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Cactus McCoy and the Curse of Thorns is an action platformer game developed by Flipline Studios. It is the first game in the Cactus McCoy platformer series. The game was announced on December 29, 2010, and officially released on March 10, 2011.

Description[]

A treasure hunter for hire, with a curse on his soul, and a bounty on his head.

The ancient Curse of Thorns has taken hold of its latest victim, a man now known across the Wild West as Cactus McCoy. It all started when McCoy was hired by Hex Hatfield to find the Thorned Emerald. Unaware of the jewel's curse, McCoy was transformed into a walking, talking, brawling cactus. Now it is a race against time to bring the Thorned Emerald back to its proper home before Cactus McCoy is turned to a lifeless stone cactus.

This platforming brawler game will have you wielding tons of weapons as you traverse a strange Wild West world of hidden treasures and seemingly endless enemigos. Can you become the toughest Cactus in town, and break the ancient Curse of Thorns?

  • 12 Expansive Worlds to Explore
  • 60 Hidden Treasures to find
  • 59 Unique Weapons to Master
  • 60 Area Challenges
  • 80 Badges to Earn
  • Upgrade your stats with the money you earned
  • Over 10 hours of action-packed game play!

Plot[]

Introduction[]

Crime boss Hex Hatfield instructs his employee, McCoy, to locate the Thorned Emerald. Hatfield provides McCoy with a map and upfront payment. During McCoy's perilous journey (unaware that he is being trailed by a mysterious figure, who later turns out to be Hatfield's henchmen), he discovers the emerald resting on a peculiar stone pedestal, accompanied by a warning on the wall, "BEWARE THE CURSE." Despite the caution, McCoy takes the emerald and leaves. That night, while camping, he experiences an unsettling sensation caused by the emerald and begins transforming into a cactus. His skin turns green, spines emerge from his body, and he gradually assumes a form resembling that of a walking cactus.

Shortly afterward, a spirit-like figure named Popōca emerges from the campfire smoke, revealing that he too fell victim to the emerald's curse. Popoca warns McCoy that unless the emerald is returned to its rightful place, McCoy will suffer a similar fate of petrification (transforming into stone). Realizing his predicament, McCoy sets out to find the emerald's home, gathering map pieces along the way.

Meanwhile, one of Hatfield's henchmen, who had been trailing McCoy, informs Hatfield of McCoy's transformation. Mistakenly believing McCoy betrayed him and stole both the emerald and his money, Hatfield orders his henchmen to capture McCoy, now transformed into Cactus McCoy.

Ending[]

After defeating Hex Hatfield in the final battle, McCoy rushes to the statue to place the Thorned Emerald in its rightful place. However, he begins to petrify just as he reaches it. As he nearly becomes completely stone, the emerald slips from his hand and onto the statue, breaking the curse. McCoy successfully frees himself from the petrification and embarks on another adventure.

Gameplay[]

Character & Controls[]

  • The only character you can play as is Cactus McCoy.
  • You control McCoy using arrow buttons to walk and aim if he has throwing weapons like sheriff badges or daggers.
  • Pressing the A button makes him jump, and pressing the S button makes him punch or use his weapon if he has one.
  • The buttons can be customized by the player in the "Controls" tab.

Game Structure[]

  • There are 12 areas in the game, each with 5 challenges and 5 treasures to find.
  • At the end of each area, McCoy opens a chest containing a piece of the map for the next area, subsequently leading to the home of the Thorned Emerald.

Weapons & Objects[]

  • When you defeat an Enemigo, they drop their money and sometimes their weapon, which McCoy can grab and use.
  • There are a total of 59 weapons in the game, not counting McCoy's punches (default attack).
  • New weapons are introduced in all areas except the last area.
  • Objects are interactive elements like barrels, crates, boulders, etc. that can be grabbed and used to attack enemies. Upon breaking, they may contain money or weapons.

Earning Money & Upgrades[]

  • Enemigos drop money upon defeat, and money can also be obtained from breaking items like barrels and crates.
  • Money is obtained in various forms such as bronze, silver, gold coins, rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. Their values are 1, 5, 10, 20, 30, and 50 respectively.
  • Money earned can be used to upgrade McCoy's stats like punching, swinging, shooting, throwing and whipping up to level 6.

Achievements[]

  • The game features 80 badges achieved by completing specific tasks, each providing certain points and money upon unlocking.
  • Each area also includes area-specific challenges that can be achieved by completeing specific tasks.

Points & Scores[]

  • Points are earned in the game by completing challenges, finding treasures, collecting money, earning badges, and killing Enemigos.
    • Completing each challenge earns 500 points, with a total of 2500 points for completing all 5 challenges in an area.
    • Each treasure found earns 500 points.
    • Badges have points ranging from 150 to 750.
    • Hitting an Enemigo earns 10 points per hit, with additional points for juggling them while they are dying.
      • The point for each hit also depends on the Enemigo type.

Development[]

"We had previously worked on a short game for Lionsgate Films based on the Expendables movie, which was designed like a classic retro platformer with each character wielding a different weapon. As we were working on the game, we originally wanted one of the characters to fight hand-to-hand by punching other enemies, and had him hitting and juggling the enemies in the air. Lionsgate ultimately decided on a different weapon for him to use, but we were still interested in the idea of a platformer where you could fight with a weapon or choose to use your fists. We later took this idea and expanded on it with a variety of weapons that both the main character AND the enemies could use, combining elements of shooting, melee, and brawling into a single new game. At one point we also saw the word “enemigo” used in a description of our Papa Louie game on a Spanish-speaking website, which gave us the idea of using a Southwest or Wild West theme for the game (and for using the name “Enemigos” for the bands of outlaws that Cactus McCoy fights)." - Matt and Tony, the developers. [1]

Areas[]

  1. Cactus Canyon
  2. Prospector Mines
  3. Rustler Railroad
  4. Shady Springs
  5. Powderkeg Pass
  6. Midnight Express
  7. Rattler Ravine
  8. Brimstone Mine
  9. Deadridge Railway
  10. Sunset Gulch
  11. Emerald Temple
  12. Emerald Shrine

Awards and Reception[]

Cactus McCoy and the Curse of Thorns was nominated for "Best of 2011" awards by Jay-is-games. Later, it won first place in the Action-Platform category. As per player votes on the same website, the game currently holds a score of 4.7 out of 5.

Trivia[]

  • The Hatfield and McCoy names come from the Hatfield–McCoy family feud that took place in the mid-1800s in the United States.
    • It might be the inspiration behind the Hex Hatfield and Cactus McCoy fight, evident by the game's 'Western' theme.
      • There are no other obvious connections between the game and the feud.
  • This is the only game in the series with single boss, who is Hex Hatfield.
  • The game uses the old animation of Flipline Studios in the beginning, while the sequel uses newer animation.
  • The Papa Louie games, another series by Flipline, include several references to Cactus McCoy series, often through cameo appearances.

Gallery[]

Trailer[]

Cactus_McCoy_and_the_Curse_of_Thorns_Trailer

Cactus McCoy and the Curse of Thorns Trailer

View the trailer on Youtube

External Websites[]

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