The Cave

SEGA teaming up with Double Fine is very good news indeed. Rather surprising news, at that! I hope they both make the best of it. Though, when I think of caves and SEGA, I can't help but think of this.

Cliffhanging in a cave. (Not the talking, funny kind, either.)

During the recent Kickstarter campaign for Double Fine Adventure, I made a donation of 100 dollars just so I could get my name in the credits, (not just that, the game, and the rewards were enticing, too) so of course I made my name "Make Shenmue 3, SEGA!" I hope they leave it in, as I'll get a chuckle every time I play it, I'm sure. Not that it'll do any good for the Shenmue campaign, it being crammed in the end credits with 9000 other names, but it'll be good for a laugh in the years to come at least, that's for sure. It must also be said, that by the time I donated, they were already at 3 million bucks, which was above and beyond the goal of 300k. They most certainly did not need my greenbacks, so there was no altruistic intention on my part. I simply wanted to see Shenmue in another game's credits. Oh, and the chuckles.


Back to the topic at hand. The Cave is about an assortment of individuals that come to a talking cave (the game's narrator) to get a wish granted, all the while exploring their inner demons. In my mind, It sounds like it'll be a dementedly funny Fantasy Island. The gameplay is an amalgamation of Maniac Mansion, Metroid, and The Lost Vikings. Sign me the fuck up! You pick three of seven eclectic, playable characters, all of which you can switch out at any time, and go exploring each of the characters' respective areas that unlock according to who you have in your party. There are also multiple ways to accomplish tasks dependent on said chosen characters. It supports 3 player local play, as well. The magic number.

Not only does it HAVE local multiplayer, it lacks online play. I like your style, Ron Gilbert! In the Eurogamer preview I compiled all my info about this game from, he jokingly states, "Our servers will work on day one." A nice, timely, little jab at Diablo III makers, Blizzard, and the tyrannical, money munching bastards, Kotickvision.

It's always great to see SEGA support indie devs, even more awesome that they're publishing Double Fine games, and, like all Double Fine games, it's nice to see something that doesn't pander to the modern day teenage/retards in general demographic. Quite the opposite, as it seems like this is gonna be quite an amazing, little throwback, yet a leap forward at the same time, and I can't wait to play it.

Sincerely Yours,
Just Another Shenmue Fan.