Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony
| Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Final Form Games |
| Publisher(s) | Final Form Games |
| Composer(s) | Francisco Cerda |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4 |
| Release date(s) |
Windows
Mac OS X
PlayStation 4 (as Jamestown+)
|
| Genre(s) | Bullet hell, shoot 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony is a vertically scrolling shoot 'em up video game developed and released by Final Form Games in 2011. The game takes place on Mars in an alternate history steampunk 17th century, where the planet is a British colony contested by the Spanish and the indigenous martians.
Gameplay
Jamestown features mechanics similar to many other shooters. There are 4 types of ships available, each with a primary and secondary attack, and a "Vaunt Mode" which the player can trigger when enough gold from destroyed enemies has been collected. When this mode is engaged the ship gains a temporary shield, increased firepower and a score multiplier for a limited time, which can be prolonged and increased by collecting more gold.
The game is playable in both regular singleplayer mode and in a local multiplayer mode supporting up to 4 players.
Development
The game was developed in two years by the small indie developer Final Form Games, and financed by the three founders' own personal savings.[3] The developers present the Cave shooter Progear as being the closest thing to a direct influence, and say that the animated films of Hayao Miyazaki, in particular Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky influenced the artstyle.[3] The story's alternate history references Roanoke Colony, and includes associated figures like Walter Raleigh, Virginia Dare, John Smith, and Joachim Gans as characters.
Reception
| Reception | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||
Jamestown was met with positive reviews upon its release and has an aggregate score of 84% at Metacritic.[4] IGN gave the game a score of 8.5/10 and called it "an accessible, punchy shooter with some clever mechanics at play and a surprising level of depth hiding beneath the 16-bit surface".[5] 1UP.com praised its approachable, escalating difficulty, the 16-bit style graphics and its soundtrack.[6]
Jamestown was selected as one of the "PAX 10" (a selection of the years best indie games) for the PAX Prime 2011 convention.[7] The game was added to the Humble Indie Bundle 4 on December 13, 2011.
References
- 1 2 "Jamestown". Steam Store. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
- ↑ "Spring Fever 2015: 8 Weeks, 8 New PS4 Games, PS Plus Discounts". PlayStation Blog. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
- 1 2 "Interview: Final Form Games Talks Jamestown, Hoagies". Press X or Die. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
- ↑ "Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony (PC: 2011)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
- ↑ "Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony Review". IGN. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
- ↑ "Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony Review (PC)". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2011-07-03.
- ↑ "PAX 10 says these are the best indie games". Joystiq. Retrieved 2011-07-15.