Ophidian Wars: Opac's Journey
Platform: Xbox Live Indie Games (Xbox 360)
Price: 80 MSP / $1

Who knew that collecting roots could be fun?

Gameplay:
At first, this game appears to be your standard weaponless 2D platformer but as it progresses, things luckily get a lot more interesting. You take on the role of a cool looking guy named Opac who's on the quest to collect 6 hidden relics that will grant him new abilities. These abilities make the platforming experience much more enjoyable. The first relic gives you the ability to glide which comes in handy throughout the game as it's necessary in order to reach certain areas. The second gives you the ability to look around beyond your regular scope of view which can help anticipate dangers as well as hidden passages that you would have normally not have been able to spot right away. Another relic allows you to cause a small earthquake-like shake which can crush weak rocks to uncover new paths and there's even one that will allow you to climb walls which will make you feel like Spider-Man minus the web slinging ability. As for the remaining relics, I've spoiled enough for now.

Moving onto the scenery, Ophidian Wars: Opac's Journey takes place in a cave-like area that seemed appropriate for the elements present such as roots and glowing mushrooms. Speaking of these roots, that's another task presented in the game except it's optional unlike the relics. However, while collecting them is not mandatory, they do serve a purpose as gathering enough of them can upgrade your relic acquired abilities. If you improve your glide for instance, you'll gain gravity much slower than without the upgrade. By pressing the "Start" button you'll be able see how many roots each upgrade costs and what the upgrade improves so it's no mystery. On the subject of mystery, it's time to talk about the wonderful doors that lurk across the game. It's been a while since I've played a platformer with this many doors, actually, I don't think I've ever played one with that many to be honest. Not that it's a bad thing though as it actually gives the game a bit of suspense since you don't know what's in store for you in the other room but I will say that it's definitely not an enemy. This is not sarcasm either as interesting enough, the game has NO enemies, at least that you see face to face. I strangely did not find this odd either nor did I really notice until I finished the game and realized that the only real "enemies" were the platforms themselves along with the timers found in the last rooms before completing the game where you have to get to the door before time runs out.


Two doors, one path, at least I think.

The developer pulled the enemy-less concept quite well as every major platformer has had some sort of enemy in it yet while playing this game I never felt the void. I did, however, come across some "annoyances". The wall climbing ability although awesome, often conflicted with certain jumps as I'd be trying to glide across and suddenly Opac would go from being Superman to Spider-Man which resulted in an awkward predicament. Other times, Opac appeared to be tripping on those glowing mushrooms as he tried to climb invisible walls...


Riding the smoke gets you high.

The fact that there are no enemies doesn't mean the game is easy though as you can still die from falling which you'll quickly learn while miscalculating your first jump and trying to be Spider-Man at the wrong times. In the event that you do die, there are some checkpoints in the form of these green orb-looking things so you won't have to start from the very beginning again.

Lastly, while not really an annoyance, since the game doesn't indicate that there is no saving at the very start it can turn into an inconvenience for those who will want to turn the game off and come back to it later as while the game is very forgiving when it comes to death (unlimited lives) it seems to slap us back to reality with the revival of the retro concept of game saves not being real. Quitting the game is also a bit weird as pressing "Start" brings up the relic upgrade menu and then you must press another button to get to the second page which lets you quit, well sort of, as then you're taken back to the beginning of the game where you must quit the game by going into the quit door which I will admit is a pretty clever the first time but the second, you'll probably just want to hit the dashboard (of the Xbox) to avoid that especially if you're in a rush to get off.

Graphics & Audio:
The graphics maintain a quality retro feel and appear to be quite polished. You might even forget you're playing with your Xbox 360 and instead are back in 90s playing your retro console of choice. As for the audio, the effects were good enough while the music was relatively upbeat which I found strange as I was expecting some more atmospheric tunes to go with the cave scenery although it wasn't a bad choice either as it motivated you to keep going forward.

Replay value:
Depending on your skills and shortcut finding abilities, it's estimated that the shortest completion time is approximately 28 minutes and on average, 90 minutes for those who don't have a sixth sense in the caves. I personally took about 103 minutes to complete it with some minor struggling near the end as I kept going in circles a few times. What does this have to do with the replay value, you ask? Well, replaying it for the sake of beating your last time is the main reason for doing so in my opinion although you could also go on a root hunt to locate every single root if you didn't the first time. Aside from that, you'll probably be done with Ophidian Wars: Opac's Journey after completing it unless you take a significant break and give it a whirl again at a much later date.

Overall:
I was satisfied with what the game offered upon completion and was glad that there was much more to it than what was showcased in the trial which initially gave me the impression that it was just another platformer when it was more than just that. Ophidian Wars: Opac's Journey is a memorable one that gets a well deserved recommendation to all retro platforming fans. It's not mind-blowing nor perfect but it is enjoyable especially for 80 MSP. To elaborate a bit more on that statement, aside from the cool abilities and zero enemy concept, the rest of the game was relatively standard so it failed to deliver a long-lasting "wow" in the end which I hope is not the case in the developer's next game as I felt it could have been better.

Pros:
+Awesome price
+Great retro feel
+Cool abilities
+Provides proof that enemies aren't always required

Cons:
-A few possible glitches need to be addressed, nothing that breaks the game but certainly deserves attention
-The fact that there's no saving should be disclosed from the start and quitting the game should be much more accessible as well
-Not much replay value unless you're a fan of beating your previous record

Ophidian Wars: Opac's Journey dwells a 8/10 into the caves of platforming greatness as it delivers a fun and memorable experience but it's nothing too spectacular in the end to receive further recognition.

A self-purchased copy was used to evaluate the game.