From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Savage Moon is a PlayStation 3 and
PSP tower defense strategy game which
sees the player protecting a remote, off-world mining facility from
constant attack by Insectocytes, a type of carnivorous creature
inhabiting the planets. The mission is to strategically place an
array of upgradeable, defensive weapons in the way of the bugs.
There is a range of towers, from rapid-fire machine guns to support
towers such as the chaos tower. The developers describe the
strategy as;
In keeping with the xeno-biological theme, the Insectocytes
evolve throughout the game, with each wave becoming tougher, and
the creatures mutating into new forms to meet the human threat. In
response to this, the player needs to research and deploy new forms
of technology to meet the escalation of bug toughness. The strategy
of the game is a mix of open and directed levels — in some levels
the player can place towers to herd the Insectocytes into their
cross-fire.[1]
The game was released for download from European PSN on
December 24, 2008 and in North America on January 29, 2009.[2]
Level
Names
The game is divided into nebula, each of which has 4 levels
(moons). The game uses names in an alphabetical order rather than
numbers to indicate the levels. Each nebula and moon is named after
a mythical creatures, deity or figures from ancient history;
- Nebula: Xipe - Full name Xipe Totec was, in Aztec mythology, a
life-death-rebirth deity, god of agriculture, vegetation, the east,
disease, spring, goldsmiths, silversmiths and the seasons.
- Agamemnon -
Agamemnon was the commander of the Achaeans (Greeks) during the
Trojan War.
- Baxajuan - In Basque mythology, the basajaun (plural:
baxajaunak) are a race of large hairy wild men who were megalith builders.
- Cerberus - Three
headed-dog that guards the gates to Hades in Greek mythology.
- Duergar - are a race of ugly dwarfs,
particularly associated with the Simonside Hills of Northumberland,
in northern England.
- Nebula: Ymir - was the founder
of the race of frost giants and an important figure in Norse
cosmology.
- Einherjar - The
Norse name for 'lone fighters' are those that have died in battle
and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries.
- Fenrir - A monstrous wolf
from Norse mythology.
- Ghede - Full name Ghede Nibo, is a spirit or Lwa in the
Haitian Vodou religion.
- Hyperion - Is the Titan son of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus
(Sky) in Greek mythology.
- Nebula: Zeus - The father of
the Gods in Greek mythology.
- Incubus - A demon in
male form supposed to lie upon sleepers and seduce them.
- Jikininki - In
Japanese Buddhism these are the spirits of greedy, selfish or
impious individuals who are cursed after death to seek out and eat
human corpses.
- Kitsune - Intelligent
fox-like spirits that possess magical abilities from Japanese
folklore.
- Lotan - The seven-headed sea
serpent or dragon of Ugaritic myths.
Previews
The game received a good response from a number of the top game
websites when shown at games shows:
- This sounds like it could be a very entertaining
action/strategy title, and another good one for the Store. PSX
Extreme[3]
- For those of you that were curious as to what the
mysterious Savage Moon would entail, Sony did not disappoint when
revealing the game in Leipzig today.' PlayStation Universe[4]
Reviews
The game has received a good response from a number of computer
game websites:
- Savage Moon, from little known Bristol developer
FluffyLogic, is about as good as it's going to get for just over
six quid on PSN. Videogamer.com (awarded 8/10)[5]
- Graphically, it's one of the better-looking titles on the
PSN, but it's certainly not the best. The game's messy landscapes
are pardoned by cool sci-fi towers and a range of weird, Starship
Troopers-esque alien designs...Savage Moon is a quality Store title
that deserves recognition.. Play Magazine (awarded 86%)[6]
- Unlike many other defense games, Savage Moon conveys a
sense of ballistic punishment to its convoy or marauders. Later
levels offer different texture maps to offer variety to the
extra-terrestrial skirmishes. The game's sound effects portray an
effectively bleak environment peppered with the thunder of war and
cry of dying beasts. tech-gaming.com (awarded B+)[7]
- Savage Moon is an entertaining game which has a good
difficulty curve, adequate visuals and entertaining gameplay. Worth
a look. futuregamez.net (awarded 76%)[8]
- You cannot compare Savage Moon to any other tower defense
games currently available on other platforms. It delivers a unique
combat system and a large selection of different types of enemy
waves. If you’re a tower defense fan, you’ll find Savage Moon very
entertaining. Build turrets, kill incoming enemies, upgrade your
guns and kill some more! nextgn.com (awarded 88%)[9]
- Savage Moon costs just $9.99 on the PlayStation Store, and
it is well worth the price for tower defense fans, as well as
gamers new to the genre. PS3Center.net (awarded 8/10)[10]
On the 6th August 2009 the first DLC for the title as released called 'Waldgeist' - the German
name for a forest spirit. The developers build on the ideas of
evolution and adaptation, remarking;
As the Insectocytes have evolved, so new threats have
surfaced: the Death Blossom Insectocyte; a deadly evolution that
carries within itself a payload of beautiful but lethal missiles.
