up again.
"Hmm? Thought I killed him." Says Weapon.
"Sorry, Weapon, but I'm a reflection for you, to."
Joshua says.
"How is it possible that you live?" Asks Weapon.
"I have given him some of my life energy." Explains the exhausted Spirit. "He can live on, but I will need to rest for a while in order to regain my strength." The Spirit falls into a deep sleep.)
The battle continues, and the moon begins to enter the Earth's atmosphere. The ground glows red hot, and you must jump on floating platforms to attack Weapon, who know attacks you from high in the air. Take away the rest of his 300 life pionts, and the battle is almost over...
Cutscene: (Joshua fears that he does not have enough strength to finish weapon off. He keels over, ready to pass out.
"How dissapionting, oh well, time to die, Joshua. Your Spirit will not save you this time." Weapon lifts his hand up and produces a black energy ball so enormous it blocks out the sun. Joshua closes his eyes, waiting for Weapon to finish him off. He then hears Spirit speaking to him in his mind.
"Joshua, can you hear me? I am with your dog, we have killed the evil clones of ourselves." Spirit says.
"Yeah, Spirit, I'm done for. Weapon just sprouted a giant thingy from his hand." Says Joshua.
"That blast is strong enough to blow up the moon AND the Earth, Joshua! Not even Weapon will survive the blast! He doesn't care if he dies anymore, he just wants to take you with him!"
"Well, I don't suppose I can stop him." Joshua mutters grimly.
"YES! Indeed there is! When I transferred my life energy to you, I also gave you a little extra energy than you needed! This remaining amount of energy will be all you need to perform an attack called SPIRIT DRAGON. The spirit dragon will be sure to kill Weapon!" Spirit says quickly. Joshua gathers himself up, and faces Weapon one more time.)
Now for an attack that I never listed before...
SPIRIT DRAGON: Fire a hail of bullets at Weapon through your pistol as quickly as you can. This will fill your Adrenaline meter the quickest. When you hear the chime, the Adrenaline meter is full. Hold down the square (fire button) button until Joshua's pistol glows bright blue. Let go of the fire button to release the spirit dragon. A thirty second timer appears in the corner of the screen during this time, and if you cannot complete this attack before the timer runs out, you will be blown into oblivion. But if you DO complete it...
Cutscene: (A giant blue dragon emerges from the tip of Joshua's pistol. Although the Dragon is tiny compared to the enormous black energy ball that Weapon fires, it easily pushes the energy ball back at Weapon.
"NO! NO! OUR DESTINY IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY! AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Screams Weapon. The combined explosion of the Spirit Dragon and black energy ball blasts Weapon all the way to hell. Mission Completed!)
Mission 20 (FINAL MISSION)
Joshua wakes up to find that he is back on the runway of the airport, exactly where Omega picked him up from. Dodge the flaming meteors that are dropped from the decending moon, and race across the runway to the waiting Harrier Jet. Jump inside the Harrier with Spirit and Amigo, and blast off the runway! The controls for flying the Jet are the same as the Camaro and Corvette, except the left Analog stick moves the plane up and down in altitude. Dodge the meteors and exploding chaotic landscape as you head for the front gate. Your life meter is displayed on the screen, and decreases each time your plane hits something or skids on the ground. If your life meter hits 0%,, its all over. When you zoom past the front gate, Joshua hits the gas and speeds at Mach 3, breaking from the horrifying nightmare dimension!
Ending cutscene: Joshua bolts upright in his hospital bed, his family his standing over him. Relieved that he has finally woken up, they prepare to take him home. As they leave, they find a large Husky dog named Amigo, and Joshua convinces his parents to bring him home with them. When Joshua gets home, he starts wondering if it was all really a dream... until he gets to his bedroom. There, he finds Spirit on his desk! He never tells anyone about what happened when he was in his coma.
That night, he looks out his window and sees a cloaked, masked figure standing on the roof of the neighbor's house. It holds a dreamcatcher in one hand, and a noose in the other. Joshua blinks, and the creature dissapears. Convincing himself that he was just seeing things, Joshua falls asleep with a feeling of growing terror in his heart...
Complete the game once to unlock HARD MODE. On HARD MODE, enemies have vitality bars increased by 50 pionts, and some objectives and time limits are shorter.
