![]() ![]() Martin Ehrengraf, Lawrence Block’s villainous lawyer who has never lost a case, is at his sinister best in “The Ehrengraf Experience” and David Morrell’s “The Partnership” cleverly asks and answers how many villains it takes to make a murder. Leslie Charteris’ Simon Templar, The Saint, makes a dashing and very roguish appearance in the double-crossing “The Damsel in Distress.” Bruno Fischer’s villain-littered masterpiece of crime, greed, and revenge, “We Are All Dead,” is as dark and disturbing as anything in print. Richard Connell’s classic hunting tale with a villainous twist, “The Most Dangerous Game,” is as powerful and entertaining today as it must have been when it first appeared in 1924. Meade and Robert Eustace, Grant Allen, Robert Louis Stevenson, Bram Stoker, Arthur Morrison, and E. As an example, The Victorians section features tales from L.T. Each period is fully explored with multiple stories from authors both famous and obscure. The tales are categorized by era: The Victorians, Nineteenth-Century Americans, The Edwardians, The Pulp Era, Post-World War II, etc. A villain “is the creature of evil and malice, if not outright pathology” and a rogue “tends not to be vicious, prefers no serious physical injury to others and defines itself as rascality soaked in humor.” He goes on to explain the lines between the two are often blurred, and with that in mind he thoughtfully identifies each story as either rogue or villain. In his introduction, Otto Penzler defines the difference between the two. If you've yet to experience the quality gameplay of a roguelike before, there's probably not a better game to introduce you.The Big Book of Rogues and Villains, edited by Otto Penzler, is an impressive compilation of stories-I counted 73!-that feature either a rogue or villain as a main character. If you're a fan of the genre, don't hesitate to pick 100 Rogues up. Yet getting to that point will take some doing, and the process in the intervening time is well worth the trip. Unlike some roguelikes, there is a finale/ending to the game if you progress far enough, which is different from roguelikes which endlessly generate maps. The difficulty curve is effective, as each level deeper brings more challenging enemies yet suits the leveling system. This is likely because so much else is done so well: the turn-based combat is solid, the skill-trees useful and interesting (especially skills like Finger of God, which features the occasional giant finger crushing your foes). These changes on the standard form might raise a few eyebrows, but as they're part of the wider RPG archetype, they feel right at home. And you'll also encounter a few bosses along the way, something rarely found in this sort of game. You'll find vendors every so often which sell random loot which might help you, though inventory slots are limited. For instance, you can begin the game as one of 4 archetypes, each with their own skill-tree and leveling. 100 Rogues does good on the sub-genre's basic tenets, but also mixes things up from time to time. Such is the charm of the roguelike: a sense of finality which heightens the play, knowing full well that any room might be your last. ![]() Using the standard roguelike premise, you steadily make your way down into a deep dungeon, level by level, and when you eventually die, you die. Finally, we're starting to see some of these sub-genre dungeon explorers spread beyond the PC, with Epic Dungeon on XBIG, and now 100 Rogues on IP. By TechnologoDoom | Review Date: Roguelikes have come into their own in recent years, especially as games like Desktop Dungeons have won accolades at IGF and elsewhere. ![]()
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