New Shores : The Maori
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- Author(s): Kyle, Tallis
- Categories: D-Mod, Romp
- Downloads: 220
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This is a fair D-Mod that actually has a bit to offer in the way of a 30 minute excursion. There are many enjoyable traits, such as the fact that the enemies were hard, but not too hard... I admire that. I went to a Hangii in Rotoroa many years ago, so I find it interesting that someone had taken the time to study the Maori- a tribal group many have probably never heard of.
***Plot***
The plot is fairly developed as D-Mods of this size go. Dink has been washed ashore on YET ANOTHER mysterious island previously unheard of. Here he will meet the proud Maoris (Ma-o-rees). The great thing about this D-Mod was the fact that you can not just siddle through the story quickly, you are actually required to think. My only major complaint in regards to the plot was that the Maori tribesmen on the island did not seem very true to the actual Polynesian culture that exsists on New Zealand and the surrounding islands. It may be a matter of my own opinion, but when I there I got the impression that the ancient Maoris were a race of fearful warriors, not a group of idyllic pacifists (oddly enough, many people seem to view Native Americans the same way). I always had the impressing that the warriors engaged in power battles between each other for positions of honor- if an opponent laughed at the fact that the warrior would stick out his tongue to seem fearful, he would quickly get severed in two. To me, it matters little, since I am not a partisan pundit or one of the folks at factcheck.com.
***8.7***
***Gameplay***
The gameplay was well balanced and never impossibly hard, but by no means easy. The slayers were the only monsters that bothered me in the way of stats, others, like the stone giants, were extremely well done, and were not too challenging for a low-level player - meaning I did not have to waste time killing tons of monsters to bring up my level just so that I could make it to the ending.
***9.0***
***Map***
The map was good, with few flaws in the tiling, but nothing really innovative in the tiling either. (example: Simon's Desert Canyon in SOB) The only major detractor here is that one of the statues was really difficult to get to because there was only a small gap in the hardness where the door was.
***8.2***
***Graphics***
The graphics were alright, they were not the best I have seen, but not the worst either. They did not mesh well with the original Dink graphics, but were done well enough to get a passing grade from me.
***7.8***
FINAL SCORE:
***8.4***
This is a fine D-Mod and worth the download. Whilst I disagree with the validity of the so-called facts presented, it is still a likable game.
***Plot***
The plot is fairly developed as D-Mods of this size go. Dink has been washed ashore on YET ANOTHER mysterious island previously unheard of. Here he will meet the proud Maoris (Ma-o-rees). The great thing about this D-Mod was the fact that you can not just siddle through the story quickly, you are actually required to think. My only major complaint in regards to the plot was that the Maori tribesmen on the island did not seem very true to the actual Polynesian culture that exsists on New Zealand and the surrounding islands. It may be a matter of my own opinion, but when I there I got the impression that the ancient Maoris were a race of fearful warriors, not a group of idyllic pacifists (oddly enough, many people seem to view Native Americans the same way). I always had the impressing that the warriors engaged in power battles between each other for positions of honor- if an opponent laughed at the fact that the warrior would stick out his tongue to seem fearful, he would quickly get severed in two. To me, it matters little, since I am not a partisan pundit or one of the folks at factcheck.com.
***8.7***
***Gameplay***
The gameplay was well balanced and never impossibly hard, but by no means easy. The slayers were the only monsters that bothered me in the way of stats, others, like the stone giants, were extremely well done, and were not too challenging for a low-level player - meaning I did not have to waste time killing tons of monsters to bring up my level just so that I could make it to the ending.
***9.0***
***Map***
The map was good, with few flaws in the tiling, but nothing really innovative in the tiling either. (example: Simon's Desert Canyon in SOB) The only major detractor here is that one of the statues was really difficult to get to because there was only a small gap in the hardness where the door was.
***8.2***
***Graphics***
The graphics were alright, they were not the best I have seen, but not the worst either. They did not mesh well with the original Dink graphics, but were done well enough to get a passing grade from me.
***7.8***
FINAL SCORE:
***8.4***
This is a fine D-Mod and worth the download. Whilst I disagree with the validity of the so-called facts presented, it is still a likable game.
This D-mod is created for a school project about the Maori people.
Storyline: This D-mod is about Dink finding his way home after he got shipwrecked on an island that is inhabited my Maori people. But it is not the usual adventure for Dink. Although you can fight it is not necessary, the aim is to learn something about the Maori people.
Map and graphics: The mapping is done very precise with many details, and the islands look great. The bird looks good too, although I thought it was a bird of paradise. At the beginning, the sequence of Dink dying is used reversed, which indeed gives the impression of someone whom has just washed ashore.
Music: The music sets the mood.
Good: The very idea to use a D-mod for a school project. Really good. The ending is very nice too; not your average end boss, but a very elegant solution.
Not so good: I would like to have learned more about the Maori people. Fewer monsters and more information would have been fine with me. Sometimes the game crashed after warping into a house. The caves did not add very much.
