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Tower of Nostalgia: The "Classic" mode in The Dark Spire

by rawmeatcowboy
04 March 2009
GN 1.0 / 2.0

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Nostalgia. In life, it’s places you’ve been, people you’ve spent time with, tastes and smells from the past, etc.

In gaming, it’s about the first time your plumber leap-straddled a flag pole and chafed his way to the bottom, or when your avatar stabbed repeatedly into the soft, fleshy part of an unfortunate golem’s noggin as your sadistic horse looked on. It’s about those antiquated beeps and boops, those simple tracks of music, and flowery bits of text like “Take this letter to King” or “This ring gives STR.”

That’s where the “Classic” mode in The Dark Spire comes into play. The game is, for all intents and purposes, a love letter to those classic first-person dungeon crawlers of old: TITLE OMITTED FOR LEGAL REASONS, TITLE OMITTED FOR LEGAL REASONS, and TITLE OMITTED FOR LEGAL REASONS. Even in the “Modern” mode, the game is all about stat rolls, exploring long corridors and expansive chambers, slaying all sorts of vermin and baddies, and of course — hurling your DS across the room in frustration after your party is wiped out.

“Classic” mode features more than just old-school visuals. The music also takes a leap back to the 1980’s. We’re talking beeps and boops of the finest beep-boop quality. Of course, some folks will question the need for this “Classic” mode. Why wander the dungeons with wireframe graphics and simplistic sprites? Why tolerate the beeps and boops?

It is, to a large extent, about reliving the past, about diving into the hot tub of gaming nostalgia. And it’s also a celebration of the genre: simple, to the point, and begging the player to bring their imagination.

The Dark Spire ships on April 14th. Each and every launch copy includes a soundtrack CD featuring Classic and Modern mode music, all wrapped in a lovely premium boxed package!

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