The second chapter in an epic story of bravery and courage, MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 builds takes off where MARDEK RPG: Chapter 1 ends... and it continues in the same good manor. Found on Kongregate, it incorporates exactly what you'd expect from a game of this nature, magic, levels, and plot development.

This will focus more on the second chapter itself, and the new features it brings... or at least the ones it expands on, for a review of the original game see the review of chapter 1 found here.

So, this second installment doesn't make any changes to the game engine at all, a brilliant move seeing as the first one was great as it was. This game is now plot rich, the previous game took a mere 30 minutes to beat, where as I am 2 hours deep and still am unsure how developed the game will get. That means this review is not based on the entire game, so I can't speak of somethings... the only thing I can say is that Mardek and his friends have their work cut out for them. As far as difficulty, it would seem the number of random encounters has gone up from the first, and the complexity of enemies has also increased.

Shops are found in the main town, and I am sure by now you have got lots of gold from your travels. Before buying lots of one item, make sure your characters can equip them as some items cannot be used by everyone. Also I would be apprehensive about selling off potions, you might not need them early on but speaking from experience, once you reach the caves... you really do need them.

Another expansion is that now inventory management is much more clear, and equipment does play a part. Your party begins to get expanded beyond the two friends that started off, and sometimes party members change regularly. You get a mage added to your party, who does no damage physically, but has devastating spells. In fact when you first get her your physical damage seems almost non-existent compared to her damage output. This changes however once you start to get some better gear for the main character and his best friend.

Save points work in a similar fashion, but now you will be glad for the healing properties they offer. Not only that, they also rejuvenate magic points, the currency for casting spells, and since potions for these are much more rare I'd save whenever possible.

When you pick up items keep an eye on which party member is selected, they do not share a common inventory. Even tho you might think when on the menu screen that the inventory you see is the only one... you are wrong. Each party member has their own inventory, which means that you will never run out of room, and everyone can carry a pheonixdown[used to resurrect dead members]. Stacks of items are split very easily, and items are swapped in a similarly simplistic manor.

Now, as far as plot goes you wake up a few years down the road, with Mardek and his friend joining the ranks of soldiers in an effort to fight evil, gain experience and become heroes. They are tasked with a simple quest to start, find and fight off some bandits, and some fellow recruits go with them. However things take a terrible toll when one of the recruits dies in a horrible accident. Everyone agrees to cover it up, and sure enough you are inducted into soldier hood. The next morning your quests take you to the far east of the global map, to a city plagued by more monsters. On the way is a side quest in a lake, worth the experience, and then off to the city.

Honestly, I don't want to give away the entire game, but it's a good play, and will take a reasonable amount of time to beat. I would not recommend this as a short and quick flash game, but rather something to spend the time to beat. The combat system gets more evolved in the second one as now you need to look at buffs and debuffs, as well as different creature types.

Overall, MARDEK RPG: Chapter 2 picks up nicely where the first one left off, I intend full to go now and finish this second chapter. I'd encourage everyone who played through the first to do the same, and keep your eyes and RSS readers open for the next chapter in the MARDEK saga.

Rating:

Longevity: 4.0/5
Interface: 4.0/5
Addictiveness: 4.0/5
Sound: 3.5/5
Simplicity: 3.5/5

Overall: 3.8/5


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