Complete the game once in HARD MODE to unlock NIGHTMARE MODE. In this develishly hard difficulty, enemies have health meters increased by 100 pionts, and sometimes enter their own version of Adrenaline mode. In addition, boss characters take no damage unless Joshua is in Adreniline mode. If NIGHTMARE MODE is completed, Joshua will be able to restart the game on any difficulty with unlimited Adrenaline, Shadow, and Holy mode! Playing through the entire game in Holy mode is a breeze!
|
Add your comment to this Game Idea
An hour and a half of excitement!!!
8/12/2003 12:53:16 AM
Comment by:
bizpimp
Just as the title of my comment says, it took me an hour and a half or so to read this AMAZING DOCUMENT! I have never, ever experienced such an rush from reading. This idea is, by far, the best game idea at I have read in a tremendous period of time Giving a simple compliment about this game seems hardly enough praise to aim in your direction, sprada. I couldn't begin to descibe such a game even if I tried; this is beyond complexity. You have not only descibed a great amount of detail, you've brought Adventure Gaming to a whole new level. I have to say, I felt as if I were actually inside the game- even without a controller in my hand. There is no doubt in my mind that this game will be the next best adventure game of the year. I did however notice some minor complications: This game should provide a saving option, accessable at anytime during gameplay, on acount of extremely long battles that could in fact take hours. Also, I am a little sceptical about a thirteen year old boy capable of not only driving cars and jets, but controlling heavy artillary- that to me is a bit extreme, however it is a DREAM. Listen up all you other members here at GD, READ THIS GAME- I guarantee you will enjoy it as much as I did. To the author: I can't descibe how much I enjoyed reading this. This must have taken you weeks galore to complete; if so, this is well worth it. The experience I had, just reading, was as exciting as I can picture playing the actual game. I hope to see the same talent in your future game ideas here at GD. Thank you. (Be sure to check out my ideas as well; however, I don't expect any comparison). I would very much like your e-mail address, I'd like your opinion on my newest ideas, and send you some minor yet helpful additions for this game.
|
Nice Idea
8/16/2003 4:59:03 AM
Comment by:
andrew91
I like this idea alot. Very Silent Hill like. What kind of graphics would it use? Deffinatly not 2D. I would probly use 3D grain(like SH3)I bet Konami would take it for Silent Hill 4 if you remove the spirt Stick!
|
so far so good
8/16/2003 5:16:05 AM
Comment by:
bizpimp
Hey, again. Just thought I'd check up and see how comments were going so far...as for the comment above, I agree that this idea has some Silent Hill relations; but this is indeed very original. Hmmm...I don't know what he's thinkin', but do not, I repeat, DO NOT drop the "spirit stick" idea. That's what gives the game's arsenal it's edge!
|
Silent Hill? I think not.
8/16/2003 6:20:48 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
Um, I can see some relations to The Surreal and Silent Hill, but I want this to be an original game. NO WAY I'm dropping the spirit stick. There may have been dudes in Silent Hill shooting zombies with pistols, but not with magic sticks that shoot whips from the end.
Also, this game does seem pretty creepy, but how often in Resident Evil or Silent Hill does the hero start yelling cocky comments to the monsters?
|
Surreal Graphics
8/16/2003 6:33:54 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
I'm not sure what to say about the graphics. I mean, doesn't everybody want their game's graphics to be awesome?
2D Graphics for the Surreal? Yawn. Battles in this game need to be held in 3D areas that are just the right size for characters to perform attacks, dodge, and so on, but also give somewhat of a chlaustrophobic feeling, even when outside.
Examples: 1. When Joshua is swimming down the underwater tunnels, they are almost pitch black and narrow. This makes for a more panic-action feeling when an alligator the size of Texas comes at you.
2. Although this game is based more on action more than the awkward controls of Survival Horror, I did try to make some parts where you feel trapped and helpless, like in the very beggining when the Wretched has cut off your retreat and you have to run into the kitchen before it gets to you.
3. In the sequence where Joshua is in the paintball field with the Wretched Gunmen, although I want it to be a huge area I want it to present yet another 'trapped' feeling with so many bullets whizzing by and small obstacles to hide behind.
That's all for now.
|
As for graphics...
