Line #19 VideoGame/Mandibles2017


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mandiblesmenu.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:If you though regular scorpions are bad, wait until you meet ''Pulmonoscorpius''. And even that isn't the worst thing about the Eos Sector...]]
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4	A freeware stand-alone mod for the ''VideoGame/{{Carnivores}}'' series, created by Dory Holtzman (creator of Webcomic/{{Poharex}}), ''Mandibles'' expands upon the canon established by the original trilogy and adds an entirely new region to the alien planet of FMM UV-32 with its own unique animals and challenges. If you're a fan of the series or just looking for a hunting simulator with a twist, it's well worth your time. It is a sequel to both the original trilogy and Dory Holtzman's previous work ''VideoGame/CarnivoresTriassic''.
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6	While the complete version of the game hasn't been finished yet, the Beta 1.99 was released on September 4th, 2018.
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8	!!This game provides examples of:
9	* AmazingTechnicolorWorld: [[spoiler:The sixth area, Amethyst Duskland has purple-colored ground, water and sky. The exact reason for this is still unspecified.]] It could be justified since like all other ''Carnivores'' games, ''Mandibles'' takes place on the alien planet of FMM UV-32.
10	* AnachronismStew: The game roster contains animals from several time periods from the Paleozoic era, as well as the Mesozoic and even Cenozoic era. This continues the tradition of ''Carnivores'' games where a specific game's setting houses species mainly from two of Earth's geological periods: the first two games focusing on Jurassic and Cretaceous dinosaurs, ''Ice Age''— on Tertiary and Quaternary fauna, and ''Triassic'' on well, Triassic and Permian animals (plus ''Megalosaurus'' from the Jurassic period). As in the official ''Carnivores'' series, this is handwaved in the game being set on a foreign planet rather than prehistoric Earth.
11	* AnimalsNotToScale: Even though the previous games also have examples of this trope ([[HandWave Hand Waved]] by being set on a distant planet instead of prehistoric Earth), the invertebrates in ''Mandibles'' heavily suffer from this. For example, the ambient ''Archimylacris'' cockroaches are bigger than a human's head, while even the smallest huntable animal is as big as an adult African elephant. It creates FridgeLogic, seeing as invertebrates require higher amounts of oxygen (with the atmosphere of FMM UV-32 being the same as present day Earth's) and are also subject to the SquareCubeLaw.
12	* BigCreepyCrawlies: The main point of the game is basically to hunt giant arthropods, so this is a given. [[AnimalsNotToScale Many are big enough to dwarf the planet's dinosaurs]].
13	* BloodyHandprint: [[spoiler:One can be seen alongside the words "Turn Back" (which are also written in blood) when passing through the narrow tunnel carved in the mountains of the first area, which serves as the exit of the Triassic Sector and the entrance to the Eos Sector.]] [[NightmareFuel It succeeds its purpose of making the game scary]]...
14	* BubblegloopSwamp: The second map Myrkmor Slough is set in a coal forest and swamp, reminiscent of the ones covering our planet during the Carboniferous. The other locations also have this aesthetic to a much lesser degree, since the game is suppossed to sell the atmosphere of that geological period.
15	* BugWar: Played with. While it isn't a war per se, the player will feel like it due to how overpowered the enemies are in comparison to the hunter. Of course, like all ''Carnivores'' games this is due to the hunter being a [[ThisLoserIsYou regular]] [[OnehitPointWonder human being]], instead of a OneManArmy. [[spoiler:This could change for the worse when the ''Inutilis'' species appear...]]
16	* ContinuityNod: The first area starts out in a small desert located on the border of the [[VideoGame/CarnivoresTriassic Triassic Sector]]. [[spoiler:And a short walking distance into the valley there is a skeleton of a ''Gojirasaurus'' (still crackling with radiation), implying that something even ''worse'' has killed it...]]
17	* CreepyCentipedes: While ''Arthropleura'' is (accurately) depicted as a herbivore, it is still a dangerous animal capable of killing a human hunter.
18	* CreepyCockroach: ''Archimylacris'' is a huge roach that appears as a harmless background creature.
19	* DemotedToExtra: Over twenty species in the game with only two vertebrates/tetrapods (the primitive lizard-like reptile ''Hylonomus'' and the amphibian ''Diplocaulus''), the Eos Sector is primarily dominated by invertebrates.
20	* DreadfulDragonfly: The ''Meganeura'' averts this, due to being a harmless flying background creature.
