The Dig®

As other reviewers have noted, "The Dig" is by no means a terrible game. It has its charm--sympathetic voice acting, beautifully-drawn backgrounds, and a story full of potential. Sadly, "potential" is the key word for this game. The game felt patched together in some ways. The characters (with the exception of Commander Low) had inconsistent personalities; some of their actions seemed out of character and like they occurred just to move the story into the planned direction. When you started to appreciate the potential depth of the story, the characters would surprise you with totally inappropriate dialogue that reminded you that you were playing a game. The puzzles were... jesus, some were tedious and cryptic. They weren't even cryptic in a mysterious, engaging way--just, well, puzzling. I felt like I had missed essential context for interpreting some puzzles (like the service drone puzzle), and sometimes the cues indicating when you had completed something correctly were misplaced or unclear. Even after consulting a walkthrough to get through a few puzzles, I thought "how would I ever have arrived at this answer?". It felt like the game accidentally withheld information from the story that would have made the puzzles solvable (but still challenging). The dealbreaker of this game is definitely the ending, which is really unsatisfying and shallow. The verdict: You can pass on "The Dig" unless it comes your way for free or is a relic of nostalgia for you.

Loved the story when I originally played it. It has a few quirky points, but overall well worth the purchase! Now I can play it again!

I remember this game coming out, but never got a chance to play until recently. Unlike a number of classic point and click games of this era, The Dig is very much of its time - the entire game seems to be a showcase for the technology. Game-play takes a definite backseat to the "atmospheric". I ended up getting out the walkthrough to avoid endless journeys from one side of the map to the other. Only recommended for those who wish to engage in nostalgia.

‘The Dig’ is one of the lesser known LucasArts adventure game for a reason – it’s not very good. But I’ll say this: this game establishes its setting very well. The alien planet in which the game is set is beautifully imagined and drawn. For the most part, the terrain, technology, and logic behind how some things work are unusual enough that you’ll believe you’re exploring a new world. It’s a shame then that ‘The Dig’ is generally devoid of life and interesting things to do. The planet is barren, and you’ll spend much of your time finding items and solving many puzzles that require much trial and error. While those may be in line with the characters guessing their way around an alien planet, they don’t make an adventure game fun. I often found myself not sure of what to do next, or how to if I happened to know. That’s because the game rarely presents puzzles in ways that you’ll know what you’re working with, or gives you sufficient context to figure it out. Solutions can be frustratingly inelegant, too. You’d think that with three characters stranded on the planet, there’d be plenty opportunity for some teamwork in solving puzzles. There isn’t. You’ll spend most of the game exploring alone. Although you can chat with your teammates at times, they’d usually want you to leave them be. Overall, it feels like that the puzzles were more of an afterthought, with exploration of the planet being emphasized instead. ‘The Dig’ is a serious game, which isn’t a bad thing if the drama, tension and suspense are properly presented. Unfortunately they’re not. In one tense moment of the game, in which a character’s life is on the line, the other two just saunter and talk. The game’s pacing is too slow, with more backtracking and repetition than I cared for. While the graphics are colourful, other aspects of the presentation are flat. Sadly for me, ‘The Dig’ is a disappointing game. You may be better off watching a Let’s Play video of it on YouTube if you’re curious about it.

The game starts out great. An asteroid on collision course with Earth, a ship sent to divert it, the crew discovering mysteries when it arrives... Some would call it generic, but I love stories like this and it seemed like the LucasArts crew got everything right. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The quality drops quickly: the story becomes a mess, puzzles are forced and often illogical, and the ending... My God. That had to be THE worst game ending I've ever seen. If you like sci-fi and adventure games, you can try The Dig, but don't expect anything above average. And when you feel like the ending scene is very near, take of your headphones and close your eyes.