8/17/2003 12:06:03 AM
Comment by:
bizpimp
I think they should be somewhat similar to those in Alice, an all-time favorite of mine. 2D graphics are rather boring. However, 3D graphics with a touch of reality (4D) would make settings rather interesting. Also, simple things can make all the difference, such as leaves falling in the wind. Claustrophia (closed-in feeling) is also great in a game; however, it could be difficult with such nonliner surroundings. Remember, small steps get the farthest.
|
i'll be danged
8/20/2003 5:12:20 PM
Comment by:
nightsavior
heh. well sparda is my review of your dmc 3 i told you come up with an original game and by gosh...its been here the whole time. from what i read its well pieced together. sure its long but hey that's good...the programmers will need good notes should you find them or they find you. from you i learned full game ideas can be posted. i got a long game idea myself. good work sparda and stick with your original works because those are the best.
|
What's Joshua's deal?
8/22/2003 9:23:30 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
Hi nightsavior. You mentioned in your review of my game idea Devil May Cry 3 that you want to know more about Joshua and less about Dante.
Well the truth is, Joshua isn't really the kind of video game character who has a cool or mysterious past. (Well, I geuss he will in the sequel.) To sum it all up, Joshua lived a normal life, then when he turned 13 he was having a birthday party, "The Surreal" monster attacked him. He was in a coma and then the monsters attacked and blah blah blah blah. Nothing to complicated to it before then.
|
trust me to be critical . . .
9/11/2003 5:01:40 PM
Comment by:
TheNewMan
I am writing this as I go along so I don't forget anything. The hangmen- contradiction: you say once they have gathered themselves together they are dangerous, yet also say their noose atack is easily dodged with practice. Crucifix: perhaps have the barrier last for only a certain amount of damage and have the enemies try and batter their way through the barrier, creating a pretty spark-like effect which grows weaker as the barrier weakens until the monster(s) burst through. Also have the barrier deform as it weakens, so enemies can start pushing a dent in it towards the player should it be weak enough. What does a dreamcatcher look like? Perhaps extend the 1st car's lifespan- it hardly seems to have appeared before it is destroyed. Why smash the computer- he may have more use for it later? (okay, he doesn't, but how does he know that?) What happens if spirit dies? What ahppens if the player doesn't have a resurrection stone at the cutscene where he dies the first time, or does have one on the moon? Okay, read it (even with comments took me less than an hour), some more general comments: there are a couple of exceptions (the circus and the computer), but it seems that primarily the enemies are bizarre while the environments are rather ordinary. If you can show as much inventiveness with the environments as you did with the enemies, it would be an incredible atmosphere- for a nightmare, it is too everyday. EVERYTHING is malleable and I don't feel you have exploited that to the max. The other thing I felt was character interaction: all it seems to be is enemy threatening player, player retorts. An annoying jerk as a main character (I don't think that was intentional, but I did find myself cheering the bad guys on with lines such as 'Kill that lippy twit!'- maybe I'm getting old) is okay, as long as it is not overdone, else it gets boring. Another idea to solve that one is simply to include more friendly characters, probably other children from the party, also trapped in the nightmare world, but not neccessarily- could be anyone or anything! These characters should not be more allies, but each their own individuals. Some need help, others want to help you, some understand what is going on and are working towards a definite goal, others don't have a clue and are wandering around aimlessly, some want nothing to do with you and others are willing to do anything to forward their goal of escape, even if it means trying to remove the competition for the escape routes. Perhaps have the player be less cocky towards some of these (most of them are his friends after all). I recommend that you only have a few, who recurr throughout the plot. Perhaps give the player certain dialogue choices with them, affecting which turn against you, which help you, who lives and who dies (perhaps a bonus at the end of the game for each one you save?). It would certainly add more depth. In summary: a lot of thought has obviously gone into this game. More is needed (bwahahahaha!!) for it to be as good as it could- no, SHOULD, be. It IS better than most of the ideas out there, but it should be better still and with more work, it can be.
