The independent arcade Swedish phenomenon Magicka made a lot of noise in the gaming world immediately after its release and sold several hundred thousand copies, finding a horde (and alliance) of loyal fans. They regretfully complained about numerous bugs, but still agreed to put up with them for the sake of the original gameplay and especially the fan cooperative.
The developers, making sure that their efforts were noticed and noted, did not create their own tutorial for playing on the nerves of Fortune, but used existing. In particular, all successful developers there are necessarily recommended to strike iron, without leaving the cash register, with cheap DLC and mini-add-ons. Arrowhead I understood everything correctly and did as taught. Magicka: Vietnam — this is exactly what it is. Cheap and very mini.
Modes without campaign
Cheap, however, not in the sense of quality, but literally — it is unlikely that the costs of two “Vietnamese” modes and a multiplayer map will be excessive. However, if you were expecting an additional “Vietnamese” campaign, then be disappointed — nothing of the kind. These are the modes. The first is a rescue operation to rescue a group of “bots” from goblin-Viet Cong dungeons. And the second is standard Survival, when the player (or players, if cooperative) needs to survive waves of attacking opponents.
Rescue of ordinary people (hereinafter names in https://casinounibet.co.uk/ alphabetical order) is by definition more diverse. Still, several maps with friendly NPCs in places (which will be a good help if you don’t forget to treat them), different terrain, the ability to maneuver and simply changing the background, which does not have time to become an eyesore, dilute some of the monotony of the monsters and the gameplay associated with their genocide. In survival, everything is extremely simple, not to say primitive: the enemies are stubborn, you shoot. You shoot, the enemies stick… Gameover.
The main feature of the Vietnamese missions is the surroundings and new weapons. The first one is purely for fun and has no effect on gameplay. Jungles, rice fields, goblins in wide-brimmed reed hats — yes, cute, but you get used to it quickly. Moreover, I don’t have much time to look at them. Because with the new weapons the enemies turned into a real pain. All these AK-47, RPG-7, Chinese submachine guns, mortars, light machine guns made the “bots” very annoying. And that’s to put it mildly.
Not preserved
I won’t tell you rude expressions — censorship won’t let them through anyway. So I’ll just outline the situation. In the original Magicka, the player always had the opportunity to somehow differentiate the process of extermination. The “sons of bitches” mobs actually lined up there. The first to shoot back were the magic-firing sorcerers and their ilk, while maneuvers and barriers kept the melee fighters at a respectful distance.
In Vietnam this does not work for the simple reason of a shortage of melee enemies. Even the most primitive goblins are equipped with small arms and shoot across half the map. When machine gunners, grenade launchers and mortar men come to their aid, serious problems begin. Seriously aggravated… by the lack of saving progress. Yes, you can’t “save”. And if you are killed on, say, the third map, then you will return not to its beginning, but to the very start of the mission.
Probably, the fathers of the arcade style are not particularly upset by this. But for the average gamer, who appreciates a little relaxation after work, the inability to save is like using dull scissors on your hair. It’s terribly annoying, sometimes infuriating and generally kills all pleasure, turning the passage from entertainment into work. In networking, this is a little easier — comrades can resurrect. But the developers clearly overdid it with the single player.
Otherwise Magicka: Vietnam — this is Magicka, but in Vietnam. The same magical combinatorics, the same spells (with the addition of napalm, a wall of fire that burns everything in the place where it is placed), the same pseudo-Swedish language and a slight touch of idiocy. In principle, not bad. If it weren’t so small, not very friendly to casual arcade players and only half the price. However, the DLC costs exactly what it should cost. It’s just that the original was practically for nothing.
Pros: the same as the original, with the addition of Vietnamese flavor; Bugs have practically disappeared.
Cons: little, well, very little compared to the original; too much complexity.