The Dig®

This game is incredible. Originally the whole thing was intended to be a film, but they lacked the budget and/or special effects necessary to bring it to the big screen - so this beautiful game is the result. I bought it on CD-ROM when it first came out and my mind was blown back then. It was way ahead of it's time in it's techniques and execution. What marks this title out are the high quality music score - which even had it's own separate cd release, the sound effects, and of course the acting. There's even a little mini-game where you have to land a rocket. It's deeply absorbing stuff and the only thing lacking is the film version, or a sequel.

Since playing this game on the scumm engine about 5-10 years ago I still think about it on almost a regular basis. The scenes, the ideas, the characters; every part of this movie/game was enchanting. I reference this game all the time to my friends and suggest they play it. No one ever does ;'( PLEASE! if you like point and click adventures or sci-fi or Spielburg you owe it to yourself to play this game. Pros: story, voice acting, art, puzzles, general eerie atmosphere, discovery, character interaction, music, multiple endings!!! Cons: There is one puzzle with the alien computer that I could not figure out without internet help. Is that really a con? No, but i had to find SOMETHING!

The Dig was one of my absolute favourite adventure games back in the day. When similar games were often going over-the-board with being wacky, The Dig remained mostly serious. Now don't get me wrong, it still had plenty of humour in it (as opposed to what some have been claiming), it just wasn't the main focus of the game; and most of the humour was found through quips and sarcasm, as opposed to having a moose randomly dropping on your head (or whatever tended to happen in Sam&Max and Monkey Island and all those games). Instead of all that, this game's story got its heart and soul from three humans stranded in one of the most atmospheric backdrops one could ever hope for (and you can tell that this game was clearly an inspiration for Wadjet Eye's adventure games when they started out). Of course, as with all 10+ year old games found on GoG, there is another aspect to it, and that is this: How well has it aged? And the answer is "very well indeed". The voice acting is still mostly very solid (with the occasional moment of... not being solid); the atmospheric backdrop is still stunning; and the story still remains a story like just about no other story ever told in a video game. The puzzles are also remaining solid, with a fair bit of mechanical puzzles thrown in to get a bit of variety from "put X on Y"; and if this is your first time (or your memory's nowhere as good as mine), you will be severely stumped every now and then (though nothing is truly illogical). And furthermore, it's a story that -precisely because it's -not- based on being too wacky and full of gags - still holds up when being retold. You'll want to replay this game after beating it once, so you can get the full story in one big go. And a point-and-clicker that has good replay value is extremely rare, and worth its weight in gold! So savour this game like the fine, aged, and intensely atmospheric wine that it most certainly is.

I just had to buy this! Started playing this a long time ago, after a friend lent me his CD-ROM copy (bought secondhand from a fleamarket in Austria, of all places), but didn't finish it. It's simply an amazing game in terms of production design and value. It's basically a classic Spielberg SF movie in the vein of "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" in the raw sense of wonder and mystery that it emanates. For the price that GOG has (basically a pack of cigarettes), you must give it a try.