The actual video. About the game. Gorky-18. Or 17. or Odium.
Greetings, comrades. You know, when I sat down to write the review script for our game today, I made the introduction very long and came to the conclusion that this introduction needed a separate video\text. But in general the conclusion is the following – I am a big fan of Goblin humor. We are talking about comrade Dmitry Puchkov. At one time, it was a big surprise for me that the detective one way or another surfaced in the gaming industry. Being a fan of dashing translations, one day while visiting I saw a game disc with a familiar stamp. I had to go to the usual tricks of children in order to get this disc. But it was done. Upon returning home, I immediately installed the game from the disk on my second Pentium with Windows 2000, which, although worse than OUR third Pentium with my grandmother, was practically my personal computer… Of course, I was often kicked out because of it, the wires were hidden for unwillingness to do homework or bad behavior, but still… That game was Gorky-18: A Man’s Work, aka Gorky -17, aka Odium… 2022 has barely begun, and we continue our journey into the past… to 1999.
So… What do we have https://tonybet-casino.co.uk/ here… Probably it would be correct to call the game Gorky – 17: Forbidden Zone. It was in this form that it was released in 1999 in Europe and from the publishing house 1C with the localization of SnowBall in Russia… However, in the American market it is listed as Odium… But Gorky-18: A Man’s Work is closer to my heart… The point is that the Poles from the Metropolis Software studio apparently decided to sit on all the chairs at once, or the Russian publisher decided that the game would sell better in our realities if it was adapted to ours realities. In any case, the skeleton of the plot was preserved in all three versions, and in general it is not the strong point of the game. So I will take Gorky as a basis in the localization of Goblin. It is less atmospheric from the point of view of the horror element, but it has more developed characters and even in some cases ARCHES of heroes, and is also well seasoned with black humor and funny turns of speech.
Gameplay is a tactical, turn-based RPG with quest elements… or something like that. There are two game modes. In the first, we move around the map with the mouse and solve simple problems like “find the key – open the door”. We loot, perform the necessary manipulations with the inventory and follow the plot and dialogues. These are actually the elements of the quest. The second mode is activated when you reach a certain point on the map, and is the main advantage of the game. Tactical, turn-based combat with RPG elements, ladies and gentlemen! We take out our general’s monocles and monitor the battlefield! In one turn, we have the legal right to use any item from the inventory, for example, stick a bandage on the nose, or use the services of a rather rare super weapon, or shoot at the adversary from an existing weapon. Before or after an action, you can even combine it, move along the available cells. Our team goes first, then the monster team. It would seem a rather primitive mechanics, however, meat, flesh and even nerves are hung on this skeleton. Each weapon has its own firing radius, and the “circle” as a geometric figure is clearly considered by the developers. But don’t worry, all radii are highlighted. The distance to the target also matters, and this affects both the damage and the chance of missing. It is also important from which side you decide to approach the solution to the problem of annihilation. There is a bonus for the sides and a double for the rear. By the way, our arsenal here is powerful and extensive – pistols, shotguns, rifles, grenade launchers and grenades, energy weapons… No one will leave offended. “Wulfik, but what if there is a maniac inside me who prefers to cut, stab and chop?!" – don’t worry, my little sadist, there are also a variety of melee weapons for you – enjoy! However, remember, each weapon requires ownership skills and the more often you use this or that gun, the skill will increase, and with it the damage. This is where RPG elements come into play. Each character has a leveling up and for each level he receives 5 points for distribution, but I’ll tell you a secret, they don’t matter much. I always threw one for each skill. Also, in battle you will be helped or hindered by the environment of the arena. Either it’s a narrow corridor from which there is no escape, or barrels of gasoline, or some kind of shelter. Well, with ours it’s clear what’s wrong with not ours? Here, each type of monster needs its own approach, so to speak. And there are a lot of views… And even bosses. Mainly the difficulty is in determining the attack radius and possible enemy weaknesses. In the old days, I had difficulties in passing and had to start either again or from a successful save. This was also due to the fact that there is often a shortage of ammo in the game. Therefore, I recommend saving more often and at the same time leveling up melee weapons for all characters. Speaking of them. In total we have 5 slots for heroes, of which there are three main characters and two replace each other throughout the game, more about them a little later. When any one hero dies, the game ends, let’s start again. It’s quite polite of the developers to give you the opportunity to replay the battle. There are several variations of battles – for example, protecting a unit or winning in a certain number of moves. Well, okay, I think I managed to paint the overall picture… Let’s move on.
Graphically the game is quite outdated. Whatever you say, for example, Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines, released a year before Gorky, or the Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty addon, released the same year, are, in my opinion, better preserved due to the solid picture, the amount of detail in the environment and their depiction, and most importantly, a more distant camera, which smoothes out the overall perception. In Gorky, we have painted backdrops on which pixelated 3D figures move; the style is more reminiscent of Commandos 2: Men of Courage from 2001, which had the same story, but the level of detail even now can please the old eye. The monsters look especially bad. Curvy, angular and mostly funny. But despite its obsolescence, connoisseurs of antiquity with an open mind will still be able to swallow or even feel the gloomy atmosphere of the game. I can’t particularly mention the music, although I am impressed by the developers’ idea to adjust the soundtrack to the actions of the heroes in the arena during battle. This gives the action some dynamics, I think. In general, it works for the atmosphere – and that’s okay.
Well, let’s get back to discussing the heroes and plunge into the twists and turns of the plot? The premise is this… In Gorky-17, one of the many closed military towns that multiplied like mushrooms during the Soviet era and had their own number, something terrible happens, and therefore a decision was made to bomb. All this is carefully hidden from the public and a security perimeter is set up. A year later, a NATO detachment is sent to Gorky-17, contact with which is almost immediately lost. Having not come up with anything better, a decision is made to send another detachment, but this time from the GRU consisting of three people. The commander in the person of Colonel Vasin is a warrior to the core, having gone through several wars here and there. Ensign Krotov is a seasoned soldier, with congenital kleptomania inherent in his rank. And Vladimir Zamchalov, aka Private Zelenkin, a conscript, called up for service in his second year at the institute. They will have to complete a series of tasks, consistently annihilating all the vile fauna that gets in the way of completing the mission. More than once or twice they will have to endure betrayal from their superiors and more. The rest of the heroes who come and go, only Susanin deserves special attention, because he is not as simple as he seems. The premise may seem interesting, but the developers did not have time to implement much, and therefore there are plot holes and slight understatement here and there. The Goblin translation, it seems to me, benefited the plot by shifting the emphasis from serious cabbage soup to army black humor, developing Private Zelenkin as a person and giving the dialogues some liveliness. In general, there will be connoisseurs.
So, in the end, we have a rather entertaining copy for fans of tactics and everything turn-based, humor and presentation of the Goblin detective, and just a pleasant game for a couple of evenings. I returned more than once to this, as for me, unfairly forgotten game, and each time I received some satisfaction from the process, listening to the next dialogue between Krotov and Zelenkin and distributing righteous “lyulas” to all sorts of evil spirits, straining my seemingly last convolutions. I can’t recommend it to everyone, but if you are not put off by outdated graphics and slight plot innuendo, then you are welcome to Gorky-17. Well, that’s all for me, see you, comrade.