So unless you’ve been living under a rock the past 10 days (and I know some of you have, I’m looking at you, Marcelo), you probably know there’s been a bitchin’ Steam Sale going on. Most of the games that can be found on Steam have been on sale, for at least 25% off, and some games have had epic one-day sales that drop them to prices that will never again be seen until they go into the bargain bin (or at least, until the next Steam Sale). I myself picked up quite a few games: Assassin’s Creed II and Darksiders were going for $5 at one point, so I snagged those, and I also picked up indie darlings Jamestown, Magicka, and Recettear for a song.
You’d think I would have spent my evening playing one of these marvelous games. You’d think I’d be writing an article on one of those fantastic indie games which have received such relatively little amounts of press.
Well, you’d be wrong as a Frenchman on the subject of self-defense. Despite the glories awaiting me in my gaming inbox, I spent my time playing… a FLASH GAME.
What could do such a thing? What sort of heathen god of games must a man worship to deny highly-rated AAA titles such as these? What kind of dark, Chthonic madness must affect a man so that he closes his eyes to the shining light of Jamestown and Recettear?
Well, for one, it’s a tower defense game.
Yeah, suddenly I don’t sound quite so insane, huh? More after the jump.
Exhibit A of this hearing is a little game called Cursed Treasure Level Pack. It’s more or less an expansion of a previous flash game entitled “Cursed Treasure: Don’t Touch My Gems!” The original was one of the best flash-based Tower Defense games to date, receiving awards and high acclaim from flash game sites such as Kongregate and Newgrounds. Though the Level Pack is essentially nothing more than a new flash file with new battlegrounds and a few refinements, it continues the tradition of excellence handed down by its predecessor.
The key word for Cursed Treasure, as a whole, is simplicity. It takes many of the features from the best tower defense games, such as varied battlegrounds, tower leveling and evolving, player leveling with a skill tree, and player spells, but pares them down to an uncomplicated level. There are only 3 types of towers to worry about, and though they can split into 2 different types of towers each once they hit a certain level, that’s the only split there is. The player skill tree is based off of each of the 3 tower types, and benefits each type directly. There are only 3 player spells to worry about, and you don’t have to worry about unlocking them as you go. Plus, (and I really hate this about some tower defense games) there are no enemy units that can only be hit by a specific tower or two. I hate flying units.
The Cursed Treasure Level Pack is more of the same, but that is both its greatest advantage and its greatest disadvantage. It’s wonderful because it gives the player more of what is essentially one of the most refined tower defense games available, and it’s free, just like the original. It’s a damn shame because this is time spent by the developer that could have been put to use working on a true sequel. I cluck my tongue at you, IriySoft.
All scoffing aside, if there’s any casual game that is at least in some way minutely excusable for playing instead of your Steam Sale purchases, it’s this one. Give it a try if you’ve got a spare moment, and you can’t go wrong.