|
Whooo, boy
9/12/2003 10:25:49 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
First of all, I'd like to say that it causes me great pain to know that you all have awesome suggestions for change, yet due to technical difficulties I cannot update The Surreal. Yes, it sounds lame, but it's true. Anyway, time to reply to Newman! As for the Hangmen, I fail to see the problem. Once they gather themselves up, they are dangerous. That has nothing to do with dodging slow attacks with their nooses. They might have other attacks. Dammit, I should have included that. I LOVE your idea for the crucifixes, I should have been more descripitive with the whole "spark flyin" thing, and maybe should've gave each crucifix a certain amount of health. Oh, by the way, a dreamcatcher looks like a round pretty indian-thingy. OK, that wasn't very descriptive (man, gotta work on that.) but try searching for a dreamcatcher on another website to get a better idea. I know, as I was typing this I thought, damn, you barely have the Camaro for five minutes before it's gone. But (and bizpimp sort of pointed this out) Joshua is only thirteen, so when writing the game I tried to keep the cars in there just long enough for players to have fun, yet not so long you end up scratchin your head and thinking, "Man, he drives a little smooth for a kid." Why smash the computer you ask? Well, Joshua has quite the attitude, and when a computer starts mouthing off to him, he aint gonna take it well. And how would he take it with him? Computers are plugged into the wall, and even if it wasn't he'd have a hell of time lugging it around. I'm not sure I know what you mean, "what happens if spirit dies." Spirit only exists in the cinematic sequences, and he never dies. It doesn't matter whether or not you have a Gold Nugget (ressurection stone) while fighting Mr. Creeper, he just has it hidden away, just in case. If you start the fight with 1 Gold Nugget, after the cut scene, you'll still have 1. Joshua just has a spare. As for the moon, no matter how many you had it is reset to 0. As for the environments, you are 100% right. However, I aint changing them. One of the major themes in this game was to bring bizarre and horrific creatures to otherwise ordinary and innocent places. However, in The Surreal 2 (which no one but bizpimp and dusty has read.) the environments are beefed up quite a bit. I went with a more dream-loke theme in the sequel. You know, floating castles, jungles, graveyards, that kind of stuff. As for character interaction and dialouge, I can't tell you how many people hate Joshua's cocky attitude. However, I am also not changing this one bit. As I've explained before: When we see a character who screams in horror every time an encounter is made, we think of terror and...scary stuff. However, when we see a hero who doesn't flinch even when confronted with a dozen scary monsters, we think of style and action, which is where I want to point this series. Yes, I know that sounds odd, since most of the enemies in the game are really creepy. But come on, none of these freaks is about to have an intelligent conversation with Joshua! (Oh, by the way, I've got to give you points for originality. No one's ever called Joshua a "Lippy Twit" before.) I really hate to dissapoint you, but Joshua is going this game alone. No other party guests aloud! However, in one of the sequels to The Surreal, other guests from the party along with Joshua's friends do indeed join him. They mainly aren't playable characters, and almost all of them die, but at least there will be some more decent dialouge! Well, hope I could help with some of your questions. If you have any more, e-mail me.
|
clarification
9/12/2003 11:53:20 PM
Comment by:
TheNewMan
just to clarify my question about spirit: at a certain point in the game, you have to rescue spirit from the house as it is under attack. What happens if you fail and spirit dies? I presume game over, but thought maybe you might go down an alternate (harder/longer) route to the endgame.
And about the computer: I didn't expect him to carry it with him (I am aware that it is too big to fit in his back pocket), but he could always go back should he have more questions if he hadn't destroyed it, that was the point. But hey, how much sense can you expect out of a 13 year old anyway? OW! STOP THAT!! OUCH!! I'M SORRY,OKAY?! PUT THAT CLEAVER DO-
edit: this is not worth its own post, so I'll add it here. Yes, the last comment was not serious (I don't see how you could possibly view it as being serious with the following comment, but hey, no worries). About the computer thing: I said do not wreck it as he may have more use for it later. Suggestion AND reason, don't really know what you were trying to get at, although I admit I didn't spell it out as clearly as Biz did. Double edit: the 13 thing: (a) because it's a bl***y impressive idea from one so young (b) because I've been playing games for almost as long as you've been alive (c) I was actually referring to Joshua, who I thought was also 13, but checking, I realise is 11. [yay me. Getting senile at 20]. And for the record, I type my ideas up in notepad offline, then just copy/paste, means I don't have to clockwatch. Try it sometime.
|
Hey, lighten up
9/13/2003 12:30:30 AM
Comment by:
sparda590
I'm just going to presume you were just kidding on that last comment. Oh, and by the way, I don't feel like you've attacked my pride and joy. These are just IDEAS, don't take this stuff too seriously. I'm off to read some of your ideas, but I doubt I'll have anything too negative (or helpful for that matter) to say about them. I've really got to work on this constructive criticism thing. ADDITION: I was pretty sure you were just kidding, and I did laugh when I read the whole "PUT THE CLEAVER DOWN!" deal. I just don't see why everyone has to keep pointing out that I'm 13...
|
Alright you two!
