For some reason, 50's b-sci-fi, or b-movies in general, isn't a much-used setting in what comes to games. There are some games set in the world of shlocky world of b-movies, but those games are few and far between. I don't know, maybe the game devs just don't care much about them or they generally feel they can do something that looks and feels better than b-movies. That said though, every b-movie-themed game I've played, and there are not that many of them, I've liked. The Deadly Tower of Monsters is not an exception, despite it being a flawed game.
In The Deadly Tower of Monsters, you quite literally step inside a b-movie, when the director Dan Smith is in a recording studio doing a commentary track for his shlocky masterpiece, The Deady Tower of Monsters. While you play the action-adventure, Smith throws in comments about the production, oblivious to the fact how ridiculous he sounds while his recording engineer has to endure through it.
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| The evil emperor of Gravoria |
The story begins with Dick Starpeed crashlanding on the planet Gravoria, losing his trusty robot sidekick Robot on the process. So friendless and shipless Dick has to do what every b-hero has to do, suit up and find his way through the monster-filled world. On his way, Dick encounters Scarlett Nova, the daughter of the evil emperor of Gravoria. She recounts her father's atrocities to Dick, who agrees to help Scarlett to overthrow her father. After the duo finds the missing Robot, they all can go on a quest of climbing The Deadly Tower of Monsters and free the world of Gravoria of the ilk of its evil emperor.
Throughout the game, you can gather up new gear for the trio from guns to melee weapons. These items can be improved with gears scattered all around the spiralling tower and by completing side quests, the character stats can be increased. Each of the three characters has their own set of special skills, which can be used in certain places to advance further, but other than that, you can play the game with the character you like the best, Robot, Dick or Scarlett. Depending on with whom you play, Dan Smith is giving appropriate commentary.
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| Scarlett skydiving |
As such, the gameplay is nothing special. You run around the levels and beat up and shoot monsters. At times, you need to clear a room in order to proceed further, at times you need to use a special skill of a specific character. I'd call the game puzzles simple, but then again, I don't rightly know if any of the obstacles can be really called puzzles. The camera also gives some issues from time to time, especially on some platforming bits, where it can be a tad difficult to see where you are supposed to be jumping.
Really, the best thing about the game is how the whole game world is constructed. While the characters act like all they see is real, them being actors in a b-flick, you as a player see how cheap the monster costumes and the like are, especially when you see a string attached to a flying monster or cheap prop falling over. Dan also gives commentary on scenes and filming of it, often patting himself on the grounds of how well he did and lamenting how poorly directors do things these days.
It really is the comedy that makes the Deadly Tower of Monsters worth playing. As a game, it is merely fine, but the way the story is constructed, as a mixture of a cliched sci-fi movie and a making of an audio commentary, it manages to overcome itself. At times it wears out its welcome, but as the main hook is about the comedy more than the game itself, there is a joke or two which manages to win you over again, if this is a brand of comedy that works for you.
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