Remark: The D-mod is special, but the readme.txt too. To read about the difficulties the fellow pupils and the teacher of the authors had while playing this D-mod is somewhat amusing, since Dinkers are so used to playing D-mods – and other games - that we can not imagine (or remember) that a D-mod can be hard without having to fight any enemy. And the teacher screaming at the sight of a slayer - Dink Smallwood’s world sure is realistic!
Overall: A good D-mod in which you learn something too.
Fit for: Everybody who is interested in a D-mod that is one of its kind.
Storyline: This D-mod is about Dink finding his way home after he got shipwrecked on an island that is inhabited my Maori people. But it is not the usual adventure for Dink. Although you can fight it is not necessary, the aim is to learn something about the Maori people.
Map and graphics: The mapping is done very precise with many details, and the islands look great. The bird looks good too, although I thought it was a bird of paradise. At the beginning, the sequence of Dink dying is used reversed, which indeed gives the impression of someone whom has just washed ashore.
Music: The music sets the mood.
Good: The very idea to use a D-mod for a school project. Really good. The ending is very nice too; not your average end boss, but a very elegant solution.
Not so good: I would like to have learned more about the Maori people. Fewer monsters and more information would have been fine with me. Sometimes the game crashed after warping into a house. The caves did not add very much.
Remark: The D-mod is special, but the readme.txt too. To read about the difficulties the fellow pupils and the teacher of the authors had while playing this D-mod is somewhat amusing, since Dinkers are so used to playing D-mods – and other games - that we can not imagine (or remember) that a D-mod can be hard without having to fight any enemy. And the teacher screaming at the sight of a slayer - Dink Smallwood’s world sure is realistic!
Overall: A good D-mod in which you learn something too.
Fit for: Everybody who is interested in a D-mod that is one of its kind.
I'm very surprised. After reading the Read Me, I thought this DMOD would be a bit of a let down...I was wrong. It has a fairly large map, and a good plot. With the exception of the dragons, all of the usual suspects are in Maori. You have to first find 4 artifacts on the first island, and remember what they tell you. On the second island that info comes in handy, as you now must collect 4 artifacts in order to access a cave. The cave is a very well done maze, not difficult, but well layed out. There is no end boss, but you must survive the creatures in the cave in order to reach the goal.
The game would have been better had you been made to explore the huts and lanscapes looking for the clues to the artifacts questions. This could have been done with books or conversation. It would have been interesting to learn of the Maori culture while playing. The learning feature would have been a huge plus and extended the playtime.
The difficulty level was very well balanced, you could see how creatures got easier to kill as you got stronger, not all dmod's seem to get that right.
The replayability is good, but like I said, a more extensive search for clues would have been fun. Too bad it was originally wasted on students and teachers who didn't care to learn about the game while learning about culture as well.
Overall, I'd say this is more than just a download to bridge the gap to the next major DMOD, it stands on its own as a worthy download.
The game would have been better had you been made to explore the huts and lanscapes looking for the clues to the artifacts questions. This could have been done with books or conversation. It would have been interesting to learn of the Maori culture while playing. The learning feature would have been a huge plus and extended the playtime.
The difficulty level was very well balanced, you could see how creatures got easier to kill as you got stronger, not all dmod's seem to get that right.
The replayability is good, but like I said, a more extensive search for clues would have been fun. Too bad it was originally wasted on students and teachers who didn't care to learn about the game while learning about culture as well.
Overall, I'd say this is more than just a download to bridge the gap to the next major DMOD, it stands on its own as a worthy download.
A painless and entertaining way to learn a bit about Maori culture and language, although I would've preferred a little more learning and a little less combat. The graphics were quite good, with the exception of the Great Kiwi, which looked much more like a rather funky chicken than a kiwi of any variety to me. The tunnels could've stood to be quite a bit shorter, considering they didn't contain anything but stone giants and a place to summon the Kiwi. All in all, a good dmod that could've been excellent with just a little more polish.
I think this DMOD is very good. It's not your standard - hey let's hack our way to a tough end boss. It has it's own unique style.
Graphics: a couple of new ones, the fish tails were good (I thought the blue one was a flower at first) End creature is great. But looks more like a cross between a lyre bird and the fire bird than the kiwi bird I know
Sounds: Loved the midis - really helped set a mood here that suited the DMOD perfectly. No new wavs.
Map: Very well done. Lots of detail. Didn't find any hardness bugs.
Gameplay: It's different. And you have to use your memory which is good (and the DMOD is short which makes this not annoying) Stone giants (not sure what they're supposed to be in terms of Maoris) were tough. I like that. Liked the fact you got punished for getting answers wrong.
Overall 9 out of 10. Play this DMOD for a change of pace.
Graphics: a couple of new ones, the fish tails were good (I thought the blue one was a flower at first) End creature is great. But looks more like a cross between a lyre bird and the fire bird than the kiwi bird I know
Sounds: Loved the midis - really helped set a mood here that suited the DMOD perfectly. No new wavs.
Map: Very well done. Lots of detail. Didn't find any hardness bugs.
Gameplay: It's different. And you have to use your memory which is good (and the DMOD is short which makes this not annoying) Stone giants (not sure what they're supposed to be in terms of Maoris) were tough. I like that. Liked the fact you got punished for getting answers wrong.
Overall 9 out of 10. Play this DMOD for a change of pace.