9/13/2003 2:25:28 AM
Comment by:
bizpimp
Ha ha, wow, just listening to you two go at it is quite entertaining. I have to admit, treating these comments as if they WEREN'T forums is rather difficult; but nontheless, if I'm going to say something, I must add a "helpful or critical" comment. Sparda, although you are, at the moment, disabled from editing any of your ideas (I presume), how about just taking some of TheNewMan's ideas into consideration? the whole "don't wreck the computer" debate could add a little more depth to the game, in the sense that, it could resemble to an 'information source' for the player. Example: whenever a player is in need of answers or has a debatable question, he/she could travel back to the location of the computer and type in whatever it is they are looking for, in the computer, (thus getting answers- helping them along their journey). However, this could just as easily be done with Spirit. I can't seem to remember, but doesn't Spirit travel with Joshua in his napsack? if so, whenever the player has questions or is in need of answers, the option of opening Joshua's pack (releasing Spirit) and asking HIM the question may be more accurate (plus, excluding the travel distance). How 'bout it? You have to admit, that's pretty damn creative- he he. Good luck.
|
The computer lives!
9/13/2003 2:40:15 AM
Comment by:
sparda590
You're on to something bizpimp! In The Surreal 2, you can turn to Spirit (in Joshua's backpack) for enemy info, saving your game, and whatnot. I did not feature this in #1, since Spirit was staying at Joshua's home most of the game. However, the computer could be an interesting source of information. I might need to change things around a bit, maybe like this: the computer does not directly tell you things about mission objectives and enemy weakness, just gives clever hints. Like so: when shooting a hanman's head, it causes the hangman no damage. The computer might say it like this: "By firing above, you shall bring no harm to the condemned." OK, that's not too clever. But now that I think about it, by having Joshua not smash the computer, I could bring a big element of gameplay forth. A tip to Newman: You're really good with reviewing but take my advice, don't just tell me to save the computer, do what bizpimp did and explain WHY. (Oh, by the way bizpimp, I'm not uncapable of updating my game ideas, just the Surreal. But Newman gave me some pretty complex tips on most of my ideas, so updating them might take a little more time than usual, and I'm pretty busy with The Infection. I hope my computer doesn't explode when I try to submit it.)
|
A change in opinion, eh?
9/13/2003 3:11:13 AM
Comment by:
bizpimp
Well, as you know, I have my usual "update" ideas concerning almost everyone elses' ideas except mine. I'm glad you think the computer idea is interesting, but I don't remember you mentioning the ability to turn to Spirit for advice when I read #2. Well, if you said it was there, then I must've- it is indeed a very helpful option. Keep at it sparda, something unexpectedly great is bound to cross your path if you stick with what you've got (hey, I sound like a damn fortune cookie!).
|
Man....
9/13/2003 2:42:17 PM
Comment by:
deVil.shadow
Sparda you're 13 right?I have a question how the hell could you sit in front of a computer long enough to write this if im writing anything for longer than half an hour i get bored...sigh...thats why all my ideas are so crap...sigh...anyway I just wanted to say that i admire that any one can write so much even when it isnt for a school english paper...sigh.theVEE
|
About Silent Hill...(Ugh)
9/14/2003 3:31:06 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
I actually was considering the similarities between this game and Silent Hill for awhile, but to tell the truth I had never actually played the Silent Hill games. Now that I have, I DON'T WANT THE SURREAL TO BE ANYTHING LIKE SILENT HILL! No offense SH fans, but those games are boring as hell. Character design = yawn. Level & background design = boring. Controls = what the !@#$ is this!? Enemy variety = blah. The puzzles in Silent Hill are a bit clever, but that's just not where I want to go with The Surreal. Oh, and by the way, I'm all for 2D movement. Don't get me wrong, 3D and 4D ENVIRONMENTS are what I would favor in a game like this, but as far as controls go I wouldn't want the awkward movements of Survival Horror games. Oh come on, can you imagine how frustrating it would be to be confronted with a horde of enemies, then having to pivot on the spot and point the control stick at Joshua's actual left and so on... OK, it might not be THAT bad, but I still think 3D character movement sucks. (I am talking about movement FOR THE SURREAL, just comparing it to Silent Hill.)
