Don't touch my gems!
May 14, 2010 12:00 AM   Subscribe

Friday Flash Fun: Cursed Treasure (Don't Touch My Gems) is a tower defense game with a twist. This time YOU are the evil overlord trying to prevent the heroic armies from stealing your gems. Fight off rogues, warriors, knights, mages, ninjas and priest with a level-up skill tree system that lets you command orcs, demons and the undead.
posted by ShawnStruck (37 comments total) 25 users marked this as a favorite
 
been playing this off and on for the past 3 days. can't get beyond level 14. DAMN THOSE NINJAS!
posted by jadayne at 12:06 AM on May 14, 2010


Howcome no one's done a tower defense game where you both build defenses and send attackers?
posted by delmoi at 12:15 AM on May 14, 2010


Use the meteor spell against the ninjas, it can hit them even when cloaked. It's the only way you'll pass some of the later levels, especially with Boss Ninjas.
posted by robbie01 at 12:23 AM on May 14, 2010


Someone has, actually. It's called Comet Crash, it's for the PS3, and while it's been fairly well-treated critically, I found it unwieldy and frustrating. That might have something to do with having to deal with an opposing tower-building AI -- can't really say -- but tower defense with offensive unit construction has at least been tried.
posted by lumensimus at 12:24 AM on May 14, 2010


I've been playing this for a while too.
Just clearing the maps is pretty easy, but you need to grind a bit to get "brilliant" results on all maps (I'm lvl 32 and still missing 4).
posted by juv3nal at 12:52 AM on May 14, 2010


Oh my god! Someone please help me with 14!
posted by masterscruffy at 1:02 AM on May 14, 2010


Just a tip for those stuck at 14: I found undead towers to be the most useful. Invest in Mind Control (+fear for the crypts) and most enemies will stumble back and forth long enough to get them. Lich King is important, as is the orcs' Height Advantage; Soul Vault is essential.

Replay older levels to gain more skill points and invest them depending on your needs: boost mana pool and regeneration if you find yourself running out, invest in Cut Down Study and Cut Down Mastery if you have enough mana, but no gold. Oh, and for the later levels: learn what the ultimate levels of your towers do and build those you want closest to the entrances, fill in the inner spaces in descending order of usefulness.

EXTREMELY important: repeatedly cast spells by holding down the shift key and clicking. Ninjas don't like meteors.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 1:18 AM on May 14, 2010


Meteors can help in a pinch against a ninja swarm, but what I found most effective is to get them to throw their smoke bomb at the earliest possible moment, so one of my priorities is to clear spaces at the entrance and place a few towers there that will hit ninjas as they enter. The undead towers aren't very good at this, but the orcs and demons are both perfectly adequate. Just don't upgrade an orc tower on ninja duty to arquebus.

The sooner that bomb goes off, the sooner it wears out, and if you get them at the entrance, they will become vulnerable just quickly enough that you can mop them up right as they are about to enter your gem chamber.

I haven't figured out an effective tactic to keep the boss ninjas from touching my gems, though. Not that they get very far afterwards.

I don't recall having any trouble with level 14. I've hit all the levels and when I play now, I'm just shooting for brilliant. I wish there'd been more levels, really.
posted by ursus_comiter at 1:24 AM on May 14, 2010


Howcome no one's done a tower defense game where you both build defenses and send attackers?

As other have said, there have been lots. Dungeon Keeper (and sequels) is probably one of the earliest games. It predates even the conception of the tower defense sub-genre, but that's what it is: traps and monster defender/attackers.
posted by bonehead at 5:41 AM on May 14, 2010


I find some levels are impossible to do clean even the fifth time round. Skills are very important.

For ninjae, what I find helps most is:
-put a single tower at the beginning of the map to trigger the ninja's cloak. Stage your major towers after the ninja decloaks. You can calibrate this on the earlier waves before the boss ones arrive.
-Area-effect temple blasts will hit ninjae when cloaked, but they need something uncloked to trigger on.
-Mana-gathering crypts can help, but don't discount the use of a scare-crypt to keep a boss in the kill zone. The more it dithers about, the better your chance of killing. Two scare-crypts together can be quite effective.
-bump you mana limit up---more shots with the shower (ice/ghost tower path)
-drop the point cost and up the damage rating of meteor shower (fire/demon path)
posted by bonehead at 5:49 AM on May 14, 2010


Oh you bastard.

I don't mind doing no work this afternoon, but I'm supposed to be going out tonight.

Thank god the missus understands games > socializing...
posted by sodium lights the horizon at 5:50 AM on May 14, 2010


If anyone knows how to kill the Level 14 and 15 Ninja Bosses before they manage to touch the gems, let me know. Five meteor spells leave the little assholes still alive, and they uncloak about .5 seconds AFTER they get to the gems.
posted by Scattercat at 6:09 AM on May 14, 2010


I'm not getting the "twist" from this game. Okay, so the storyline says you're evil instead of good, but I can't see any gameplay difference. It's cool and I'm glad for the FPP, but I think it's "just another tower-defense game," not one with a twist.
posted by cribcage at 6:40 AM on May 14, 2010 [3 favorites]


I have to say, I may be hooked on this. And it's the end of the semester, and I am preparing for a trip, and, and, and. My blessings upon you should come out slightly ahead of my curses. But only slightly.
posted by GenjiandProust at 6:43 AM on May 14, 2010


Scattercat, upgrade the damage done by your meteors. I think once they're maxed, you can take out a ninja boss in three shots, if they're decently aimed.
posted by shakespeherian at 7:08 AM on May 14, 2010


I love tower defense games and particularly enjoyed kicking this ones ass, but I've got to agree that the narrative saying you're evil doesn't make a damn bit of difference.

