Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam

Infobox Software
name =Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam


caption =A screenshot of the game with Dirk shown on Level 20.
developer = Nitrome Limited
latest_release_date = March 27, 2008
operating_system = Mac, Windows
genre = Flash game
website = [http://www.nitrome.com/games/dirkvalentine/ Dirk Valentine]

Dirk Valentine and the Fortress of Steam is a Flash-based game designed by Nitrome Limited and released on March 27, 2008. It is designed much like many other Nitrome games, and has 24 levels total. At the beginning of the game, a prologue appears, telling the player what the reasoning is behind the late 19th century-styled machines. It reads:

"The year is 1897. For five long years Europe has been ravaged by Baron Battenberg's steam-powered war machines. Led by Great Britain, a handful of defiant countries remain free of the Baron's tyrannical rule. But time is running out for them as his forces grow stronger every day. As dawn breaks high above the Atlantic a tiny airship arrives at its secret destination. Onboard, Britain's greatest explorer, spy, and master of esoteric fighting arts readies to strike at the heart of the Baron's empire!"

Controls

The player is Dirk, the hero of late 19th century England, who is armed with a breakthrough device — the chain cannon, which can be fired at any moment with the click of the mouse. The cannon can create bridges to get across ditches and can destroy enemies. Bridges will only be made if you fire them from a special surface which is less lighter than the other surface, and attatches to the same kind of surface. The arrow keys move Dirk in the corresponding direction. The down arrow key is used to drop through chains. The Baron's henchmen are scattered along the steam fortress. The airships and clouds in the background give the feeling that the player are high up in the sky. In March 2008, Dirk Valentine was #5 on the Top 5 Games on Nitrome, although has now sunk off the charts.

Trivia

*A Wilhelm Scream is heard when you kill a guard sometimes
*Certain parts of the theme resemble the "Sesame Street Theme"
*The games' use of a mouse and keyboard at the same time provided some inspiration for Final Ninja, another Nitrome game released a few months after Dirk Valentine.

Credits

*Artwork - Simon Hunter
*Programming - Aaron Steed
*Music and Sound Effects - Lee Nicklen

Game by Nitrome Limited

References/External Links

* [http://www.nitrome.com/games/dirkvalentine Dirk Valentine]
* [http://www.nitrome.com/ Nitrome Limited]