The Dig®

The graphics are quite nice, the world is quite hypnotizing, the music is very immersive. But the puzzles, as in most point'n clicks, just lack of logic. So sometimes you'll be stuck somewhere, and the soluce is quite lame, and when you start doubting of the quality of the puzzles, it's hard to really keep trying since you always fear that the reason why you're stuck is you or the poor quality of the puzzle. It's still nice do to the game with the soluce near you, it's still a good experience.

I enjoyed this game a lot more back when it came out than I do today. I'd give it three and a half stars if I could- it's not exactly bad, but it doesn't hold up well compared to many others in the genre. Probably the biggest reason is the reliance on the scenery. The Dig was a little different than other adventure games in that there weren't a lot of hotspots to click and explore- the bulk of the game was the atmospheric beauty of the alien planet, with maybe two or three things to explore on each screen- some screens literally have nothing but an entrance and an exit, and you're meant to enjoy the scenery while waiting for your character to traverse between them. While it was visually impressive back when it came out, the graphics are nothing special today, and the reliance on them doesn't help. The backgrounds begin to look a little repetitive (everything is a sunset-lit ocean view), the animation is a little off sometimes, and the spider-monster in particular looks rather primitive. The story and dialogue also are less impressive than they were when I was 13. The story is fairly straightforward, and, while interesting, not a lot actually happens while you wander about fiddling with alien machinery. The characters never develop all that much, aren't particularly likable (especially the hero, Boston Low), and their dialogue, while often realistic, can also be a bit bland, and the numerous attempts at humor fall flat. The exception is Brink's descent into madness, which, while shallow on the whole, is well-acted and full of biting sarcasm, venom and increasing paranoia. The biggest flaw is probably the ending- after building up the danger with lots of ominous dialogue and warnings, the supposedly planet-ruining peril is resolved near-instantly in an almost casual manner. While still a pretty good adventure game, its weakness compared to eternal classics like Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Gabriel Knight or King's Quest VI really show in the modern age.

I'm sure this game was a success when it first appeared, but this must have been based exclusively on the pretty graphics, which are passable even after all this time. Unfortunately, everything else is subpar. The puzzles are very unintuitive and nonsensical, which leads to an obtuse, unengaging story. You will most likely need to use a walkthrough, especially in the second part of the game. Even so, the constant backtracking, combined with unskippable and very long animations, dialogues and audio ques from the main character during almost every action, makes the entire playthrough very tedious and boring. I'm an avid adventure games player, I love all the classics from Sierra, Microids and the likes. I wanted to try this game for so long, and I had such high expectations, that the dissapointment was tenfold. I don't know if I can force myself to finish this game.

So it's a Lucasfilm point+click adventure in collaboration with Steven Spielberg, hence it must be awesome, right? Sadly, no. The Dig is a good game, but in my mind, it is not on the same level as other Lucasfilm titles. The game starts out well, with good writing and characters, decent voice-acting and nice atmosphere, but quickly becomes boring. Furthermore, either the game design or programming seems sloppy, as I ran into a situation where it was impossible to make progress without starting over and doing things in a different order- unusual for the high-quality Lucasfilm titles. Unless you have completed most or all other Lucasfilm games, this game is ihmo not a must-have.

Many thanks to GOG for having added the Italian translation recently :)