Mobile View publishes a review of promising RPG game Creatonia; other Creatonia news

As excellent Pocket PC gaming site PocketGamer.org has reported, Mobile View has just published a review of Creatonia, Insenic’s really cool RPG released two weeks ago initially reviewed here. (Incidentally, I’ve just updated it with some new links; see the “Update” section at the bottom of the article.)

In the meantime, Insenic has been constantly releasing enhanced bugfix releases that, at last, also contain in-game sounds (but still not music). The last demo build available now (08/04 10:00AM CET), for example, was last modified yesterday (based on internal CAB filedates). In addition to the added sounds and bugfixes, the file structure of the game has been greatly reworked, compared to the original version. For example, a 1 Mbyte sound file has been added.

Unfortunately, there is no version history or other announcements – this means one ends up having to re-download the stuff frequently to see if a new build has been released in the meantime. Insenic should keep a version history or announce new builds so that we know when a new build is worth getting.

I haven’t tested the latest build yet; some people over at AximSite say it’s considerably better than the original build I’ve reviewed.

Note that Insenic also promises a HiRes+-compliant Palm OS version too; I'll test it too (on my Tungsten 3) as soon as it is released.

UPDATE (the same day, 15:05 CET): I've played some hours the new version (released yersterday). Indeed there are new sound effects - I've managed to count three different in-combat sound effects. They are very short and can get very annoying; fortunately, they can be got ridden of by using the new loudspeaker icon on the command bar. There are no other sounds. That is, sound-wise, the game has still a long way to go. The visuals, as expected, are as unspectacular as in the original build - definitely worse than those of EDGE.

Incidentally, I haven't encountered any crashes during the play. The pathfinding algorithm (for example, when the servant is blocking the way - he just wouldn't move away) can still get pretty annoying. Also, the 3D engine is still a bit buggy in that it tries to, for example, examine chests and barrels from another side of walls. Also, weapons dropped by slaughtered enemies just disappear after you stand on them in order to pick them up.