Also, for those who dig this, Gemcraft Chapter 0 is my current gold standard.
posted by 1-2punch at 7:09 AM on May 14, 2010 [2 favorites]


It's a bit of a shame about the narrative, because a bit more ingenuity and creativity with the sound alone could have made this a more fun, "evil" spin on traditional tower defense. It's a very good game, but there's definitely an opportunity missed in the theme.
posted by Shepherd at 7:21 AM on May 14, 2010


Dammit. I have stuff to do.
posted by Artw at 7:34 AM on May 14, 2010


What's the difference between "excellent" and "brilliant"?
posted by klangklangston at 7:34 AM on May 14, 2010


I'm pretty sure that "Excellent" means no gems were stolen and "Brilliant" means no gems were even touched.

The funny thing about this game, which I've been playing off and on for a few days, is that I didn't even notice that I was supposed to be the "bad" guys instead of the good guys. It doesn't change the game play at all. Although this is a pretty fun tower defense game.
posted by skynxnex at 7:43 AM on May 14, 2010


I'm pretty sure that self-satisfied cackle the enemies make when they grab your jewels is take from Eric Foreman from The 70s Show.
posted by Astro Zombie at 7:59 AM on May 14, 2010 [1 favorite]


In the early to mid 90s, there was a half-serious joke among screenwriters that every action movie had to be pitched as "It's like Die Hard on a ________." For example, Speed was "Die Hard on a bus," Passenger 57 was "Die Hard on a plane." There was even an apocryphal story that someone once tried to pitch "Die Hard in an office building," only to be reminded that Die Hard WAS in an office building.

Looking around the web, it seems like indie game developers have their own form of this now: "It's a tower defense game...with a twist!"
posted by Ian A.T. at 8:02 AM on May 14, 2010


Yeah, there's no twist here, just a different skin. It's not a bad tower defense game; I particularly like how your towers have to earn XP before you can upgrade them, preventing upgrade spam. But, um, it's just another TD game.
posted by Nelson at 8:36 AM on May 14, 2010


Yeah the tower XP thing is a pretty interesting feature, because it means that, at least on the higher levels, you really need to place your close-to-the-base defenses first, or they won't get a chance to level because none of the enemies can reach them until the enemies are super tough and terrifying, in which case your piddly level-one towers don't do anything. It provides a neat twist on TD build order, if nothing else.
posted by shakespeherian at 8:59 AM on May 14, 2010


I have a small obsession with TD games. This one is good, but it really needs a "reset skills" button. It's a good thing saved state is local to a particular computer (as with any flash game) otherwise I'd be playing it here at work too.
posted by cgg at 9:06 AM on May 14, 2010


Wow, this is really fricken cool. Evil Overlorderiffic!
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 11:10 AM on May 14, 2010


I've been playing this for the past week or so. I've managed to get a "Brilliant" rating on all but 2 or 3 maps.

But, yes, the trick to ninjas is to first build a solid defense closer to the area in which the gems are kept, levelling that up a bit before building near the attackers' entry point(s).
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 11:52 AM on May 14, 2010


Am I the only one with a complete 15/15 Brilliant rating?
posted by shakespeherian at 12:10 PM on May 14, 2010


I just put a single orc tower at the very beginning of the map and do it as early as possible. Putting it there early will allow it to level up to a killer tower and if you get your poison gas jacked up then the bosses will be severely injured before they get to your gems. Then put on a frenzy spell right as they appear. Have a strong scare crypt within range of the gems and watch the fun.
posted by psycho-alchemy at 12:15 PM on May 14, 2010


I'm on level 7... wave 30 has passed and the level didn't end. I sold all my towers and I'm preparing for a long spell of peace.
posted by yoHighness at 12:23 PM on May 14, 2010 [1 favorite]


you are the only one who will admit that shakespeherian
posted by The Whelk at 12:25 PM on May 14, 2010


WOOO I'M UNIQUE JUST LIKE MOM SAID
posted by shakespeherian at 12:29 PM on May 14, 2010 [1 favorite]


shakespeherian: "Am I the only one with a complete 15/15 Brilliant rating?"

No, you're not. :P
Didn't Touch My Gems Badge (hard - 30 points)
Complete all 15 missions with a "brilliant" rating in Cursed Treasure: Don't Touch My Gems!


So you're at most... two-nique.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 12:02 PM on May 15, 2010


Three-nique.


Which is of course a three-headed oracle of Mo'nique. One had always lies, one head tells the future, and the other just screams award speeches and cries.
posted by The Whelk at 1:25 PM on May 15, 2010 [1 favorite]


Three-nique.
Took maxing out my skills for me to get there, but make that four.
posted by juv3nal at 2:25 PM on May 16, 2010


I've got 2 more maps to bump to Brilliant. We'll see if my interest stays up to finish it out.

It was a fun game, though I kinda wanted some more depth.

I've been playing the Final Fantasy Crystal Defenders TD game on the 360 and this one is much lighter in the challenge department.
posted by yeloson at 12:11 AM on May 17, 2010


I was sick over the weekend, so I took this on.

Six Brilliants.

Seven Excellents.

But the last two levels? Best I could get was 'good'.

Ah, well, at least I kept those bastards from taking my gems!
posted by misha at 10:42 PM on May 24, 2010


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