|
A clarification
11/12/2003 10:14:30 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
Sorry to cause any confusion, I seemed to be confused myself when writing The Surreal ideas. Joshua is 11 YEARS OLD. (Does his mama know he's cussing like that?) IF YOU COME ACROSS ANY PART OF THIS IDEA THAT STATES HE IS ANY OTHER AGE BESIDES 11, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND I WILL UPDATE IT. In the sequel, he will be 13 years old.
|
11?
2/1/2004 1:16:33 AM
Comment by:
ForTheBones
I just find it very hard to believe an 11 year old child as the protagonist. Consider the facts, a child this old has not even reached adolescence or puberty yet, therefore he or she will not have the same intelligence or strength as a young adult or teenager.
Also, I can't really find it entertaining to hear a 11 year old yell cocky comments to the monsters he kills. In Devil May Cry, for example, Dante is cocky, but he is liked because his cocky attitude flows from a matured voice actor with a deep sounding, intimidating voice. Fact is, I can't just find a child this old to be intimidating. Or that smart, or strong. Players want to play as a protagonist they can believe in, and generally wish to play as someone who is more believable to survive a situation like this. I realize it is in a dream, surreal world, anything happens probably, but you mentioned yourself that he is effected and can be killed in reality. Just consider to yourself how silly the idea of an 11 year old protagonist is. In games like Silent Hill 2 for example, the players believe in James, not only because he is an average joe, but because he is educated as an adult, and understands a lot more of the working world then someone 10 or 11 years old would. Therefore, his chances of survival are far more probable then a child. Other then this, the general idea is very well thought out and detailed.
|
Amazing
2/1/2004 7:37:34 PM
Comment by:
Valek
Ok so I'm a bit late in the discussion for initial praise but I don't get on here much so anyway, I onlyjust read through the idea and firstly I have to say well done to the author, it is incredible and very well written
But, reading the comment from the guy above me who complains the age of the child is not realistic got me thinking..
Why does it have to be?Look at the entire story, its not realistic, does anyone play a computer game thinking " Lets play this to see how identicle to my life it is". Personally if i wanted realism I wouldn't play computer games, I'd go outside.
I see nothing wrong witht he childs age, as long as im not controlling some midget a 10th the size of the weaker enemies :p
|
Hmmm
2/4/2004 6:26:08 PM
Comment by:
arkainjalex
well this is alot to take in...I tried posting a comment for this idea a very long time ago when it was first posted but i believe that's when the problems started and certain suggestions would not go through. Anyway, i have a few things to say about it. First, the age of the character which there is some controversy about. I don't think it's wrong to have a young person as a main character, just not too young. I think people don't like Joshua not because of his attitude but because he's so young and he's not a cool or tough character. When i created my idea "Nightmares" i also used a young (13yo) character but i clearly emphasized that he was not a tough, mature, or cool badass little boy. He was a child who was constantly abused and ridiculed by almost everyone he knew, retreating to books and movies as his sanctuary. When he gained his powers to call upon the ancient nightmares he was able to unleash his pain and rage on the world. Nevertheless, he stayed the same KID he was before,needing help from other people (which is why i created supporting characters that i never posted). I actually considered making him older, maybe 15, because even 13 is a bit young but i really wanted to keep his vulnerability and innocence. Let's face it,no offense, but young "adults" are not that smart or remotely capable of surviving on their own in a situation like Joshua's. If you want the kid as a main character, make him act like one, not like Dante Jr. (perhaps this is the kid Dante spoke of at the end of DMC 1 when he beat Mundus?). You don't want another Raiden (from metal gear solid 2), the bane of all gamers, on your hands.
