#SPECTROMANCER SOFTWARE#

You want to make sure that you get good match-ups that will eventually create openings to attack those lifepoints, or you can be sneaky and put cards with troubling effects where the enemy wonвЂ™t be able to deal with them quickly. Managing the six spaces that can hold cards on the field becomes very important. A card like the hydra will attack multiple spaces, but other cards will do damage directly to the opponentвЂ™s lifepoints if no card occupies the space opposite it. Unless specified otherwise, cards will only attack the opponentвЂ™s space directly in front of it. This can be countered by using spells or monsters with effects that reduce the amount of power the opponent has, just before slaying it.ДЄfter you play your one card for that turn, all monsters on the field that can attack will do so. For example, the phoenix is a mid-range air card, but if it is slain while the owner has 10 fire power, it is immediately resurrected. The various effects of the cards add to this planning. You can only play 1 card per turn and itвЂ™s interesting to think about which schools youвЂ™ll use for low-cost monsters to hold the field and in which ones you want to save up for a stronger card that costs more. Monsters and spells have a cost associated with them and, every turn, the player receives 1 power for each of the 5 magic schools to spend on these cards. While you only have 20 cards to work with within any given duel, there is no shortage of tact or surprise. You unlock the complete roster of cards as you play through the campaign, so there is zero overarching deck management to be concerned about. Each match gives you a hand of 20 random cards, 4 in each category, and you use these same cards throughout the match. Cards fit within 5 categories: fire, water, air, earth, and a special category that is decided by your class. Spectromancer feels like it is made for people with this issue. The mixture of tact and randomness is bad enough as it is, but knowing IвЂ™ll be competing against people or AI that does have these skills is the deathblow to my willingness to play these games. I simply donвЂ™t have the foresight to plan a deck that has any kind of synergy to it, knowing that IвЂ™ll always have a random assortment of the cards within in my hand. What scares me the most about games involving cards is the notion of having to construct a deck. While I wonвЂ™t spoil it, the ending to the adventure left me pretty impressed and nicely rounded off the adventure. The story also builds up some interesting mysteries and I found myself wondering if my main character and the Goddess could be entirely trusted. ItвЂ™s well-written enough that it never feels like the game is just adlibbing it, but I honestly would have liked to see more games in this setting to explore it further. These little bits of storytelling go a long way towards painting an interesting world with diverse lands and revered heroes. This also translates into actual mechanics as the matches change rules around to suit the person you fight or the surrounding area. Every enemy on the map is accompanied by a bit of lore detailing why your quest led you there, who they are, and where you are fighting.

Spectromancer is an interesting game from a fantasy perspective. The council catches unto your plot and sends countless officials, mercenaries, and assassins to hunt you down. She guides you in slaying your master and sets you on a quest to travel the various lands to gather the other prisms. Your life and the world are peaceful, until the Goddess Celestia one day approaches you and informs you that the prisms are corrupting the members of the council.

You play as a young apprentice to one such council member. The council was organized in such a way that all members would resent each other and thus no alliances would ever form that could result in the prism being restored. The forces of this world eventually banded together and managed to defeat this wizard, after which the prism was split and divided between the members of an enigmatic council that would rule the world. The game is set in a fantasy world that was once tormented by a powerful magician that held a mysterious prism. TCG usually frighten me, but Spectromancer seemed different and I donвЂ™t regret giving it a shot.

#SPECTROMANCER SOFTWARE#

On a gamble, I bought Spectromancer, a title developed by the independent studio Apus Software and released in 2005. This Is The Police 2 proved exasperating to play and the only other game I had in mind was the RPG Legends of Eisenwald, which is far from my area of expertise.

Belarus proved a difficult country to find a video game for during this indie month.