21	* EldritchLocation: Certain maps (especially the later-unlocked ones) arguably give off this impression more than the official games in the franchise. ''Mandibles'' really does its best to drive home to the player that FMM UV-32 is an utterly alien world with only superficial similarities to prehistoric Earth.
22	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Except for the ambients and first two huntable animals, everything ''will'' attack you at the slightest provocation, with the carnivores rushing to eat you as soon as they detect you. And even the first two huntables are a potential threat since they can accidentally trample you while moving.
23	* ExcusePlot: Adhering to the spirit of the original ''Carnivores'' games, the plot is the same, only with the additional part of [=DinoHunt=] discovering and opening the Eos Sector to its clients about a decade after opening additional areas for ''Carnivores 2'', ''Ice Age'' and ''Triassic''.
24	* FinalBoss: Per ''Carnivores'' tradition, the 10th final huntable animal is this. [[spoiler:Which here is the ''Inutilis'' species. In particular the King and Queen.]]
25	* FungusHumongous: Giant mushrooms are abundant in the fifth area, the Hive.
26	* GameMod: ''Mandibles'' was built on the ''Carnivores 2'' engine. Fortunately, you don't need the original game to play!
27	* GiantEnemyCrab: The ''Jaekelopterus'' sorta counts due to being an eurypterid, a group of arthropods whose closest living relatives are crustaceans and arachnids. It's the largest huntable animal in the game and its ingame bio states that its lifestyle is simular to horseshoe crabs. [[spoiler:Its [[MemeticMutation weakpoint]] is its soft unprotected underbelly, which can only be seen and shot if you somehow manage to sneak behind it.]]
28	* GiantSpider: ''Protosolpuga'', which is a member of the Solifugae order of spiders. The second map also has a nest of the smaller (but still quite large) ''Megarachne'' as ambients.
29	** WordOfGod states that no actual spiders will be added to the game, as the creator wanted more obscure arthropods to be featured in Mandibles.
30	* TheGoomba: The ''Macrelcana'' (a cricket-like insect) and ''Eoprotura'' (a primitive hexapod) are the cheapest and easiest animals to hunt and kill.
31	* GreenHillZone: The first map, The Gates of Dawn is the easiest, seeing as it is Beginner rank.
32	* HiveCasteSystem: [[spoiler:The ''Inutilis'' consist of Nymphs, Workers, Soldiers, Spitters, male Drones, female Alates (Flyers), a Queen and a King.]]
33	* JungleJapes: Arguably all the areas qualify on account of being filled with lush vegetation, mirroring how the Earth looked like during the Carboniferous period.
34	* MascotMook: As seen in the page image, the ''Pulmonoscorpius'' is this.
35	* MeaningfulName: "Eos" means "Dawn", so this sector can loosely be translated as "The Dawn of Time Sector", referencing the fact it is filled with flora, fauna and landscapes based on the Paleozoic era. On a meta level, all of the animals' names mean something from either ancient Greek or Latin. [[spoiler:And ''Inutilis'' can be translated as either "unprofitable" or "harmful", which describes what hunting them will feel like.]]
36	* MoreDakka: The minigun and the anti-tank railgun.
37	* MysteriousAntarctica: The Eos Sector is located just above the planet's south pole and is the least explored region in the series thus far (apart from the oceans). The fourth area, The Fallen Jungle reflects this by being covered in snow, despite being a tropical and conifer-tree covered forest/swamp biome. It also has a dark sky (even if the "Day Time" option is selected from the menu) meaning that the night lasts half a year, simular to Earth's south pole.
38	* NintendoHard: The animals in this game are considerably harder to kill than in the official trilogy due to the more advanced AI, increased health and the lack of instant-death weak spots.
39	* NorthIsColdSouthIsHot: Averted. Despite situated near the South Pole, the game shows tropical forests, swamps, deserts alongside snow-covered mountains and valleys.
40	* OddlyNamedSequel2ElectricBoogaloo: All the other games (be they official, or fan-made) in the series are called ''Carnivores'' ([[NonIndicativeTitle even though herbivores are also huntable animals]]). However, ''Mandibles'' is named after a part of an insect's anatomy (their "jaws", relatively speaking). If you were going only by the title, you wouldn't even know this was a ''Carnivores'' game in the first place.
41	* {{Precursors}}: ''Mandibles'' expands further on the ancient civilization introduced in the first ''Carnivores'' game (and abandoned almost entirely in subsequent titles). The fourth map contains the ruins of a city once inhabited by the Ancients.