On a more positive note, you have expressed a great deal of creativity, it's very refreshing to see a young person on the site producing better ideas than many of the older people or young but practically illiterate ones. You've done a good job in many aspects, you still have a ways to go but i think you're on the right track. I hope i don't seem as critical as Newman because sometimes he's realllllly harsh. I try to be fair when i can and that's why i do believe alot of the creatures/environments/etc. are just fine because the game takes place in a dreamlike environment. I agree with Valek in that respect but not about the age of the boy. I'm only 19 but i must've been playing games for at least 15 years now, and trying to write and draw my own for pretty much the same length of time, i work at a videogame store too so i like to think i know what i'm talking about. Overall i give this idea 2 thumbs up. Kinda rough sure, but you have the framework for something great. I didn't read the sequel but i hope that in that idea you have attempted to shoot higher, something that all sequels should do. I really must compliment you on the length of your idea, detail is great and you have lots of it. One tip though, sometimes too much detail will really expose shallow parts of a story or poorly designed characters etc. so use it carefully. Lastly, i don't expect you to do anything about any of my comments, but the whole birthday party thing just seems kiddy to the extreme! keep up de good verk. DMC forever.
|
I'm back
2/8/2004 7:47:17 PM
Comment by:
sparda590
And I've been gone awhile. First, I must say that I didn't expect anyone to be commenting on the Surreal anymore. And second, I'm glad that people did. I agree with Valek on the issue of Joshua not being realistic. If I wanted him to be realistic I would have created a game where he runs through a school of bullies with a hesitant, agressive, but good hearted attitude, not a bloody nightmare where demons and monsters roam. Does anybody truly look for outstanding realism in action games? Has anyone ever sat down to their system and said "Uh oh, this guy is way to young to know how to shoot a rifle, so I refuse to play this game." I understand that an adult will be much more apt to survive in a situation like this, but keep in mind that this game has a much more fantasy like theme than Silent Hill. James was shy and whacked monsters with a plank. Joshua is cocky and has super adrenaline powers. Who do you think is more apt to survive? Being mature has almost nothing to do with blowing up zombies with a grenade launcher. In fact, I think it may help to be immature. I do kind of wish that Joshua was a little older than eleven, perhaps in his teens; I'm thinking of switching it to the way I had it: 13 in the original and 15 in the sequel. And something else that I think should be cleared up: I did NOT choose a child as the protagonist because I am 13 (I had absolutely no intentions of modeling Joshua after myself. I would faint or run away if confronted with zombies.) I chose a character so young as the protagonist because I just thought that it would be interesting to try something different. Take Devil May Cry, Silent Hill, Metal Gear Solid, and any other 3rd person action game you can think of. What do they all have in common? Original themes, nice characters, entertaining missions, (Well, maybe not Silent Hill) and adult characters. Now here I am with a good, dream environment, detailed enemies, and creative features thrown into the mix. Choosing an adult as the protagonist would just be taking the same path as everyone else. Yet I can see why people don't like the idea of Joshua being so arrogant. (Keep in mind that during the first few missions, although he is very foul-mouthed, we can tell that our young friend is indeed frightened. I just went along with this: Deep down Joshua is truly intimidated, but he can't give in and show the monsters that he is afraid, or else they will see that he has a weakness and feed off of his fear, using it to their advantage.) But consider this: A big, buff, experienced and adult hero is beating up on all the puny monsters in the game while shouting the cocky insults. Wouldn't you rather see a tiny kid beating his way past the hordes of monsters? If he can do that than he seriously has something to brag about! I could also taken the alternate path of an adult like James from SH, all quiet and modest and whatnot. But that sounds kind of boring, doesn't it? Thanks again for all the advice.
|
hmm...
2/8/2004 9:57:01 PM
Comment by:
arkainjalex
well i'm not saying you're wrong, you have your own opinion, but i still don't believe in ANY kid being tough, regardless of his powers. the thing i'm trying to make clear is that Joshua would most likely end up a disliked character and i don't think that's something you'd want. That's all really. Having an adult character like Dante doesn't make a game realistic but rather makes it "plausible", you know- somewhere in the realm of possibility. Some magazines even give awards to the year's best and worst game characters, guys like Hotsuma of shinobi and Dante are the former, while Raiden of mgs2, Nick Kang of true crime, and that goober kid from grabbed by the ghoulies end up in the highly maligned latter category (because they're annoying). Well i've just realized how long i've been going on about this and i guess it really doesn't matter. No hard feelings, i've just had alot of experiences with cocky young kids and couldn't bare playing as one. For a good view of what happens to kids like that, watch the end of "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back", it's a good movie.
|
Add
your comment to this Game Idea
GameDiscovery.com : Adventure Games : The Surreal
|
 |
|
|