It responds to being in range of towers it considers a threat by
detonating itself and launching it's cruel cargo. A new sub-species
of Insectocytes have emerged using photochromic biological
adaptations, similar to those found on native Terran species such
as the chameleon or the cuttlefish. They have acquired the ability
to adapt their skin colour across a wide spread of the
electromagnetic spectrum, rendering them invisible to all normal
towers' targeting systems.[11]
The game continued the idea of naming the levels after mythical
creatures, deity or figures from ancient history;
- Nebula: Waldgeist -
the German name for a forest spirit.
- Menja - One of two female slave giantesses from the Old Norse
poem Grottasöngr.
- Niht - Is Continental Germanic
mythology she is the Goddess of Night.
- Odin - Is considered the chief
god in Norse paganism. He is associated with wisdom, war, battle,
and death, and also magic, poetry, prophecy, victory, and the
hunt.
- Pugot Also known as "the
decapitated one" is a mythical fiend that is found in the Ilocos
region of the Philippines.
- Qiqirn - In Inuit
mythology, Qiqirn is a large, frightening, bald dog spirit.
- Rabisu - In Akkadian
mythology Rabisu ("the vagabond") is an evil vampiric spirit or
demon.
The
Hera Campaign (PSP)
On the 22nd December 2009 a new game set in the same universe
and featuring some of the same units and towers was released titled
'The Hera Campaign';
Savage Moon: The Hera Campaign (named after the Aegophagus
or goat eating aspect of the Greek goddess of the same name) is set
within a huge gathering of Imoons, the Hera Cluster, that drifted
into human space. Preliminary intelligence suggests that it
consists of, at least, 20 Imoons populated by a rich variety of
Insectocyte forms, some of which we have encountered before and
some of which are new.[12]
The PSP game also carried on the naming the levels after
mythical creatures, deity or figures from ancient history. Most of
the names appear to come from Mayan mythology.[13];
- Hera - In Greek mythology,
Hera was the wife and older sister of Zeus.
- Ahpuch - Is a from the pantheon of Maya Death Gods.
- Bacab - The name for four
deities of the interior of the earth and its water deposits.
- Cizin- A
god of death who lived in Metnal.
- Dzahui - In Mixtec
mythology, Dzahui or Dzavui was the god of rain.
- Ekchuah - The patron god of warriors and
merchants.
- Fext - Fext is a mythical
undead creature in Slavic mythology. It is said that the Fext is
invincible to bullets, except bullets made of glass.
- Gukumatz - Feathered
Snake god and creator.
- Hun-nal-ye - Hieroglyphic reading of the name of the Classic
Maya maize god.
- Ixchel - Jaguar goddess of
midwifery and medicine.
- Jentil - These were a race
of giants in the Basque mythology.
- Kauil - Believed to be a Mayan deity representing
lightning.
- Lubaantun - A
pre-Columbian ruined city of the Maya civilization in southern
Belize, Central America.
- Mextli - A god of the moon
and was born fully armed as a warrior.
- Nohochacyum - A creator god, most important deity of the
Lacandon. His name means "Our True Lord".
- Oxlahuntiku - 'Thirteen Gods', possibly sky gods, opposed to
the Bolontiku (a group of nine underworld gods).
- Patecatl - A god of healing and fertility, and the discoverer
of peyote.
- Qaholom - One of the second set of Mayan creator gods.
- Rougarou - A legendary
creature in Laurentian French communities linked to European
notions of the werewolf.
- Simbi - In Haitian Vodou,
Simbi is a large family of serpent Loa (Vodoun spirits) from the
West Central Africa/Kongo region.
- Tepeu - A sky god and one of the creator deities who
participated in all three attempts at creating humanity.
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