42	* RhinoRampage: The Central Sector has ''Triceratops'' and ''Chasmosaurus''. The Arctic Sector has the ''Brontotherium'' and the Woolly Rhino. What does the Eos Sector have? ''Holcorobeus'', a species of rhinoceros beetle which occupies the same ecological niche as the aforementioned animals.
43	* RuinsForRuinsSake: As mentioned above, the fourth location has a city abandoned by the alien civilization that once lived on FMM UV-32. It averts this trope by being specifically modelled to resemble an actual settlement and it actually is connected to the game's lore.
44	* ScaryScorpions: The ''Pulmonoscorpius''. The ''Jaekelopterus'' and ''Geralinura'' also technically count.
45	* SceneryPorn: All of the maps in ''Mandibles'' are highly-acclaimed in the ''Carnivores'' modding community. Each map is unique and stands out from the rest, especially when compared to the relatively monotonous maps of ''Carnivores 2'' and ''Ice Age''.
46	* SequelEscalation: In the previous ''Carnivores'' games, you hunted dinosaurs, mammals and birds which could be killed with regular hunting guns. ''Triassic'' included automatic assault rifles and submachineguns due to the tougher fauna of the Triassic Sector. Here you are dealing with fast and oversized armored insects, so things like [[GatlingGood miniguns]] and [[{{BFG}} anti-tank railguns]] (which would normally be forbidden) [[GodzillaThreshold have become fair game]].
47	* ShiftingSandLand: Downplayed with the third map, Fluvius Vitarum. It's located in a valley made by an inactive volcano and is mostly barren, however it still has plantlife and rivers. It also has several bizzarre rock formations, similar to the ones in the deserts of Earth's Australia.
48	** However the first map does have a small one as its starting point, due to being located on the border between the Triassic Sector from the [[VideoGame/CarnivoresTriassic previous game]] and the Eos Sector from this game.
49	* ShoutOut: The ''Jaekelopterus'' resembles the Reapers from ''VideoGame/MassEffect''.
50	** [[spoiler:The ''Inutilis'' resemble the Arachnids from ''Franchise/StarshipTroopers'', the Space Pirates from ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'', the Xenomorph from ''Franchise/{{Alien}}'' and the Zerg from ''Videogame/StarCraft''. However, WordOfGod is that they are based primarily on the Bahrag from ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}''. Although all of the others were also used as inspiration.]]
51	** The huntable animals ''Holcorobeus'', ''Cretorabus'', ''Euparius'' and ''Adalia'' have the codenames [[Music/TheBeatles Lennon, Ringo, McCartney and Harrison]] respectively. Fittingly enough, the four animals given these codenames are [[{{Pun}} prehistoric beetles]].
52	* ShownTheirWork: The developers have done their best in researching and creating all the animals and landscapes in this game, with some looking exactly like their real-life counterparts. This is in stark contrast to the official games, in which the animals are scientifically innacurate due to being based on the outdated drawings of Zdenek Burian and Charles R. Knight.
53	* SlayingMantis: The ''Manipulator'' resembles a cross between a praying mantis and a mosquito.
54	* SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness: The game has (in order from weakest to strongest) a pistol, an assault rifle, a shotgun, a double-barreled shotgun, a crossbow, a sniper, a minigun and a railgun.
55	* SpeedySnail: ''Bernicia'', a giant snail is a slow and harmless ambient animal in this game. It takes the place of the ''Brachiosaurus'' from ''Carnivores 2''.
56	* SpiritualSuccessor: To both ''Carnivores: Triassic'' and the original trilogy.
57	* StandardFPSGuns: Averted. While the official trilogy gave its weapons generic names, all weapons in ''Mandibles'' are named after specific models.
58	* StealthPun: Possibly an unintentional example. This game focuses on hunting bugs, while having several [[GameBreakingBug Game Breaking Bugs]] (on account of being an unfinished Beta version). Also, like all previous ''Carnivores'' games, it has a "debug mode".
59	* TheWorfEffect: [[spoiler:The dead ''[[VideoGame/CarnivoresTriassic Gojirasaurus]]'' on the edge of the first map is a pretty strong omen to anyone or anything entering the Eos Sector for the first time that they're utterly screwed. WordOfGod is that it was killed by a ''Jaekelopterus''.]]

Context VideoGame / Mandibles2017